American Councils for International Education is pleased to announce the launch of U.S – Kazakhstan University Partnerships Program grants.
Funded by the U.S. Mission to Kazakhstan, the U.S.-Kazakhstan University Partnerships Grants Program builds capacity for substantive international engagement between higher education institutions in the United States and Kazakhstan.
The goal of the project is to support Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Education’s tri-lingual education policy by administering five awards to U.S. universities that will provide opportunities for Kazakhstani universities to adapt and modernize their curriculum in English as a foreign language and English in STEM. These awards will be granted to U.S. higher education institutions to help establish new partnerships between higher education institutions, strengthen educational ties between the two countries, and bolster English language
programming.
Administered by American Councils for International Education, these grants are designed to adapt policies, practices, and administrative structures for teaching and learning English and English for special purposes in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM); and modify teaching and curriculum for student outcomes in those areas. Awards may support travel for faculty and technical experts, honoraria, materials, and conference fees for projects in the U.S. and Kazakhstan that advance the following program goals to:
- Improve curriculum and pedagogy of English and STEM teachers, and integrate English into their courses; particularly in regions outside of Nur-Sultan and Almaty; and
- Facilitate, implement, and measure five U.S.-Kazakhstan partnerships that adapt policies, practices, and administrative structures for English and STEM education and adapt pedagogy and curriculum for student outcomes in those areas.
Eligibility
U.S. faculty members and administrators are eligible to apply for partnership awards. Projects that advance current U.S.-Kazakhstan university connections or establish new partnerships, particularly in regions outside of Almaty and Nur-Sultan, are encouraged. Projects may involve a consortium of two or more Kazakhstani institutions. Applications must demonstrate commitment from a Kazakhstan institution. American Councils is ready to support matchmaking among interested institutions of higher education.
Awards
Five (5) grants to accomplish project goals will be awarded. Each finalist will be awarded a $40,000 project grant to cover international and domestic travel, conference fees, materials, supplies, honoraria, and other costs associated with carrying out partnership activity.
All grants are awarded to U.S. higher education institutions. U.S. higher education institutions may submit more than one proposal. Awards are expected to begin in December 1, 2020, and should be implemented through December 31, 2021.
Criteria for Evaluation
American Councils will notify applicants on awards by the end of November 2020. American Councils will evaluate applications based on:
- Project concept (including readiness of partners to engage virtually and use online tools and resources);
- Personnel (including experience and engagement in Kazakhstan or Central Asia; international experience);
- Impact and sustainability; and
- Budget feasibility.
The deadline for applications is October 23, 2020 05:00 PM Eastern Time.
Please use the following link to apply for the grant: https://ais.americancouncils.org/kazakhuniv
If you have questions, please contact Ksenia Ivanenko, Senior Program Officer, University Partnerships at kivanenko@americancouncils.org and Maksat Koshkarbayev, Program Coordinator at mkoshkarbayev@americancouncils.org