Eurasian Higher Education Leaders Forum: Graduate Employability in the 21st Century. Conference Proceedings (4th, Astana, Kazakhstan, June 11-12, 2015)

This collection of papers introduces the proceedings of the Fourth Annual Conference-Eurasian Higher Education Leaders' Forum held on the 11-12 June, 2015 at Nazarbayev University in Astana, Kazakhstan. Our presenters come from different professional backgrounds including higher education institutions, national business companies as well as international businesses that work closely with education stakeholders across Kazakhstan, the Central Asia region and beyond. The compendium offers papers grounded in theoretical argument and empirical research and written to provide debate and discussion among policy makers, university leaders, faculty and students. The themes of the proceedings reflect the structure of the Forum that has been divided into five panel sessions: (1) The Role of Global Skills in the Graduate Employability; (2) Perceptions of Employability, Skills and Individual Aspiration in a Diversifying Economy; (3) University-employer-community Relationships; (4) The Role of Vocational Education and Training (VET) in Career Development; and (5) Student Transitions and Careers Guidance. The Forum aimed at developing an international dialogue between higher education leaders, policy makers, researchers and practitioners from different parts of the world. The quality of debate and argument has benefited from the participation of local and international delegates that have shared their expertise, insights and visions on the current situation of graduate employability from local and global perspectives. More than 500 participants from twelve countries took part in the Forum's sessions and Q&A discussions. Keynote speeches in the proceedings include: (1) The Future of Graduates in the Global Labour Market (Hugh Lauder); (2) The Role of Tertiary Education in Addressing the Global Skills Challenge (Jamil Salmi); (3) A Perspective on Future Employability (Alper Akdeniz); (4) Transforming Tertiary Education for Innovation and Competitiveness: University of Central Asia (Shamsh Kassim-Lakha); and (5) TVET and Career Development (Geoff Hayward). Articles in the proceedings include: (1) Graduate Employability in the 21st Century (Aslan Sarinzhipov); (2) From a Competitive Education to the Prosperity of the Nation (Yerezhep Mambetkaziyev); (3) Career Planning for Future Opportunities (Tim Miller); (4) The Paradox of Emerging Universities (Simon Jones); (5) Nurturing Net Generation Graduates with Global Skills (Seeram Ramakrishna); (6) Practice--Oriented Learning--a Platform for the Formation of Global Skills (Jamilya Nurmanbetova); (7) Perceptions of Employability, Skills and Individual Aspiration in a Diversifying Economy (Alan Ruby); (8) Development of National Qualification System Based on Education Sphere and Labour Market Interface (Arstan Gazaliyev and Yuri Pak); (9) Understanding the Role of Fundamental Values in Serving a Larger Purpose (Aida Sagintayeva); (10) Creating Employability (Loretta O'Donnell); (11) Main Directions in Developing Corporate Partnerships: The Case of Rudny Industrial Institute, Kazakhstan (Abdakhman Naizabekov); (12) University/Industry Partnerships: Promising Practices from the Field (Matthew Hartley); (13) Technical Skills: Through Learning and Practice? (Sabyrzhan Madeyev); (14) Skills, Employability and University Graduates? (Rainer Goertz); (15) Transition from School to University: Some Issues for Kazakhstan and the Wider Region (David Bridges); (16) Soviet Legacy in Higher Education: Some Observations from Russia (Isak Froumin); and (17) Principal Learning Points (Sue Bennett). Individual papers contain figures and references. [This publication was produced by Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Education.]