News

UW-Madison Delegation to Astana, Kazakhstan (Spring 2024)

In the spring of 2024, six teams of representatives from UW–Madison will be providing external review of the six social science and humanities departments at Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities (NU SSH).

2024 Community Based Natural Resource Management Workshop (Maun, Botswana)

On January 24–25, 2024, representatives from the Botswana Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Botswana Wildlife Training Institute, Okavango Research Institute, University of Wisconsin–Madison, and community-based organizations met for a summative workshop in Maun, Botswana.

UW-Madison and American Councils for International Education: Strengthening Higher Education in Kazakhstan

Six UW–Madison “coaches” and six teams of administrators from Kazakhstani universities culminated nine months of work together with a final workshop in Almaty, Kazakhstan in January 2024, where they shared the experience of designing and implementing reform projects in the areas of university governance and financial management.

UW–Madison and D. Serikbayev East Kazakhstan Technical University: Fostering a Holistic Innovation Ecosystem

Dr. Nhi Le joined the group of UW coaches after the project had commenced, but quickly got up to speed as she shared with the ambitious team from EKTU her unique and valuable perspective both as entrepreneur in a university ecosystem and as investor.

UW–Madison and Yessenov University: Creating a University-driven Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

The Yessenov University (YU) team had a clear vision coming into this project: to create an entrepreneurial ecosystem that meets the educational and innovation needs of YU students and the growing economy of the western Kazakhstan region of Mangystau.

UW–Madison and Ualikhanov University: Expanding the University’s Reach Through Language Education and Administration (2/2)

Anne Naparstek brought her financial, organizational, and strategic planning experience as LPO administrator to the Ualikhanov University (UU) team as they implemented the first phases of a long-term project of internationalization of the campus and the development of revenue-generating language courses.

UW–Madison and Toraighyrov University: Expanding the University’s Reach Through Language Education and Administration (1/2)

Dr. Felecia Lucht worked closely with her team at Toraighyrov University (ToU) to help them realize their goal of developing English-language programing to generate revenue and provide language and teacher training courses.

UW–Madison and K.I. Satbayev Kazakh National Research Technical University: Aligning Human Resources and Faculty Recruitment and Retention Priorities

Satbayev University’s (SU) team of human resources and finance staff worked to improve faculty and staff recruitment and retention in a competitive academic market: with the support of the institution’s leadership, they strived to become “Employer #1” among universities in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, which is home to 38 higher education institutions.

UW–Madison and S. Seifullin Kazakh Agrotechnical Research University: Engaging in Systems Thinking Amidst Institutional Transition

KATRU, a nationally recognized research university, has a vision to become a world class university, a goal that would require more faculty researchers to participate in the international scientific community.

2023 UW Visit to Botswana

From August 16–22, 2023, a delegation from UW–Madison traveled to different parts of Botswana to connect with partners at the Okavango Research Institute (ORI) and the Botswana Wildlife Training Institute (BWTI) in Maun, as well as leadership from the University of Botswana (UB), the Ministry of Environment & Tourism (MET), and the US Embassy in Gaborone. The delegation consisted of Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies Dean, Paul Robbins; Nelson Institute Director of International and Professional Programs, Nathan Schulfer, and International Division Director of External Relations, Maj Fischer.