site.btaBulgarian Education Minister, Kazakhstan Ambassador Discuss Cooperation in Education, Science

Bulgarian Education and Science Minister Galin Tzokov and Kazakhstan Ambassador Viktor Temirbayev Tuesday discussed ways to deepen cooperation in education and science, Tzokov’s Ministry said.

Temirbayev said that Kazakhstan is interested in the opportunities Bulgaria offers for training IT specialists and the experience this country’s universities have in this field. He added that Kazakhstan needs to train some 100,000 IT experts.

The Ambassador noted that the Technical University of Sofia opened a representative office in the Kazakh town of Abay in October.

It transpired at the meeting that 59 Kazakh students are enrolled in 16 universities in Bulgaria.

"Through direct cooperation between our universities, we can advance the establishment of joint master's and bachelor's programmes, including in the field of information technology," Tzokov said. He added that Bulgaria is also working on many scientific programmes and could seek cooperation from research teams from Kazakhstan. The Minister noted that the Horizon Europe programme provides such opportunities.

Tzokov suggested that the two countries should also cooperate in school education, including in developing innovative schools. The Minister said that a programme to establish STEM centres in all schools is currently being developed in Bulgaria.

Temirbayev said that a large education forum is to be held in Astana next March, and the Bulgarian Education Minister is invited to attend.