On January 15, 2020, a new international project Erasmus + SAGRIS was launched at the A. Baitursynov KRU, aimed at improving postgraduate education in the field of sustainable agriculture and agricultural systems of the future, which will be implemented until 2023.
This project is aimed at solving issues in the field of training scientific and pedagogical personnel in the field of agricultural sciences according to international quality standards. For Kazakhstan as an agricultural region, the issues of the agricultural system of the future are of national, interregional and international importance.
During the implementation of the project, it is planned to develop and implement 4 educational disciplines/modules in the field of interdisciplinary sciences in various regions, which will increase the level of knowledge, competencies and qualifications of graduate and doctoral students. A transdisciplinary approach will be used in the development of educational programs, which will help in conducting various research in the field of agriculture and the introduction of innovations.
In addition, the project is aimed at increasing human resources, updating the material and technical base and literature at the university according to international standards and based on best practices, which will undoubtedly help the university to strengthen international and interregional exchange and scientific cooperation in the field of agricultural sciences among project partners.
Speaking of partners. The team of project participants represents a Consortium of 5 partner universities of the European Union, as well as 4 Russian and 4 Kazakh universities with the participation and support of research organizations and businesses in Russia and Kazakhstan.
Among them are the University of Nürtingen-Geislingen, which coordinates the project in cooperation with European universities in Warsaw, Prague, Tartu, and the German Research Institute for Agriculture (DITSL-Witzenhausen). As for the universities of Russia and Kazakhstan, they represent different regions of these countries.
The results of the first year of the project are encouraging. Inter-university modular working groups have already been created, which include more than 150 teachers; responsible partner universities from Russia and Kazakhstan have been identified, coordinating the development process, as well as one EU university that contributes its competencies and expertise; work has begun on the development of SARGIS educational disciplines/modules for doctoral students in accordance with European quality standards.
In addition, as part of the project, preliminary monitoring of the National Erasmus+ Office was carried out, where the project was highly appreciated. Also, during the year of successful work, an analysis of training in postgraduate studies of the Russian Federation and doctoral studies of the Republic of Kazakhstan was carried out, strategic documents were developed for the dissemination of project results and quality assessment. To improve and control the quality of the tasks performed, working meetings of project coordinators are held monthly, and online surveys of project participants are conducted.
Currently, the SAGRIS project has opened applications for participation in internships in the EU countries for teachers who are actively involved in the development of modules, as well as doctoral students studying in doctoral programs or conducting research work. Internships are intensive trainings lasting 12 days at EU partner institutions overseeing the development of SAGRIS modules. It is planned that they will be held in the summer of 2021 and the spring of 2022, but due to the epidemiological situation in the world, deviations are possible.
Preference in the selection for internships is given to young scientists and doctoral students who may be less experienced, but will continue to work in the implementation of educational programs in this field.
Thus, the work of the project is based not only on the development of training modules, but also on strengthening the internationalization of universities and the effectiveness of network potential in conducting research and introducing technological innovations. Such experience is very important for universities in Kazakhstan and Russia, it will ensure an increase in the level of knowledge in the field of sustainable agriculture and agricultural systems of the future and ensure the quality of doctoral training.
