President of Astana International University Irsaliyev S.A. held a meeting with the rector of Beijing Language and Culture University Duan Peng

Astana, September 18, 2023.

 President of Astana International University Irsaliyev S.A.  held a meeting with the rector of Beijing Language and Culture University Duan Peng, during which the parties discussed the prospects for expanding cooperation in the field of higher education and science.

 Irsaliyev S.A.  presented to foreign guests the activities of AIU, the main priorities of the university in the context of the new policy of Kazakhstan in the field of higher education and science, about joint programs and projects being implemented with foreign partners.  He emphasized the interest of Kazakhstani students in learning Chinese language as well as the wide potential for developing cooperation between Kazakhstani and Chinese universities.

 For his part, Prof. Duan Peng informed about the projects being implemented by the university in the field of training professional translators and specialists with knowledge of Chinese language, the opening of the Sinology Center by the university in Qingdao and the plans of the Chinese university to increase the number of grants for Kazakhstani students.

 The parties agreed to promote academic exchange of teachers and students and to explore the possibility of opening double-degree programs.  The Chinese side expressed its readiness to open its branch in the Kazakhstani capital after additional marketing research.

 Background: Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) is a key public university directly under the control of the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, also known as the "Little United Nations".  The university is a world-renowned university offering international education in Chinese and other foreign languages.

 The university's predecessor was the Higher Preparatory School for Foreign Students, founded in 1962 and renamed Beijing Language Institute in 1964.  In 1996, it was renamed Beijing Language and Culture University.

 BLCU graduates include many world-famous political and public figures, incl.  President of the Republic of Kazakhstan K.K. Tokayev, who had a language internship at this university in 1983-1984.