INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC AND EDUCATIONAL PROJECT FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS: EXPERIENCE AND PROSPECTS Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

scientific journal of the modern education & research institute • The Kingdom of Belgium

international scientific and educational Projectfor international students: eXPerience and ProsPects

Vissaliyeva Saule t. (salia72@mail.ru) Mombek aliya a. (aliya_mombek@mail.ru) Babalykova akerke Kh. (babalykova7@gmail.com)

abai Kazakh national Pedagogical university (abai university) almaty, Kazakhstan

abstract

The article is devoted to the organization and implementation of international scientific and educational projects and work with international students of universities of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Modern trends in education, global challenges require a revision of the main trends in education, the expansion of international cooperation and the internationalization of higher education. The article presents some of the results of the dissertation research on the topic «Design a developing educational environment of a university for international students.»

Keywords: international students, design technology, international scientific and educational project, adaptation and support of international students.

Modern society is undergoing global economic, political and social changes, which have led to a reassessment of the content of higher education. One of the main directions of reforms is the comprehensive modernization of the educational system around the world and in Kazakhstan, in particular. Special requirements are imposed on the quality of higher education as the basis for scientific and technological progress, social dynamics and sustainable development. Internationalization and globalization dictate their conditions, require the expansion of international cooperation and integration into the world educational space. Every year the contingent of international students is increasing, double-degree educational programs are expanding, and the academic mobility of students and faculty are developing. It was primarily facilitated by the accession of Kazakhstan to the Bologna process [1].

Thus, incoming mobility provides for an increase in the contingent of international students, for example, in the Strategic Development Plan of the Abai University, it is planned to increase the number of foreign applicants to 5% in 2025 [2]. The creation of a Central Asian educational hub in Kazakhstan, the annual educational exhibitions «Days of Kazakhstani Education» in Central Asian countries, will increase the number of international students, joint double-degree educational programs and academic exchange programs. Strategies for the development of modern educational technologies imply the development of skills of independent learning, and critical thinking throughout life, interaction at different levels.

In the 2019-2020 academic year, the contingent of international students amounted to 406 people from 18 countries of the world (Figure 1) [3].

Figure 1

However, the process of adaptation of international students to the educational space of Kazakhstani universities has not yet been thoroughly studied, a unified program of adaptation, external and internal factors of psychological and pedagogical support have not been developed. Analysis of the current state of adaptation of international students in universities of the Republic of Kazakhstan revealed the central contradiction between the desire and opportunities for international students to receive a quality education and the insufficient readiness of Kazakhstani universities to accept them and ensure full socialization [1]. In this connection, the dissertation research of doctoral student Issaliyeva S.T. on the topic «Design a developing educational environment of a university for international students.»

One of the striking results of the dissertation research is the Center for adaptation and support of international students «International students’ council office» under the Department of International Cooperation (from now on referred to as the Center), which was created in pursuance of the recommendations of the Republican August pedagogical meeting of educational workers of the Republic of Kazakhstan «Human capital in conditions the fourth industrial revolution» on the creation permanently of structural units to work with foreign students (August 13-16, 2018) [4]. Normative documents governing the work of the Center – the order of the rector, the Regulation on the Center, the Regulation on work with international students (for institutes and faculty), the work plan of the Center for the academic year. The Center’s tasks: improving information support mechanisms, developing and implementing a volunteer program, psychological adaptation of international students, adaptation of international students in a language environment, development and implementation of scientific and pedagogical support, organization of a system of supervising international students, etc.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made adjustments to the educational process and the life of the entire university. With the introduction of the State of Emergency on march 16, 2020, the center established roundthe-clock communication with all international students and advisers in WhatsApp chats, together with consulates, coordination of their movements, departure to their homeland was carried out, lists of those who remained in Almaty who did not manage to leave the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan and left for regions of Kazakhstan. In the first weeks of quarantine, a video clip «#BIZBIRGEMIZ!» was created for psychological support, online meetings were organized in ZOOM and distribution of food packages was organized. The Consulate of the People’s Republic of China in Almaty provided masks and antiseptics for international students. In the summer, within the framework of the International Summer Club project, free courses in English, French, Chinese, Turkish and Arabic were held, teachers were international students and university teachers – native speakers. For international students wishing to improve the Russian language, together with the Department of the Russian language, the Russian Club worked all summer [5].

