Experts: Eurasian integration must be based on education and a new intellectual space

The discussion of the ways of higher education development in Eurasia was held at the international roundtable "Prospects of Cooperation of Russia and Kazakhstan in Higher Education." It was organized on the final day of the forum on cross-border cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan in Chelyabinsk on November 9 at the initiative of the Eurasian Commonwealth Fund for Social and Economic Development with the assistance of the Faculty of Eurasia and East at Chelyabinsk State University.

Moderator of the roundtable, President of the Eurasian Commonwealth Fund Victor Katochkov noted, "One of the important indicators of Russia and Kazakhstan mutual understanding is the interaction in educational space, and it has reached significant achievements. It makes sense to sum up and discuss prospects for further cooperation. Moreover, the ministers of education of Russia and Kazakhstan highly appreciated the bilateral relations in education at yesterday's forum of rectors."

Developing this theme, the Fund's expert, Professor Igor Sibiryakov stressed that peoples of Russia and Kazakhstan are connected by the centuries-old history, general mentality, and culture. Our countries are strategic allies, but mutual relations in the humanitarian sphere have not been given due importance for a long time. Now, however, global challenges are pushing to join forces and to enter the new round of cooperation, "This is the way of a long conversation on what deserves respect and recognition in the relations between Russia and Kazakhstan, and what requires criticism. This conversation needs to be run in all the schools and universities of our countries. "

A co-moderator of the discussion, an expert of the Russian Council on International Affairs Alexander Gushchin appreciated the cooperation of universities of the two countries. "As examples, we can speak about the agreements on inter-regional cooperation and agreements between universities. These are already existing educational projects, distance learning programs, internships, scientific and student congresses. We should not forget the reserves of applied research and the monitoring of cross-border cooperation, scientific advice in the development of Eurasian management strategies, and other projects," the expert said.
Associate Professor, Faculty of Eurasia and East at CSU Galina Skachko detailed the essence of the Eurasian ideology as a basic value imperative for higher education in Russia and Kazakhstan, having clearly shown the importance of the Eurasian philosophical ideas and its current potential.

A separate topic of discussion was the participation of civil society in the educational cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan. Vice-President of the Eurasian Commonwealth Fund Irina Okolnishnikova stressed, "In Chelyabinsk, a tool of non-governmental cooperation in the socio-political, educational and socio-cultural space is an international group of representatives of nationalities at Russian and Kazakh border regions created on the initiative of the Fund. It is important to intensify its activities in the field of higher education."

Deputy Chairman of the Assembly of the Peoples of the Chelyabinsk region Sergey Bredikhin posed a problem of international communication of youth. "Today the issues of preservation of interethnic harmony is extremely important because it is young people who are at the center of ethnic and religious processes,” he stressed. “And ethnic and religious tolerance of students is an important factor of counteraction to extremism."

Experts and participants in the discussion agreed that the academic community could and should be a support for the development of joint projects and support for civic initiatives since a significant part of the universities of Russia and Kazakhstan are already closely cooperating with each other. "Such cooperation should involve not only universities, but also alumni associations, employers' associations, and business," Alexander Gushchin summed up the opinion of colleagues.

The executive director of Business Union of Eurasia for the Chelyabinsk region Marat Syundyukov summarized the discussion, "Russia and Kazakhstan are destined for cooperation - economic, political, and cultural, if only because of the geographical proximity and common history. However, beyond that, there is a will of peoples to converge, and this should be the determining factor for successful integration processes in the educational environment. "

The discussion of the ways of higher education development in Eurasia was held at the international roundtable "Prospects of Cooperation of Russia and Kazakhstan in Higher Education." It was organized on the final day of the forum on cross-border cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan in Chelyabinsk on November 9 at the initiative of the Eurasian Commonwealth Fund for Social and Economic Development with the assistance of the Faculty of Eurasia and East at Chelyabinsk State University.