On January 15-16, 2026, a forum titled “Ensuring the Quality of Higher Education: Current State and Development Prospects” was held in Astana at Nazarbayev University. The event was organized by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The forum was attended by the Chairman of the Board – Rector of Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University, B. Tlep, and Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs B. Narbekova. The event served as a platform for discussing pressing issues related to the development of quality assurance systems in higher and postgraduate education.

As part of the forum, workshops were conducted with the participation of international accreditation agencies QAA, ASIIN, and NAAR. Special attention was given to the QAA workshop, which focused on the role of external stakeholders in ensuring and enhancing the quality of higher education, as well as on engaging employers and industry representatives in the development, monitoring, and evaluation of educational programs.

On the second day of the forum, new approaches to assessing the quality of scientific research were discussed, along with issues related to the development of doctoral programs, the activities of dissertation councils, and the integration of artificial intelligence elements into the higher education system.

The forum concluded with a plenary session attended by the leadership of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, university rectors, and international experts, during which a QAA accreditation certificate award ceremony was held.

Participation in the forum enabled Abai University to strengthen professional dialogue, exchange international experience, and identify new benchmarks for the development of the education quality assurance system.