UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Global hosted a leadership delegation visit from Ualikhanov University (UU), a comprehensive, regional public educational institution located in Kokshetau, Kazakhstan, on June 8-9. Kokshetau is a regional center in the northern part of the country, about 150 miles from the capital, Astana. Similar to Penn State, UU’s mission is focused on teaching, research and outreach to promote economic development in their region. 

The delegation was led by the Marat Syrlybayev, UU’s rector. The delegation met with Executive Vice President and Provost Justin Schwartz, Interim Associate Vice President for Research Phil Savage and Vice Provost for Global Roger Brindley. UU delegates also met with Kevin Kinser, head of the Department of Education Policies Studies; Susan Sinnott, head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering; Andrew Warner, director of the Penn State Water Initiative and Water Resources Research Center; and laboratory directors and college administrators in the Colleges of Agricultural Sciences, Earth and Mineral Sciences, Education, and Penn State Law. 

The Kazakhstan government tasked UU with establishing a government-supported Center of Academic Excellence, a future hub for educational and research innovations in the region, at the university. According to those organizing the center, the objective is to improve scientific training and development, to advance commercialization and to strengthen partnerships, among other goals. The $9 million center is expected to open by 2027, and, the organizers said, along with a collaborative relationship with Penn State, will create more opportunities for professional development and capacity building.

“We are excited that Penn State’s engagement in the Republic of Kazakhstan in Central Asia is gaining momentum,” said Vlad Likholetov, assistant director for global collaborations in Penn State Global.

During the visit, Federico Harte, professor of food science, and Ekaterina Bazilevskaya, the director of the Soil Research Cluster Laboratory in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, presented on dairy processing. During discussions, participants identified two potential collaborative areas: dairy processing research and mining technology of critical minerals extraction. Other areas of interest noted by participants included environmental protection, water resources management, soil analysis and research, and climate risk management.

The plans for future collaboration include inviting Penn State faculty members as guest lecturers and visiting scholars to UU, developing collaborative educational programs, and organizing research internships for UU’s researchers and instructors at Penn State.

For more information on the collaboration between Penn State and UU, contact Vlad Likholetov.