A round table dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Erasmus + was held at KEU on December 5, 2017. The following issues were discussed on the agenda.
1. Erasmus + KA1 and KA2 programs: the successful experience of Kyrgyz universities.
2. Problems and development of internationalization of HEI of Kyrgyzstan.
3. Effective functioning of international departments of HEIs: Experience of KEU and MUK in the framework of the TEMPUS-UNIVIA project “Development and improvement of university administration in international affairs”.
4. Procedures for visa registration of foreign citizens in Kyrgyzstan.
5. Expanding the cooperation network of local and regional universities in Kyrgyzstan
The representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic, the representative of the State Migration Service under the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, the coordinator of the national Erasmus + office in Kyrgyzstan, the management and students of local and regional universities participated in the event from IUK, ISU, ADAM University, UEP (Jalal-Abad), AUCA, KTU, KRSU, KSLA, KNU, Ala-Too University, and KEU.
The first topic at the round table was the visa registration issues for foreign citizens in Kyrgyzstan, the representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic and the State Migration Service under the Government of the KR listened to representatives of universities, answered their questions and informed that since September 1, 2017 an electronic system called “electronic visa” on website evisa.e-gov.kg was integrated which allows citizens of all foreign countries to obtain entry-exit tourist or business visas of the Kyrgyz Republic for up to 90 days via the Internet, without the need to apply to diplomatic missions representatives or consular institutions of the Kyrgyz Republic abroad.
The representative of the State Migration Service under the Government of the KR in turn noted that the website of the State Migration Service under the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic contains extensive information with the list of necessary documents for applying for foreign citizens permission and advised to address to the Government in case of questions and suggestions on behalf of Kyrgyz universities.
Further, the representatives of the MUK and KEU universities shared experience on the internationalization of HEIs within the framework of the TEMPUS-UNIVIA project “Development and Improvement of University Administration on International Affairs,” informed starting from the establishment of international departments in universities and how these universities were transformed during project implementation and at what stage they are now after the completion of the project.
Significant in the event was the ISU experience as one of the most successful experiences in the country, which received a positive response during the institutional monitoring in July 2017 for 15 Tempus and Erasmus projects + conducted by the National Erasmus Office in Kyrgyzstan and the coordinator of Central Asia in the EACEA.
During the presentation, the ISU shared not only successful experience, lessons learned, but also challenges as sustainability of implemented projects, motivation of students and staff, staff attrition, effective management, readiness for internal and external evaluation, dissemination of information.
In conclusion, the participants discussed the importance of expanding the cooperation network at local, regional and global levels.
The introduction of IKSU into the international educational space