As European universities look beyond traditional markets, Kazakhstan is rapidly positioning itself as a practical platform for long-term academic and research engagement in Eurasia. Under a deliberate state strategy, the country is shifting from sending students abroad to attracting international universities, standards and expertise onto its own territory.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has made the development of Kazakhstan as a regional academic hub a clear priority. The goal is twofold: give Kazakh students access to high-quality international education without leaving the country and create a competitive destination that can also serve students from neighboring Central Asian states, the South Caucasus and beyond.

A Growing International Presence

According to the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Kazakhstan has established roughly 40 strategic partnerships and projects with foreign universities, ranging from full branch campuses to joint programmes and research collaborations. These involve institutions from the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, France, Italy, Poland, South Korea and others. Education is delivered through more than 160 international programmes.

British universities currently have one of the most visible footprints. Cardiff University opened its first overseas campus in Astana in September 2025 — the first Russell Group presence in Central Asia — offering programmes in computer science, business, civil engineering and earth sciences. Coventry University Kazakhstan launched in Astana in 2024 and opened a second campus in Almaty in September 2026, with further expansion of its Astana facilities planned. Heriot-Watt University operates in Aktobe, while De Montfort University has a presence in the country. Priority fields include engineering, IT, business, energy and creative industries.

German engagement is particularly relevant for Europe. Anhalt University of Applied Sciences is active in Almaty, focusing on applied sciences, engineering, energy and industrial digitalization. Broader Kazakh-German academic ties are already substantial: dozens of Kazakh universities cooperate with around 100 German partners. President Tokayev has used meetings with German rectors to propose deeper cooperation in dual education, artificial intelligence, technology transfer and joint research.

Other notable projects include partnerships involving the University of Arizona (notably with Kozybayev University in Petropavlovsk), Woosong University from South Korea, and collaborations with institutions from France, Italy and Poland. Formats vary — standalone campuses, programmes hosted by local universities, double degrees and strategic research alliances — allowing European institutions to choose models that match their risk appetite and strategic goals.

Why European Universities Are Paying Attention

Several practical factors make Kazakhstan attractive:

•⁠ ⁠Access to a wider regional market. A campus or joint programme in Kazakhstan can reach not only Kazakh students but also applicants from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and further afield. The country’s geographic position between Europe and Asia, combined with relatively open visa and mobility conditions, supports this.

•⁠ ⁠Strong demand for international credentials. Young Kazakhs increasingly seek English-medium education, internationally recognized degrees and programmes aligned with global standards in AI, computer science, cybersecurity, engineering, biotechnology, energy and business.

•⁠ ⁠Government support and lower entry costs. Kazakhstan has offered infrastructure access, organizational assistance and, in some cases, educational grants or preferential conditions. Partnership with existing local universities often allows foreign institutions to use established facilities rather than building from scratch, reducing initial capital requirements.

•⁠ ⁠Alignment with industrial priorities. The country is interested in training specialists for energy, oil and gas, mining, mechanical engineering, digitalization, agriculture and water management — sectors where European expertise in green technologies, dual education models and applied research is highly valued.

•⁠ ⁠A multilingual academic environment. Kazakhstan is a Bologna Process participant, which facilitates recognition of qualifications and alignment with European quality assurance frameworks.

Students and the Broader Market

Kazakh youth’s interest in foreign university programmes is rising, particularly in British and American offerings. Roughly 9,000 students are already enrolled in various foreign university projects operating in the country. At the same time, Kazakhstan itself is attracting a growing number of international students: more than 35,000 from 88 countries were enrolled in the 2025–26 academic year, with more recent figures pointing toward 37,000–40,000. The largest groups come from India, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, China and Russia. The official target is 100,000 international students by 2029, supported by the “Study in Kazakhstan” campaign.

For European universities, this creates a dual opportunity: serve the domestic Kazakh market while also attracting fee-paying international students who see Kazakhstan as a more affordable and accessible alternative to studying in Europe itself.

Strategic Prospects for Europe

European universities — especially technical universities and research-oriented institutions — are well placed to expand further. Priority areas identified by the Kazakh side include energy and green technologies, artificial intelligence, mechanical engineering, industrial automation, transport and logistics, agricultural technologies and water resource management.

