Partnership grant project “University of Delaware – East Kazakhstan Technical University Partnership in English as a Medium for Scientific Instruction and Communication”, to be implemented between December 2020 and December 2021, has been selected for funding by Embassy of the United States of America in Kazakhstan, American Councils for International Education. The project fulfils the goals of the U.S.-Kazakhstan University Partnerships Program to create sustainable international engagement and partnerships between U.S. and Kazakhstan institutions of higher education.

U.S.-Kazakhstan University Partnerships Program is funded by the Embassy of the United States of America in Kazakhstan and administered by American Councils for International Education U.S.-Kazakhstan University Partnerships Grants Program. The goal of the program is to support Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Education’s trilingual education policy. The partnership will initiate a longer-term collaboration between the University of Delaware (UD) and East Kazakhstan Technical University (EKTU) focusing on three areas: professional development for EKTU faculty and doctoral students teaching STEM courses in English; support for English as a language of scientific communication and publication; and connections among faculty with shared research and pedagogical interests.

EKTU is a leading regional university specializing in science and engineering and offering bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in three languages, including ten degrees with full English as the medium of instruction (EMI). There are 451 students in trilingual settings and 109 faculty members with intermediate or advanced proficiency in English. EKTU has strong ties to industries. The university is located in an ore-rich region that attracts foreign direct investment. Therefore, the demand for multilingual graduates with English competency to work in transnational companies, research, and education is strong. To achieve these goals, EKTU needs to improve STEM pedagogy in EMI, redesigning syllabi, and improve faculty and PhD students’ English proficiency. Providing pedagogical training, combined with English language support, will promote the national goal of trilingual STEM education. UD is a research-intensive university with world-class facilities and research in several areas that would benefit from collaboration with EKTU, including Material Sciences, Physics, Geology, and Engineering.