From 5th to 13th November, the Kazakh delegation of higher education representatives visited the UK within the educational visit, organised by the British Council and Tempus, to familiarise with the system of higher education in the UK and establish links with the UK universities. The delegation included the representatives from the leading universities of Kazakhstan.

During the visit, participants met with the representatives of the University College of London, the Times World University Rankings rating agency and the Council on Higher Education Funding in England. During the meeting quality control issues, internationalisation, academic mobility, professional development, management in higher education and models of leadership, current strategies, trends and recent developments in these areas were discussed.  Within the framework of the visit, the delegation met with the Ambassador of Kazakhstan in the UK, the UK Ambassador to Kazakhstan, and a member of the House of Lords to discuss the possibility of cooperation between two countries in the field of higher education.

At the meeting of the Kazakh delegation with representatives of the University of Middlesex, the cooperation in the field of immunology was agreed. Also, the delegates discussed the issues of quality control in education and opportunities for the introduction of double degrees and joint programs at Kazakh universities in cooperation with the UK partners.

The first vice-rector of the Kazakh National University, Professor Burkitbayev said: "During the educational visit, we were able to identify partners for the University and to agree on certain action plan for the knowledge and experience exchange between our universities."

At the end of the educational visit Tempus information day was organised where the Kazakh delegation and representatives of more than 32 UK universities were able to find out about cooperation within the framework of the Tempus program and opportunities for the creation of consortia, which ends in February 2012.

The educational visit was organised as part of British Council project for the internationalisation of higher education, which aims at strengthening research links between universities of Kazakhstan and the UK, and the Tempus project to improve higher education systems. In 2009, the British Council also held a round table discussion on the internationalisation of higher education with the participation of David Lammy, Minister of Higher Education and Intellectual Property of the UK, and a series of seminars for rectors and vice rectors of leading universities in Kazakhstan in February-March 2011.

The project on the internationalisation of higher education is implemented within the higher education support strand in Kazakhstan in accordance with the National Programme for the Development of Education in Kazakhstan for 2011-2020. One of the priorities of the programme development is the transition to university research model, where the activity is based on the close integration of education, science and industry.