At the same time, the integration of international students into the university environment is not only about psychological, social and intercultural adaptation. It is essential to immerse in the educational process and research work fully. For many of them, insufficient knowledge of the language of instruction in the absence of proper socialization becomes an obstacle on the way to mastering the necessary knowledge, abilities and skills. In this regard, the application of design technologies and innovations is relevant, an example of which is the International scientific and educational project «The meaning of life and destiny. how to build your future?» in partnership with popova tatyana Anatolyevna (psychological Institute of the Russian Academy of Education, Moscow, Russia) [6]. The project has been implemented in Abai University since 2016 and has no analogues on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan [1].

Within the framework of the project, the kazakhstan youth section of the international symposium «Psychological problems of the meaning of life and acme», the forum for foreign students «The FUTURE. I was yesterday. I am today. I am tomorrow» and the International competition of scientific research works of schoolchildren and students «Zhas zertteushi «(supervisor – S.T. Issaliyeva). To date, the symposium and the forum have been synchronized and held together, since the main difference is the form of participation – the forum has the opportunity to speak with a group project. In contrast, at the symposium, individual projects are presented. This approach allows international students who do not fully speak Russian or are not self-confident enough to participate in scientific events.

The international scientific research competition is held jointly by the Department of Pedagogy and Psychology and the scientific and methodological journal «Pedagogy and Psychology». The format of the competition work is an article in the above journal following the requirements of the Scopus database, and triple-blind reviewing is provided (foreign reviewer, a reviewer from the RK University, a reviewer from Abai University). During the period of the Competition, classes are held for participants in writing scientific articles, selecting sources, formatting research results, etc. In conclusion, the participants present their work at a round table; the best articles are published in the current issues of the journal.

A distinctive feature of all project activities is the same requirements for all participants, transparency of selection and deep immersion (classes on the project are held every week for four months, the results of the work are presented at the main forum in Moscow at the Psychological Institute of the Russian Academy of Education). In 2020, events in Moscow were held online, which showed new opportunities for the use of digital and remote technologies, which significantly expand the geography of participants.

Along with Kazakhstani schoolchildren and students, international students studying in universities of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Kazakhstani students studying abroad participate in the project every year. Moreover, if in 2018 only one student from the Sound Audio Institute (Dubai, UAE) took part in the project, then in 2019 and 2020 – 32 and 22 international students, respectively (Figure 2).

Every year Kazakhstani schoolchildren and students, including international ones, become holders of diplomas and certificates. Trips as part of the Kazakh delegation, visits to educational organizations, universities, museums, theatres and other attractions contributed to the expansion of the horizons of the participants, intercultural integration and successful adaptation of foreign participants, the development of communication skills in Russian and English. So, for example, in 2018 and 2019, according to the approved programs, the International Scientific and Cultural Forum «Books unite generations: the science of youth» was organized (at the Institute of Education Management of the Russian Academy of Education, St. Petersburg and the Center for Family Education No. 14, Pushkin Leningrad Region, Russia), the International Scientific and Practical Conference «Developing educational environment at school, college and university – modern trends and research» (in Lyceum No. 3 in Dzerzhinsky, Moscow Region, Russia) [7].

Thus, the results of the international scientific and educational project show that the interaction of Kazakhstan and international schoolchildren and students significantly expands intuitive abilities, develops creative thinking, imagination and language competencies, and also contributes to successful adaptation to new conditions and integration into the educational environment.

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