University Partnership Program (UPP)

Background: Since 2017, the U.S. Mission to Kazakhstan has funded the University Partnership Program (UPP) to connect U.S. and Kazakh higher education institutions, traditionally by awarding sub-awards to U.S. partners who applied for funding with Kazakh institutions. As a result, 34 Kazakh universities have partnered with 31 U.S. universities to strengthen educational programs, teaching approaches, and institutional and research capacities, and to pursue joint projects addressing issues such as air pollution, environmental protection, and economic diversification. In addition to the projects achieved under each UPP, many partnerships have successfully resulted in sustainable, continued partnerships separate from USG funding. In most cases, Kazakh universities do not have a clear strategy to engage the private sector in education and research projects that could potentially lead to research commercialization and bring investment from sources other than the Government and student tuition fees. Kazakh universities could benefit from using a diversified-income model used by U.S. universities, which would generate profit to reinvest into university operations. Building partnerships with the private sector could also generate income through commercialization while at the same time offer practical experience for university students. This will allow Kazakh universities to raise their institutional profile, improve their facilities and equipment, be better positioned to support faculty professional development, and be able to offer more student services. Since U.S. universities have a longstanding history of working with private sector and successful financial management models, pairing them with Kazakh universities through research projects in high growth economic fields can help Kazakh universities adjust to the per capita funding system that was introduced in November 2021 and speed up the design of more competitive programs for students and address private sector workforce development needs. Supporting Kazakh universities to learn more about American university best practices in managing business accelerators and research incubators to tailor Kazakh HEIs approach to pursue greater collaboration with the private sector and integrate a system will enable students to get competitive workforce development skills. Collaborating with the private sector and diversifying financial sources can also motivate university management to become more financially transparent and accountable. Medium to long-term successes in Kazakhstan would include the implementation of international management practices, research standards, and student-oriented programs and services. Success will also be gauged on increasing the sharing of best practices among Kazakh institutions with each other. This would help Kazakh universities have well-run, efficient university management models which would be better placed to be an equal and contributing partner with U.S. universities and academic associations. This is also expected to increase the number of Kazakh students and scholars studying in the United States and to contribute to a more competitive workforce equipped with the skills to support economic diversification in Kazakhstan. This NOFO looks to support innovative project mechanisms that advance U.S.-Kazakh institutional partnerships in the form of sub-awards or activities organized directly by the implementer. This can include incubation hubs, basic research capability, or professional development centers. The program should focus on building greater institutional and research capacity in fields that support diversified economic growth through joint U.S.-Kazakh research collaboration including through commercialization opportunities in research, partnerships with private sector, and workforce development programs. Partnerships that focus on curriculum development should be directed toward developing existing curricula rather than creating new curricula. Project Audience(s): Public universities in Kazakhstan (private universities can be additional partners, but not the main partner), and U.S. universities especially research universities, community colleges, and technical institutions. Beneficiaries may include students, teaching professionals, or university managers. Competitive proposals would consider working with several institutions to foster a network. Project Goal: Strengthen institutional and research capacities of Kazakh universities in fields that support workforce development and diversified economic growth through joint U.S.-Kazakh program partnerships and research collaborations. Project Objectives: Objective 1: Equip at least five Kazakh university administrators with the knowledge and skills necessary to attract investment and collaborate with U.S. universities and research centers. Objective 2: Improve the ability of at least two Kazakh HEIs to revise existing curricula and course content that incorporate U.S. best practices, real work application, and hands on learning experiences in high growth fields to address youth unemployment and workforce development. High growth fields include but are not limited to coding, IT, STEM, agriculture, and digital media. Objective 3: Facilitate at least two joint research projects between U.S. and Kazakh universities in high growth fields that demonstrate potential for commercialization. Note: Competitive proposals will include plans for preliminary discussions between American and Kazakh universities on potential roadblocks, challenges, and specifics of the local context in Kazakhstan before starting partnership activities.