Academic mobility in Kazakhstan: practice and expansion of opportunities

Abstract

At present, the Bologna process is the primary mechanism of higher education
reform in Europe, as well as an integration initiative. The objective of the process –
the creation of a European Higher Education Area, which will lead to the emergence
of a truly pan-European integration project in this area. At realization of the Bologna
Process, all European countries face different kinds of challenges that are associated
with the degree of correlation of national models with pan-European ideal, and with
a choice of approaches. Currently, almost all the 139 universities of Kazakhstan,
among which there are national, public and private, follow the principles of the Bo-
logna Declaration. Therefore, Kazakh university system in the European educational
space lasts for more than 20 years. The paper presents some results of the sociologi-
cal research «Bologna process in the eyes of experts» conducted in May 2015.
The aim of the expert survey «the Bologna Process in the eyes of Experts», is a
description of the state as well as the nature of the implementation of the Bologna
process in higher education system of Kazakhstan with the expert position.
In the process of integration of Kazakhstani universities and science in the inter-
national educational space a very important place is given to the academic mobility
of students and faculty, which is expected to contribute to the formation of a quali-
tatively new labor force, that are able to take its rightful place on the world labor
market, and can significantly affect the quality of human resources of the national
economy. Thus, the academic mobility greatly enhances the accessibility, quality
and effectiveness of education and is an important tool for shaping global educa-
tional space and mobility of human capital.