SLA Business Council Regulations
Business Council Minutes of the meeting No 1, dated February 18, 2020.
Business CouncilMinutes of the meeting No 2, dated November 28, 2020.

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 Business Council of the School of Liberal Arts (SLA).

The Business Council was established in 2019 to develop recommendations for improving the quality of educational programmes at the School of Liberal Arts. The Business Council includes representatives of employers, academic and strategic business partners.

The Advisory Council is an independent, consultative – advisory body for holding meetings with the participation of domestic and foreign companies – partners of the SLA of the KAZGUU which aims at getting advice and expertise on determining the content of the educational programmes provided by the SLA education programmes and general education disciplines (Kazakh, Russian, English and Contemporary History of Kazakhstan), on the conformity of the quality of application in practical activities, taking into account international experience and the development of long-term partnerships for the employment of students – graduates of the SLA.

 

On February 18, the first face-to-face meeting in 2020 was held, which was attended by the following representatives of employers and partners of the SLA:

1) Akhmet Baitursynov Science Academy – Yerkinbayev Ulan Oraluly,
2) National Testing Center- Manshuk Mukhametkalikyzy,
2) “Creative teaching of the Kazakh language – Shaimerdenova Kulyash Kairzhanovna,
3) Chairman of the Association of Translators, Interpreters, and Translation Companies, co-founder of the Gala Global Group and Kazakhstan Translation Academy, simultaneous interpreter (Eng-Rus)-Aliyeva Kulshan Eivazgyzy,
4) Deputy Chairman of the Association of Translators, Interpreters, and Translation Companies, co-founder of the Gala Global Group and Kazakhstan Translation Academy, simultaneous interpreter (Eng-Rus) – Loyenko Anna Vasiliyevna
5) Simultaneous interpreter at the Kazakh Translation Academy- Zaurbekov Marat Seytkalievich (Kaz-Rus),
6) Director of the language school Linguagrad– Tonkikh Anna,
7) Study Inn (Zoom call) – Bekzhanova Gulnar Ginayatovna.

As part of the work of the Business Council, issues of development of bachelor’s programmes “Applied Linguistics” and “Kazakh – English languages and linguistics” were discussed. The experts spoke about the current trends in the labor market, discussed the trajectory the programme planning, the proposed minor programmes and other program-related aspects.

In general, the meeting was practical. The participants came to a general opinion that these programmes are in demand and carry practical value in the development of linguistic directions in Kazakhstan and beyond. Based on the results of the discussions, the parties agreed to hold meetings of the BC at least twice a year.

 

On November 28, 2020, the second annual traditional meeting was held, which was attended by representatives of employers and partners of the School of Liberal Arts. As part of the work of the Business Council, the development of bachelor’s and master’s programmes in three areas were discussed:

• ‘Translation Studies’;
• ‘Tourism and Hospitality’;
• ‘Kazakh-English languages and Linguistics’.

1. First area:
The meeting focused on the trajectory of learning for undergraduate and graduate programme “Translation Studies”, the modern trends in the field of interpretation and translation services and strengthening the position of learning a second foreign language to improve the profile of the programme graduates of “Translation Studies”.

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 on February 18, 2020. Further, Council members and invited experts in the field of linguistics and translation discussed the updated trajectory of the programme at the bachelor’s and master’s degrees and the possibility of obtaining international certifications in second foreign languages, in particular in French.

The following recommendations were proposed during the meeting:

• to divide the programme into two areas at undergraduate level: interpretation and translation;
• to indicate the area of training 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. Second area:
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 certification programme 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. Third area:
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 Business 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.