On May 29th, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan visited North Kazakhstan State University. Five NWAFU exchange students attended the meeting as representatives of Chinese international students. They areChen Xiaoqin, Tang Junyan and Liu Wenhan, Zhao Jiahao and Hu Zhangtao the students taking the professional master’s program “Belt and Road – International Agricultural Talents of the Silk Road”, as well as from the College of Agronomy and college of Animal Science and Technology.

The president of North Kazakhstan State University, Yerlan Shulanov, reported on the execution of the President Tokayev's policies in recent years. The head of the College of Agronomy, Altyn Shayakhmetova, demonstrated the method of evaluating the quality of agricultural products, related equipment, as well as the “Belt and Road” Green Crop Production Laboratory that was established in collaboration with NWAFU. NWAFU students Chen Xiaoqin, Tang Junyan and Liu Wenhan participated in the evaluation of crop product quality. The high-quality crop products selected will be sown in the overseas agricultural demonstration park co-built by NWAFU and North Kazakhstan State University, including green manure, wheat and rape.

In his conversation with the faculty and students, President Tokayev emphasized the importance of promoting education and the necessity of introducing international advanced experience and establishing international branch campuses. He also mentioned the China-Central Asia Summit held in Xi’an, China, indicating that knowledge is transnational and requires international cooperation. He welcomed advanced Chinese technological universities to set up branches in Kazakhstan. Subsequently, President Shulanov introduced NWAFU’s students to President Tokayev and reported on the exchange activities with NWAFU in recent years and expressed the desire to further strengthen the cooperation in technology, research and talents.

North Kazakhstan State University is located in Petropavlovsk, North Kazakhstan. As one of the member universities of the Silk Road Agricultural Education and Technology Innovation Alliance initiated by NWAFU, it has reached cooperation agreements with NWAFU in exchange visits of students and young teachers, co-construction of Chinese language education centers, joint introduction and cultivation of new crop varieties and construction of modern agricultural demonstration parks.

NWAFU started the Silk Road International Agricultural Talent Training Project in 2019 and has enrolled 179 students. With overseas agricultural demonstration parks as the platform, NWAFU supports students in scientific research with application prospect, such as green agricultural production, aiming to cultivate talents that experienced in agriculture, rural areas and farmers and aspire to work in “Belt and Road” countries, multinational enterprises and scientific research institutions. In the future, NWAFU will continue to take a strategic role in international talent cultivation. By deepening international cooperation in education, promoting discipline construction, and improving the quality of talent training, NWAFU expects more students to expand their international perspectives and enhance their professional skills during their overseas internships.

Translated by Tian Yiyun

Proofread by Yan Xianhui