Round table on "Fundamental values of higher education" by the HERE team

The National Team of Experts on Higher Education Reform in Kazakhstan (hereinafter – HERE) has identified the "Fundamental Values of Higher Education" as one of the priority areas of its activities for 2025, which also corresponds to the national priority reforms. In addition, the importance of this topic was reinforced by the ministerial conference in Tirana, which revised these values. Therefore, it was extremely important to disseminate and communicate this information to the country's higher education institutions. To promote this topic, as well as promote the proper realization of values in the country's higher education, the National Office of Erasmus+ in Kazakhstan, together with the HERE team, held a round table on this topic at the University of Toraigyrov in a hybrid format on April 18, 2025.

During the round table, experts made presentations on topics such as Academic freedom as a factor of university competitiveness and sustainable development, Institutional autonomy, Academic integrity and scientific ethics: shaping a responsible approach to teaching and research, the voice of teaching staff and students in the strategic development and management of the university, State responsibility for higher education: the key to sustainable development of society, the responsibility of universities to society.

Main results of the event and recommendations:

• The participants gained a deeper understanding of the 6 fundamental values of higher education;
• They delved into the meaning and significance of each value based on expert presentations HERE;
• They shared their views and the problems they face when implementing values in their workplaces, and received recommendations from experts HERE, as well as other colleagues from the audience;
• The main message was conveyed about the importance of understanding, comprehending and implementing the 6 fundamental values of higher education by each member of the academic community (student, faculty, staff) and about the responsibility of each subject for the implementation of these values;
• The implementation of fundamental values in the NLA, the Law "On Education", in the normative documents of universities and the involvement of all subjects in the formation of academic culture and the implementation of fundamental values is recommended;
• It is recommended that a similar event on the topic "Quality culture in higher education" also be held in a regional city.

All presentations from the roundtable are available here.

The recording of the event is available here.