DELEGATION FROM AUSTRIA VISITS ABAI UNIVERSITY

A delegation from the University College of Teacher Education Tyrol (Austria) arrived at Abai University for an official visit. The delegation includes Walter Weigl, a lecturer at the University College of Teacher Education Tyrol, Peter Matthias, a craft teacher at the Primary Practice School of the Innsbruck University of Teacher Education, and Susanne Mayrhofer, a secondary school teacher affiliated with the College of Teacher Education. The visit is aimed at strengthening the partnership with Kazakhstan's leading pedagogical university.

During the official meeting, Aigul Iskakova, Vice-Rector for Strategy and Internationalization, extended her greetings to the European colleagues and emphasized the importance of the long-standing ties between the two institutions. The Vice-Rector highly commended the joint efforts within the Erasmus+ program and dual education projects, expressing gratitude for the contribution of Austrian expertise to the Kazakhstani education system and the innovative development of Abai University.

Bayan Sapargaliyeva, Director of the International Cooperation Department, briefed the delegation on the university's scientific potential and its standing in international rankings. She presented the strategy for transforming Abai University into a leading research university in Central Asia with its own established research and practical framework. The foreign guests showed particular interest in the proportion of international students at the university and the strategies employed for their recruitment. In turn, Walter Weigl expressed his readiness to revitalize the five-year partnership, implement new ideas, and share best practices.

The University College of Teacher Education Tyrol represents a unique model of teacher training in Austria. Its affiliated primary and secondary practice schools serve as testing grounds for new methodologies, and successful practices from these schools are subsequently integrated into the national educational standards of Austria. Furthermore, the institution is renowned as the primary professional development center responsible for the training of over 11,000 teachers in the region.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the members of the Austrian delegation expressed their gratitude for the hospitality and reaffirmed their commitment to developing collaborative projects. As part of their week-long visit, the foreign experts plan to visit secondary schools in Almaty to observe the domestic education system and analyze the professional excellence of local educators.

Abai University Media Center