One of the main priorities of the School of Liberal Arts of M.Narikbayev KAZGUU University is the improvement of educational programmes in accordance with the demands and views of employers which are shared during annual meetings of the Advisory Council of the School of Liberal Arts.

On November 28, 2020, the second annual meeting was held in which the representatives of employers and partners of the School of Liberal Arts participated. The Advisory Council examined and discussed potential areas for development of the following Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes:
– ‘Translation Studies’;
– ‘Tourism and Hospitality’;
– ‘Kazakh-English languages and Linguistics’.

1. Translation Studies:

Learning pathways in Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes, currents trends in interpretation and translation and strengthening the position of learning second foreign languages to improve the profile of graduates studying the Translation Studies programme were discussed.
Yelena Tselenko, Programme Coordinator, provided an overview of the changes made to the Translation Studies programme in accordance with the recommendations of the Council members received at the previous meeting held on February 18, 2020. Members of the Council and invited experts in the field of linguistics and translation further discussed the updated training pathways for the programmes at the undergraduate and graduate levels and the possibility of obtaining international certificates in second foreign languages, in particular in French.

The following recommendations were proposed during the meeting:

– At the undergraduate level, to divide the programme into two areas: interpretation and translation;
– To indicate the area of training in audio-visual translation at the Master’s degree level;
– To include disciplines for the development of editing skills;
– To provide the possibility of obtaining an international certificate in French DELF/DALF on completion of the course of the second foreign language.

2. Tourism and Hospitality:

The central issue of the meeting was the improvement of the content of educational programmes‘Tourism’ and ‘Hospitality’.
During the meeting, partners noted the uniqueness of the programme, the components of which meet all the requirements of the main sectors of the tourism industry. In addition to the fact that the training is conducted entirely in English, much attention is paid to the study of a second foreign language. There is also a certificationprogramme for an internship.

The following recommendations were proposed during the meeting:

– To increase the number of hours and credits for student internships in enterprises;
– To introduce components on tourism destinations of Kazakhstan in educational programmes;
– To enhance graduates’ digital competence skills, in particular through the courses as Digital Marketing and IT in Hospitality.

3. Kazakh-English languages and Linguistics:

The programme ‘Kazakh – English languages and Linguistics’ aims to train language professionals in Kazakh and English languages with the skills of modern teaching methodology, translation in a language pair of Kazakh and English languages and media writing skills.
The partners discussed the training pathways in the Bachelor’s degree programme ‘Kazakh-English languages and Linguistics’, as well as the possibility of student internship within the programme. During the Advisory Council meeting, the participants emphasized the relevance of the programme in the labour market and offered the following recommendations:

– To include the discipline ‘Comparative Grammar’ in the programme;
– To include new disciplines which would reflect the uniqueness of the minors ‘Media Linguistics’ and ‘Language and Translation’.

The partners also expressed their readiness to accept KAZGUU University students for pedagogical and industrial practices.

In general, the meeting was practical and productive; the participants agreed that these programmes are in demand and have a practical significance in the development of linguistic, social and humanitarian areas in Kazakhstan and abroad.

KAZGUU School of Liberal Arts expresses its gratitude to all the partners for their cooperation and active participation in the Advisory Council which is focused on the development of educational programmes of the School of Liberal Arts:

1. Ulan Yerkinbayev, AkhmetBaitursynuly Education Academy;
2. ManshukMukhametkalikyzy, National Testing Centre;
3. NurlykhanAitova,Til-Kazyna;
4. AzatShaueyev, Fund ofState Language Development;
5. RauanKenzhekhanuly, National Bureau of Translations;
6. MeruertBurkitbayeva, Yegemen Kazakhstan;
7. KulshanAliyeva, the Chair of the Association of Professional Translators, Interpreters and Translation companies of Kazakhstan, co-founder of the company ‘Gala Global Group’ and ‘Kazakhstan Translation Academy’, simultaneous interpreter,emilia_world @galaglobalgroup;
8. Anna Loenko, Chairman of the Association of Professional Translators and Translation Companies of Kazakhstan, co-founder of ‘Gala Global Group’ and ‘Kazakhstan Translation Academy’, simultaneous interpreter,loyenko_conference_interpreter @association.translation;
9. Alexey Kozulyaev, Director General, LLC ‘RUFilms’, founder and head of the School of Audiovisual Translation, Moscow;
10. DinaraOrazbayeva, Director of the public association ‘French Alliance’,@afastana and AlmiraTastambekova, French language teacher, @almira_tastambek;
11. MiratNurgazin,Department of Translation,Republican State Enterprise in the capacity of economic conduct ‘Diplomatic Service’ of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, simultaneous interpreter;
12. Stephen Reuter, General Manager, Hotel ‘Hilton Astana’;
13. KairatSadvakassov, Vice-Chairman of ‘Kazakh Tourism’ National Company’ JSC;
14. Anton Mitin, Managing Director ‘Almaty City Tour’ LLP;
15. DaniyarIdiyatov,Managing Director «Turoteka.kz» LLP;
16. YerkinTikenov, Director ‘IncideTravel’ LLP;
17. IldarKatenov, Secretary General of the public association ‘Scouts of the Great Steppe’;
18. Indira Bersugurova, Operating Manager and Deputy General Manager ‘Radisson-Astana’Hoteland ‘Park Inn by Radisson’ Hotel;
19. RystyKarabayeva, President of the Association of legal entities ‘Eurasian Tourism Association’;
20. AsselKarbayeva, Director of the Department of Tourism Development,City Development Centre for Investment‘Astana Invest’ LLP;
21. MelsAbenov, Director of the State-owned municipal Enterprise ‘Centre for Children and Youth Tourism and Regional Studies’ at the Akimat of Nur-Sultan;
22. Director of the HR Department of ‘VIP Клиника’ LLP, ‘Wyndham Garden Astana’ Hotel;
23. MedetAbdreshov, Director of the Department Food &Beverage, ‘Sheraton’ Hotel;
24. David Chavchanidze, Director of the Department ofRooms, Hotel ‘Sheraton’;
25. Tatyana Vernitskaya, Director of the travel agency ‘Gvidon Tours’.