Nazarbayev University Hosts Forum on Quality Assurance in Higher Education, DKNews.kz reports.
The two-day forum, “Quality Assurance in Higher Education: Current State and Future Perspectives,” was held at Nazarbayev University on January 15–16, 2026. The event was jointly organized by Nazarbayev University and Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Science and Higher Education through its Committee for Quality Assurance in Science and Higher Education.
A centerpiece of the forum was the plenary session, attended by Kazakhstan’s Minister of Science and Higher Education Sayasat Nurbek alongside representatives of government agencies, international organizations and the academic community. During the session, Jennifer Taylor of the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education — one of the world’s leading quality assurance bodies — presented QAA International Accreditation Certificates. The accreditation followed a successful external review by QAA and covered three academic programs: the Master of Arts in Multilingual Education, the Master of Science in Educational Leadership, and the Doctor of Philosophy in Education.
Addressing participants, Nazarbayev University President Waqar Ahmad underscored the institution’s emphasis on academic values amid rapid technological change:
“Academic integrity and academic freedom remain central to the university’s mission,” Professor Ahmad said. “Artificial intelligence and digital technologies will play an increasingly important role, while research will become ever more deeply integrated into teaching and learning. As NU, we remain committed to our role as a catalyst for advancing a culture of quality assurance. NU’s Graduate School of Education — ranked among the world’s top 200 in the Times Higher Education 2025 subject ranking for Education — works closely with universities across the country to raise standards in education and research”
In August 2025, the university received institutional accreditation following a QAA International Quality Review, affirming that its governance, academic standards and quality assurance mechanisms meet international benchmarks.
More than 100 university presidents and vice presidents, senior government officials, and international accreditation experts from bodies including the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA), NAAR and ASIIN took part in the two-day discussions, which focused on helping universities prepare for international accreditation, strengthen internal cultures of quality, and expand the export of educational services. Other sessions examined new approaches to evaluating the quality of doctoral research, the evolution of internal quality assurance systems, and regulatory and licensing frameworks governing higher and postgraduate education.
