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Yesterday, a meeting of the Republican Council for Youth Support under the Amanat Party took place at the Central Office of the Amanat Party. The meeting discussed the development strategy for the Bolashak international scholarship and upcoming changes. The meeting was attended by Majilis deputies, Vice Minister of Science and Higher Education D. Shcheglova, First Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Protection A. Sarbasov, Director of the Social Sector Budget Department of the Ministry of Finance M. Aktanzhanov, Deputy Director of the Human Resources Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs A. Baisynov, Head of the Monitoring and Analysis Department of the Committee of Secondary Education of the Ministry of Education and Science G. Talasbaeva, Chairwoman of the Board of the Center for International Programs A. Ospanova, Bolashak program alumni, council members, representatives of youth organizations, journalists, and others.
Opening the meeting, the Chair of the Council, Deputy Nurtai Sarsengaliyev, noted that, in line with the new Development Strategy for the Bolashak scholarship for 2024-2026, a series of changes will occur. The innovations will focus on improving the scholarship's efficiency and transparency in document submission and competition selection.
Vice Minister of Science and Higher Education of Kazakhstan Dinar Shcheglova provided clarifications on the new points in the Strategy. The work on forming a list of priority specialties, considering industry and regional needs, short-term and long-term strategies, and development plans, has been completed and is awaiting approval. The possibility of introducing group internships based on organizational and enterprise requests, launching postdoctoral programs, increasing rural quotas, and implementing a systematic approach to recovering funds from individuals who have lost their scholarships were also discussed. Approximately 160 million tenge are returned to the state budget monthly.
A. Ospanova, Chairwoman of the Board Center for International Programs, reported on the Center's activities. Document submission will be open throughout the year and will start at the end of April. The competition selection process is being reviewed in the context of automation. Work is underway with local executive bodies to develop a research topic application and organize mentorship for scholarship students to effectively address regional issues and ensure subsequent employment. In response to requests from scholarship holders, discussions are underway with relevant state bodies to review the scholarship amount and expenditure norms, which have remained unchanged since 2012.
«In a short period, we digitized the process of concluding internship agreements. From February 1 to 16, 346 online contracts were concluded on the TrustMe platform, significantly reducing the resources spent by scholarship holders. Plans include automating the document submission process for the '500 Scientists' research internships, digitizing guarantee letters in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and embassies, and developing an online platform and mobile application for interaction with applicants and scholarship holders,» said A. Ospanova.
First Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Protection Akmadi Sarbasov provided a forecast on labor market needs and presented proposals for the employment of returned scholarship holders.
Experts—Bolashak program alumni—participated in the discussion. Journalist Azamat Abilkayev and media manager Kanat Auesbay suggested developing a digital database of research and dissertations of trained scholarship holders for experience exchange and making it publicly accessible. ENT specialist Medet Makhambet from the Medical Center of the Presidential Administration noted that immediately after returning to their homeland, scholarship holders who studied medical specialties should conduct group lectures and training sessions to share their experience. The doctor himself has trained over 20 colleagues.
At the end of the meeting, participants agreed to conduct a brainstorming session to discuss further innovations in the Bolashak scholarship program.
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