Kazakhstan wants Malaysian universities back as it revives its education ties

Kazakhstan is seeking to revitalize its higher education collaboration with Malaysia by enhancing student mobility, fostering research partnerships, and encouraging the establishment of Malaysian university branch campuses in Central Asia.

Minister of Science and Higher Education Sayasat Nurbek highlighted Malaysia's model of attracting international students and underscored historical ties between the nations.

Six key areas for cooperation have been identified, including academic exchanges and the potential for dual programs in energy, AI, biotechnology, and logistics.

The visit by Malaysia's Higher Education Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir, aims to bolster these exchanges and revive academic links using Kazakhstan's Bolashak scholarship programme.

ASTANA, Sept 27 — Kazakhstan is seeking to reconnect with Malaysia and revive higher education cooperation through student mobility, research collaboration, and the establishment of Malaysian university branch campuses in the Central Asian nation.

Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan Sayasat Nurbek said Malaysia had long been regarded as a model for the country in positioning itself as an international education hub, particularly through its coordinated approach to attracting and supporting international students.

“Historically, we had very good bilateral relations in higher education and research between Kazakhstan and Malaysia. About 15 years ago, there were thousands of Kazakh students receiving education at the best Malaysian universities, both public and private.

“But somehow, we lost momentum,” he told Bernama after attending the opening ceremony of the Malaysia-Central Asia Higher Education Forum 2026 (Mahef2026) at Maqsut Narikbayev University here yesterday.

Nurbek said the visit by Malaysian Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir was timely, as both countries sought to relaunch educational bilateral ties.

They identified six key areas of cooperation, including academic exchanges and attracting leading Malaysian universities to establish branch campuses in Kazakhstan.

He said Kazakhstan currently hosts about 40 branch campuses of foreign universities, including institutions from the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, France, Türkiye, South Korea, China, and Russia.

“We need Malaysian universities to come and be part of that hub. Through Kazakhstan, Malaysia can connect with all the countries in the region because we serve as a hub for Central Asian countries,” he said.

Nurbek said other potential areas for joint and dual programmes include energy, particularly nuclear, transition, and alternative energy, and green hydrogen, agriculture, artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technology, health sciences and biotechnology, as well as transportation and logistics.

He said 32 Kazakh universities have more than 80 agreements with 42 Malaysian universities, and 52 Malaysians study in Kazakhstan.

However, these figures do not fully reflect the potential for bilateral cooperation, especially in academic mobility and faculty exchanges.

He added that Kazakhstan plans to utilise its Bolashak international scholarship programme to rebuild academic links with Malaysia through visiting scholar and research fellowship programmes.

Both countries have also agreed to work towards holding an annual Kazakhstan-Malaysia higher education forum.

“We want to reconnect with Malaysia. We want to relaunch our bilateral relations. We want to add that new layer of human dimension, of human connection,” he said.

Earlier in his speech, Nurbek said Malaysia’s development of human capital and success in attracting international students had served as a reference point for several reforms Kazakhstan undertook, adding that academic ties offered long-term connections that could endure beyond economic and commercial partnerships.

Education Malaysia Global Services organised Mahef2026, bringing together higher education stakeholders from Malaysia and Central Asia to strengthen cooperation in areas including student mobility, transnational education, technical and vocational education and training, and digital skills.

Zambry, who is on an official visit to Kazakhstan until Sunday, is leading Malaysia’s efforts to strengthen higher education cooperation with the Central Asian nation and the wider region. — Bernama

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哈萨克斯坦正寻求通过加强学生流动、促进研究合作以及鼓励马来西亚大学在中亚地区设立分校，来重振与马来西亚的高等教育合作。

科学与高等教育部长萨亚萨特·努尔贝克重点介绍了马来西亚吸引国际学生的模式，并强调了两国之间的历史渊源。

已确定六个重点合作领域，包括学术交流以及在能源、人工智能、生物技术和物流领域开展双元制合作项目的潜力。

马来西亚高等教育部长拿督斯里赞布里·阿卜杜勒·卡迪尔博士此次访问旨在加强这些交流，并利用哈萨克斯坦的博拉沙克奖学金计划恢复学术联系。

阿斯塔纳，9 月 27 日——哈萨克斯坦正寻求与马来西亚重新建立联系，并通过学生流动、研究合作以及在中亚国家建立马来西亚大学分校来恢复高等教育合作。

哈萨克斯坦共和国科学与高等教育部长萨亚萨特·努尔别克表示，马来西亚长期以来一直被视为该国打造国际教育中心的典范，尤其是在吸引和支持国际学生方面采取的协调一致的方法。

“历史上，哈萨克斯坦和马来西亚在高等教育和科研领域一直保持着非常良好的双边关系。大约15年前，成千上万的哈萨克斯坦学生在马来西亚最好的公立和私立大学接受教育。”

“但不知何故，我们失去了势头，”他在昨天出席了在马格苏特·纳里克巴耶夫大学举行的 2026 年马来西亚-中亚高等教育论坛（Mahef2026）开幕式后告诉马新社。

努尔贝克表示，马来西亚高等教育部长拿督斯里赞布里·阿卜杜勒·卡迪尔博士的访问非常及时，因为两国都希望重启教育双边关系。

他们确定了六个关键合作领域，包括学术交流和吸引马来西亚一流大学在哈萨克斯坦建立分校。

他表示，哈萨克斯坦目前拥有约 40 所外国大学的分校，其中包括来自英国、美国、德国、法国、土耳其、韩国、中国和俄罗斯的院校。

他说：“我们需要马来西亚的大学加入这个中心。通过哈萨克斯坦，马来西亚可以与该地区所有国家建立联系，因为我们是中亚国家的枢纽。”

努尔别克表示，其他潜在的联合和双边合作领域包括能源（特别是核能、转型能源、替代能源和绿色氢能）、农业、人工智能和数字技术、健康科学和生物技术，以及交通运输和物流。

他说，哈萨克斯坦有 32 所大学与马来西亚有 42 所大学签订了 80 多项协议，另有 52 名马来西亚学生在哈萨克斯坦留学。

然而，这些数字并不能完全反映双边合作的潜力，尤其是在学术流动和教师交流方面。

他还补充说，哈萨克斯坦计划利用其博拉沙克国际奖学金计划，通过访问学者和研究员计划重建与马来西亚的学术联系。

两国还同意努力举办一年一度的哈萨克斯坦-马来西亚高等教育论坛。

他说：“我们希望与马来西亚重新建立联系。我们希望重启双边关系。我们希望增添人性化的层面，增进人与人之间的联系。”

努尔贝克在演讲中早些时候表示，马来西亚在人力资本发展和吸引国际学生方面的成功，为哈萨克斯坦进行的几项改革提供了参考。他还补充说，学术联系能够提供超越经济和商业伙伴关系的长期联系。

马来西亚全球教育服务机构组织了 Mahef2026，将马来西亚和中亚的高等教育利益相关者聚集在一起，以加强在学生流动、跨国教育、技术和职业教育与培训以及数字技能等领域的合作。

赞布里正在哈萨克斯坦进行正式访问，访问将持续到周日。他此行的目的是领导马来西亚加强与这个中亚国家以及更广泛地区的高等教育合作。——马新社

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