Kazakhstan is no longer looking to attract new international branch campuses after successfully bringing in record numbers of foreign universities and students, the country¡¯s higher education minister has said.

Three years ago, the country launched a strategy to position itself as an academic hub for the Greater Eurasia region,?offering foreign universities incentives?including free land and tax breaks in return for opening outposts there.?

Today, there are five full foreign university branch campuses open or on track to open this year, including the UK¡¯s De Montfort and?Cardiff universities?and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.?

In addition, 18 institutions are offering joint programmes in partnership with local universities, including the University of Arizona, City University of Hong Kong and SeoulTech.?

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¡°It¡¯s now developing really fast, beyond our expectations,¡± Sayasat Nurbek, Kazakhstan¡¯s minister of science and higher education, told?51³Ô¹Ï.?

¡°We basically treat these universities as strategic investors. They have the same preferences and privileges as investors.¡±

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As well as government incentives, foreign universities are likely to benefit from the region¡¯s large youth population and the burgeoning demand for higher education, which domestic higher education provision is unable to meet in full.??

But after campaigning to attract these institutions, the minister believes the country has ¡°enough¡± for now.?

¡°We filled the map,¡± he said. ¡°From now on we¡¯ll be very selective. We¡¯ll look [at the] added value of that particular university connected to [the] economic priorities of Kazakhstan.¡±?

He said agriculture, biotech, medicine and AI are ¡°really huge on our agenda¡±.?

As well as institutions, the country has also seen ¡°record¡± numbers of foreign students enrol, reaching 31,500 this year. Of these, over 12,000 are from India, often enrolling in medical degrees as the certifications gained at Kazakhstan¡¯s medical schools are accepted in the Indian system.

¡°India is a really big market for us, a lot of purchasing power, a lot of interest, and there¡¯s some historic¡­connection,¡± Nurbek?said, speaking to THE at the recent World Education Forum?gathering of global education ministers.

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¡°We have a lot of interest from Chinese students,¡± he added. ¡°We have more than 3,000 students from Russia, which is kind of a big deal for us because for centuries we¡¯ve been sending our students to Russia. Now we have students from Russia coming to Kazakhstan.

¡°And all this happened without proper campaigning, proper marketing, just sheer brand names of these top universities.¡±

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While they may not be looking for more institutions, the government is launching a ¡°Study in Kazakhstan¡± campaign to continue bringing in foreign students, with plans to hold study fairs in countries including Pakistan, China, Azerbaijan and India.

The aim of Kazakhstan¡¯s internationalisation strategy is not just to upskill students from the region but, through strategic partnerships, uplift the capabilities of domestic universities too.?

¡°The major goal of this reform¡­is to actually transform Kazakh public universities, local public universities into research-intensive universities,¡± Nurbek said.?

And, after the success of the programme to date, policymakers are now eyeing up the opportunities AI can bring, with training in the technology becoming a compulsory part of the higher education curriculum in local universities.?

About 300,000 students received certifications in AI over the past three months, Nurbek said, and one-third of these will be selected for an AI entrepreneurship programme.?

¡°It basically teaches students how to combine their subject skills and newly acquired AI skills to identify business niches where AI can add value.

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¡°We¡¯re creating a huge funnel out of our national higher education system and every year we¡¯ll have thousands and thousands of AI start-ups and, as a by-product of this programme, [there] will be hundreds of thousands of graduates who would go out there, be hired by private and public companies and finally be able to deliver that great promise of AI.¡±

helen.packer@timeshighereducation.com