Virtual%20Academic%20Mobility:%20the%20Case%20of%20Global%20Classroom%20Joint%20Project%20between%20Al%20Farabi%20Kazakh%20National%20University%20and%20Columbia%20University

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Virtual Academic Mobility the Case of Global
Classroom Joint Project betweenAl Farabi Kazakh
National University and Columbia University

• Rafis Abazov
• Visiting Professor,
• Al Farabi Kazakh National University
• Adjunct Assistant Professor
• Columbia University

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My Presentation

• First, the author assesses the concept of
  academic mobility and the different models and
  different levels of academic mobility.
• Second, he analyses the implication of the
  development of academic mobility for the EuAsSec
  countries, especially Kazakhstan.
• Third, he discusses the concept of virtual
  academic mobility using an example of global
  classroom project at Al Farabi Kazakh National
  University.
• In the conclusion, he summarizes the main ideas
  of the presentation.

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Academic Mobility Background

• During the last 20 years academic mobility has
  become an important part of educational process,
  as it has been designed to meet challenges of
  globalization. The most powerful driving forces
  behind this process have been the changes in
  labor markets across the globe and growing demand
  for new skills. In addition, the emergence of
  innovation economy required students, researchers
  and teachers to acquire new cutting-age skills.
  There are many models of academic mobility
  developed in different parts of the world. In
  this presentation I would like to present a
  concept of virtual mobility using the example of
  the Global Classroom project at Al Farabi Kazakh
  National University.

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Academic Mobility Globalization

1. It is important to remember that it was opening
   national and regional borders for free movements
   of goods, investments and people and increasing
   need to educate internationally competitive young
   professionals gave an impetus for academic
   mobility around the world. The philosophy behind
   the academic mobility is quite straightforward
   to learn from the best and to bring to home
   institutions best ideas and best concepts to
   improve educational and research processes.

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Academic Mobility Trends

• A.C. is a global trend. Students around the world
  have become increasingly mobile, as geographic
  distance, national and regional barriers and
  various forms of restriction no longer stop
  students from receiving education in the
  countries of their choice. The number of
  international students worldwide nearly doubled
  during the decade between 1999 and 2008, rising
  from about 1.68 million international students to
  3 million (2008 est.).

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Academic Mobility Different levels

1. In order to be competitive universities in
   different parts of the world have promoted
   academic mobility at three major levels
2. a) students
3. b) researchers
4. c) professors/educators.
5. At each level each group acquires specific set of
   knowledge, research and managerial skills and
   innovation.

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Academic Mobility Challenges

1. Academic mobility, however, raises a set of
   challenges. This include the issue of language,
   brain drain, the integration into the host
   research and teaching communities and
   reintegration into research and teaching
   communities upon returning back to home
   institutions. Global financial crisis also added
   some problems, as due to the cuts on educational
   spending in many countries it became quite
   difficult to maintain large scale programs to
   support academic mobility.

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Academic Mobility Alternatives

• The main challenge is weather it is possible to
  get international experience without leaving a
  home institution. New information and
  communication technologies and the concept of
  virtual academic mobility provide new
  opportunities and interesting model for acquiring
  an international experience. The idea is to
  replicate the international experience,
  international environment, including learning and
  critical thinking environment, within a home
  institution in cooperation with an international
  partner

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Academic Mobility the Case Study

• This approach can be illustrated by the example
  of the Global Classroom project, a join Project
  between Al Farabi Kazakh National University and
  Columbia University. This project was initiated
  late year during the visit of the former rector
  of Al Farabi University to Columbia University.

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Academic Mobility Global Classroom

• The global classroom is organized as a weekly
  live lecture series hosted at Columbia University
  and broadcasted to 24 partner universities and
  research centers around the world. The global
  classroom is based on a concept of using modern
  information and communication technologies to
  connect a host university with partner
  universities during the live presentations and
  lectures.

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Academic Mobility IT Platform

• AC/IT platform is used to promote active
  interaction between students, faculty and guest
  speakers. The difference from the traditional
  on-line lecture is conceptual as it not only
  allows a speaker to present a lecture, but also
  create simultaneous inflow of comments, questions
  and live chat-based discussion and exchanges over
  the course of lecture.

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Academic Mobility Virtual International
Environment

• The global classroom discussion on the truly
  global issues is supplemented by a weekly seminar
  where students discuss those global issues using
  local content. In other words, students learn how
  to localize the international content by using
  local examples and the case studies.

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Academic Mobility Virtual Regional Environment

• Partner universities in various countries
  organize regional teleconferences to discuss some
  regional issues between themselves without
  participation of the host university. This
  provides an opportunity to have virtual regional
  experience and to learn about the major regional
  issues and the ways how different governments
  address those issues at the national level.

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Thank you

• Please let me know if you have any questions