Two new memorandums of understanding (MoUs), signed on Wednesday between Kazakhstan’s Nazarbayev University (NU) and two Hong Kong universities, have given fresh momentum to the Belt and Road Initiative, positioning the participating universities to work side by side to deepen talent exchange and education cooperation through expanding mobility programs and recruiting more Central Asian students to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
The MoUs, signed by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Education University of Hong Kong, were inked on the third day of a visit to Central Asia by a high-level delegation led by Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Lee referred to President Xi Jinping’s important speech in 2013 in which he proposed publicly for the first time building a Silk Road economic belt with Central Asian countries. “It is a strategic blueprint for connectivity, shared development and common prosperity. And it has reshaped global cooperation,” Lee said.
Describing the MoUs as “another encouraging step forward”, Lee said the agreements will deepen academic and research collaboration. They will strengthen people to people ties between Hong Kong and Kazakhstan.
He said that over 6,000 students from Belt and Road countries are studying in programs founded by Hong Kong’s University Grants Committee this year, including about 500 students from Kazakhstan — making Kazakh students one of the largest groups of students in Hong Kong’s Belt and Road student community.
The HKSAR government's Belt and Road Scholarship scheme sets aside 150 scholarships annually for post-secondary students from Belt and Road countries, Lee said.
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Also at the signing ceremony, Waqar Ahmad, president of Nazarbayev University — who has visited both the SAR and Chinese mainland — reviewed the collaboration between Nazarbayev University and Hong Kong, including active student exchange agreements with the University of Hone Kong, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
He described the university’s academic achievements and breakthroughs in recent years, especially its increasing efforts in innovation and research. For example, he said, it has developed flexible gas sensing systems and the country’s first domestic green hydrogen pilot installation.
John Lee Chi-kin, president of the Education University of Hong Kong, expressed his excitement over signing an MoU with the best university in Kazakhstan, in line with the HKSAR government's strategic plans in Central Asia as well as further deepening exchanges between China and the region.
Lee told China Daily that the EduHK established a research partnership with Kazakhstan in response to the Belt and Road Initiative a few years ago, and there are already Kazakh students who have completed doctoral studies at EduHK who now work in higher education institutions in Kazakhstan, including a university president. “This is a vivid example of successful talent cultivation through cooperation between the two regions,” Lee said.
Assel Uvaliyeva, vice president of NU, said she believes the MoUs will further enhance partnerships, including the establishment of joint dual-degree programs. She said that during this year’s admissions period, the university received two applications from Hong Kong and about 50 from the Chinese mainland. Currently, around 60 students from China are studying at NU.
She estimated that the newly signed MoUs could attract about 30 students from NU to apply for exchange programs in the first year, and that number may continue to increase further.
Nurken Bolatov, chief operational officer at Artisan Education — a Kazakhstan-based startup specializing in the development of educational platforms and robotics kits designed to teach children the fundamentals of engineering and robotics — said that the signing of the MoUs should bring more opportunities to students from NU.
He said that the company has been accepted into the ideation program of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park, which provides up to HK$100,000 ($12,760) in seed funding for startups. This serves as a great opportunity for Artisan Education to enter the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong markets, he added.
Lee also attended a luncheon hosted by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the Republic of Kazakhstan on Wednesday.
The 70-strong delegation, comprising 40 Hong Kong business and professional leaders and 30 representatives of Chinese mainland enterprises, has concluded its visit to Kazakhstan, and has moved on to Uzbekistan to proceed with its itinerary.
The weeklong visit, which began on Sunday, aims to deepen trade and business ties with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. It also marks Lee’s first official visit to Central Asia.