There is particular interest in European dual-education models that tightly integrate academic study with practical training in industry. Joint laboratories, research centers, double-degree programmes, academic mobility and the joint training of doctoral candidates are all seen as realistic next steps. Kazakhstan also seeks to host more of this activity outside Astana and Almaty — in regional centers such as Aktobe, Atyrau, Petropavlovsk, Turkestan, Kyzylorda and Ust-Kamenogorsk — where programmes can be tailored to local industrial needs.

Beyond teaching, the longer-term value lies in research collaboration and technology transfer. Training specialists to international standards creates a pipeline of engineers, researchers and managers who can later work on joint industrial and investment projects. For European institutions and their industry partners, this represents a way to build sustained presence in a strategically important region without relying solely on student mobility to Europe.

Looking Ahead

Kazakhstan’s demographic profile, economic modernization agenda and geographic position give it real potential as a regional platform for higher education and applied research. The existing projects with British, German, American, Korean and other universities demonstrate that the model can work. For European universities prepared to move beyond traditional student recruitment, Kazakhstan offers a chance to establish a durable foothold in Eurasia — combining teaching, research and industry engagement in a market that is actively seeking European standards and expertise.

The window is open, but it is becoming more selective. After a period of rapid expansion of foreign campuses, Kazakhstan’s higher education leadership has signalled a preference for partnerships that deliver clear added value aligned with national economic priorities. Institutions that approach the market with concrete proposals in priority technical and research fields are likely to find a receptive partner.

Main Image: By Ken and Nyetta – Central Downtown Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, CC BY 2.0, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=77444517

Ukraine holds personal data on each of the nearly 46,000 foreigners it has identified as signing with Russia’s army since 2022, Dmytro Usov, secretary of its prisoner-of-war coordination headquarters, said on 19 October. If the current pace holds, he expects this year’s contracts to reach Moscow’s plan. Meanwhile, a survey of captured foreigners gave a split answer on how many knew they were heading to war.

Usov said 41% of surveyed foreign POWs signed at enlistment offices and recruitment points, which the headquarters reads as a sign of a systematic campaign. He also said the hiring is meant to ease the social and budget burden of Russia’s own losses. Russia has long turned to foreigners to offset shortages in its regular forces. In April, Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) said enlistment offices had reportedly been assigned regional quotas.

A count built name by name

Usov, a brigadier general and secretary of Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, spoke at the international conference Crimea Global. He said Russia’s Defense Ministry has signed 45,959 foreigners from 151 countries. Ukraine’s records include each one’s rank, dog tag, and contract date.

The figure counts everyone who signed, not only those serving now. In April, Usov said his count left out North Korea’s regular troops, that 25–30% more recruits were likely still unidentified, and that at least 5,149 foreign recruits had died, Interfax-Ukraine reported.

This year’s contracts near the plan

Contracts have grown every year: 94 in 2022, 4,067 in 2023, 8,877 in 2024, and 16,085 in 2025. Some names surface late. At the same April event, Interfax-Ukraine reported, Usov had put 2025 at 13,997 and said the headquarters adds newly identified foreigners every month.

For 2026, Russia’s Defense Ministry planned 18,500 foreign contracts. Ukraine knows of 16,168 so far, roughly level with all of 2025. Another 668 contracts still have no year assigned. If the same dynamic holds, Usov said, the ministry will fully meet its plan and may even exceed it.

He named Indonesia, Peru, Chad, and Zimbabwe among the ten countries that drove the growth in recruits, Ukrinform reported. At the same time, he said, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry and POW agencies have cut recruitment in some countries and stopped it in others.

What captured foreigners told Ukraine

Ukrainian forces have captured citizens of 59 countries since the full-scale invasion began. Uzbeks, Tajiks, Belarusians, and Colombians are among the largest groups.

In the headquarters’ survey of foreign POWs, nearly half said they knew they would fight Ukrainian soldiers and civilians. Another 28% said they didn’t know, 14.8% weren’t sure, and 13.8% said they were deceived. The headquarters ran the survey, and neither report gave a sample size or explained how the shares fit together. Usov said the results showed most knew where they were going. Almost 47% said they signed up for Russian citizenship.

Three of the four Afghans who left their country to compete last week in the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, were detained at the border on Monday when they returned to Afghanistan, where chess is banned by the Taliban government. The players are under house arrest in Kabul and face penalties that could include corporal punishment. The fourth player has been able to return home without reprisals.

Seguir leyendo