Transnational Education through Institutional Partnership: The MGIMO Branch in Astana

The last decade has become an important milestone in the development of the global system of higher education. During this time, universities have reconsidered their approaches to organizing education, managing the educational process, international cooperation, and student engagement. Accelerated digital transformation, changes in the educational model, evolving requirements for the quality of education, and the growing role of transnational education are areas that were previously seen as promising but have now acquired a systemic character.

The international activities of universities have undergone significant transformation. The international dimension is becoming part of the university itself – its educational programs, research agenda, academic environment, and governance system. Intensive digitalization has expanded young people's access to international education. A broader understanding of internationalization has taken shape, in which global trends are incorporated directly into the content of educational programs and the academic environment. This has led to the emergence of a model in which a student receives the benefits of international education without leaving their own country. Transnational education, initially perceived as the export of an educational program from one country to another, has shifted toward a model based on institutional partnership.

Transnational Education as an Instrument of the State Policy

For many countries, the presence of foreign universities is gradually turning from a separate educational initiative into an instrument for developing human capital.

Attracting leading universities brings high-quality, innovative educational programs, the dissemination of new quality standards, faculty development, a reduction in long-term educational migration, and the emergence of joint research and new academic ties.

Accordingly, when cooperation is built not as a formal use of a foreign brand but as a long-term partnership, it can significantly influence the host university system.

This approach is taking on particular importance for Kazakhstan today.

At the instruction of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, transnational education is one of the priority directions of the state policy in the field of higher education.

The establishment of branches of foreign universities and the development of strategic partnerships make it possible to implement the principle of "international education at home" in Kazakhstan. At the same time, the meaning of the Kazakhstan’s model is potentially broader than simply importing foreign programs. It represents, above all, a shift from individual forms of international educational cooperation towards more sustainable models of transnational education.

It is precisely the opening of branches that makes it possible to move beyond individual academic mobility programs, dual-degree education, or short-term projects, and to form a long-term platform for transferring the educational standards, academic culture, and institutional practices of a foreign university into the national system of higher education.

In this context, the establishment of the MGIMO branch in Kazakhstan should be viewed not merely as the opening of another foreign university or an expansion of MGIMO's geographic reach. This project reflects a deeper transformation in Kazakhstan's approach to the internationalization of higher education – from sending students abroad to creating an international educational environment within the country.

The model of cooperation is also of particular importance.

Establishing a branch of a Russian university on the basis of a leading national university makes it possible to combine MGIMO's academic expertise and educational traditions with the host institution's knowledge of the national context, infrastructure, and human resources.

This is no longer simply a matter of transferring a foreign educational program to Kazakhstan, but of forming a shared academic environment.

For Kazakhstan, this model is also important from the standpoint of developing its own university potential. Cooperation with MGIMO can contribute to the exchange of academic and administrative practices, the development of teaching competencies, the improvement of educational programs and quality assurance systems, and, in the future, the expansion of joint research activities.

Therefore, the establishment of the MGIMO branch can be seen as an example of the transition to a new generation of transnational education, in which the main outcome is measured not only by the number of students enrolled or programs implemented, but also by the depth of institutional interaction and its long-term impact on the national system of higher education.

From Years of Cooperation to a New Institutional Format

At the time the MGIMO branch was established in Kazakhstan, branches of six Russian universities were already operating in the country. At the same time, it should be noted that its opening was preceded by a long period of academic contacts with Kazakhstan’s universities, the implementation of joint educational initiatives, academic exchanges, expert engagement, and cooperation in the field of international relations and personnel training.

Thus, the emergence of the branch elevates existing academic ties to the status of a permanent educational – and, in the future, research – infrastructure.

Of particular importance to the establishment of the branch is MGIMO's cooperation with L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University. 

The agreement between the two universities, signed in 2025, became one of the institutional foundations for the creation of the branch, and at the initial stage it was ENU's infrastructure that provided the conditions for its operation.

The success of this cooperation serves as the basis for extending the model to other Kazakhstan’s universities and for turning MGIMO Astana into a fully-fledged element of the national and regional academic ecosystem.

Educational Programs Aligned with the Needs of the Economy

It is fundamentally important that the Kazakhstan’s branch of MGIMO does not simply replicate the university's traditional profile focused exclusively on diplomacy and international relations. Its educational model is being shaped with an eye to Kazakhstan's current economic and technological priorities and is oriented towards training specialists who will contribute to the country's domestic development and external relations.

Today, the MGIMO branch in Astana runs programs in the analysis and modeling of socio-economic and business processes, global mineral resource and energy markets, financial economics and financial technologies, as well as global management of technological development – serving as an example of the targeted integration of international academic expertise into national economic priorities.

Groups of educational programs offered at the branch:

• B044 (RU-542) – Management and Administration (RU-542)

• M074 (RU-542) – Finance, Banking, and Insurance (RU-542)

• M100 (RU-542) – Automation and Control (RU-542)

The presence of internationally recognized universities creates conditions for building an educational environment in the country capable of attracting not only Kazakhstan’s students but also young people from Central Asia and other regions. The MGIMO branch is part of this emerging Kazakhstan’s international educational ecosystem.

In this sense, it represents a long-term institutional platform on the basis of which education, academic mobility, expert activity, and joint research can consistently develop. It is through this lens that the significance of the project should be assessed: MGIMO's presence in Kazakhstan is a guarantee of building a sustainable academic bridge between the two higher education systems and forming a new model of transnational university cooperation.

Rauza MENDALIEVA,

Director of the Kazakhstan’s Branch of MGIMO,

Anastasia KARMELYUK,

Director of the Department of International Cooperation

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АННОТАЦИЯ

The MGIMO branch in Astana sets a bright example of the "International education at home" concept. In partnership with the L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, it has established a powerful academic ecosystem that allows Kazakhstani students to receive an international education without leaving the country. The branch's degree tracks – ranging from fintech and energy to technology management – directly respond to Kazakhstan's ambitious economic goals, transforming the country into a major educational hub in Central Asia.