Dr Aray Ilyassova-Schoenfeld presented Kazakhstan’s experience in joining the Bologna process and the role of government actors in this process. She mentioned that Kazakhstan is the only country in Central Asia that entered the Bologna process. The fact that Kazakhstan is geographically not in Europe but close to it, allowed the country after long negotiations to be accepted into the Bologna process in 2010.
Dr Ilyassova-Schoenfeld’s research assesses the role of individuals in Kazakhstan’s participation in the Bologna Process, and in institutional interactions with the EU and the world community. She believes that because of the weak development of the administration system in Kazakhstan institutions, the decisions are usually made by the heads of the division, in our case by the Minister of Education and Science. Hence, her study involves the analysis of the head of the ministry in the process of negotiation and inclusion in the Bologna process.
Dr Ilyassova-Schoenfeld believes that joining the Bologna process gave Kazakhstan multiple opportunities in engaging with European higher education and in deepening cooperation and collaboration through academic and scientific exchange.