THE UNIVERSITY OF GREAT BRITAIN, PART OF THE
RUSSEL GROUP OPENS A BRANCH IN ASTANA
Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan Sayasat Nurbek held a meeting with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Republic of Kazakhstan Catherine Leach, Member of the House of Lords of Great Britain Lord Michael Herman, President of Cardiff University Wendy Larner and representatives of the Public Foundation "Qualified Centre of Education".
During the meeting, Sayasat Nurbek spoke about the work carried out by the Ministry to implement the instructions of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on the creation of an educational hub in Kazakhstan, which will become a key center of higher education in Central Asia.
At the moment, agreements have been reached with 34 foreign universities to open their branches and representative offices in Kazakhstan. Together with Kazakhstani universities, they train highly qualified specialists for priority sectors of the economy.
Special attention was paid to improving the quality of education through the opening of branches of foreign universities. The Minister stressed that such projects contribute to the introduction of best practices, modern methods and international teaching standards, which significantly updates and modernizes the education system of Kazakhstan.
In August of this year, during the first meeting with the leadership of Cardiff University, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Ministry, Cardiff University and the Public Foundation "Qualified Centre of Education". Minister Sayasat Nurbek stressed the importance of establishing a branch of the British University in Kazakhstan with a strong research potential, which will allow local students to receive high-quality education in engineering, medicine, biotechnology that meet international standards. After three months of working together, the parties reached an agreement, and yesterday an agreement was signed that the first of the Russell Group, Cardiff University, will open a branch in Kazakhstan.
The Ambassador stressed that in the last two years Kazakhstan has been actively implementing a project to create an educational hub, which is aimed at developing and improving the country's educational system. She noted that this process includes the involvement of international partners and the exchange of experience with leading educational institutions of the world. "Today's agreement with the university, which is part of the group of the strongest universities in the UK, is a clear confirmation of successful steps in this direction. This important step shows that Kazakhstan is striving to integrate its educational system into the international community, ensuring a high level of education and strengthening academic ties between the countries," Catherine Leach said.
Lord Michael James Herman, in turn, expressed gratitude for the warm welcome and noted the importance of working together to develop educational cooperation.
Wendy Larner, President and Vice-Chancellor of Cardiff University, stressed that Cardiff University, founded in 1883 and part of the prestigious Russell Group, holds leading positions in international rankings.
Cardiff University holds top positions in international rankings. QS World University Rankings 2025 the university is ranked 186th in the world, according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024 - is in the range from 201st to 250th place, according to the academic ranking of world universities for 2024 — in the range from 151st to 200th place, and according to the US News Best Global Universities 2024 ranks 184th in the ranking of the best universities in the world.
The Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan continues to actively support the processes of internationalization, ensuring the quality of education and strengthening cooperation between universities of Kazakhstan and the United Kingdom.
Press Service of the Ministry of Science and Technology
higher education of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/sci/press/news/details/887540