Challenges and perspectives of online education

On April 25th , 2024, the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University hosted an online foresight session titled " Development of digitalization in higher education: Trends, Risks, and Perspectives," dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University.

Participants of the foresight session include leading experts in higher education and vendors from the EdTech sphere. Relevant issues of digital transformation in higher and postgraduate education organizations were discussed to enhance the quality of education as one of the goals of the United Nations' sustainable development, including the application of blockchain and artificial intelligence technologies.

Event was organized by the Office of academic and digital innovations of the Academic Affairs Department of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University.

In his welcoming remarks, Altai Kazmagambetov, Member of the Board and Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, emphasized the importance of developing modern technologies for research universities and urged participants to exchange experiences and ideas to create an innovative and comfortable educational environment.

            During the session, the following speakers presented their topics:

• Asel Mussinova, Deputy Director of the Academic Affairs Department, provided an overview of the development of new educational technologies at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University.
• Gulmira Bekmanova, Director of the Department of Digital Development and Distance Learning at L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, delivered a presentation on the SMART.ENU ecosystem.
• Yuri Chekhovich, Executive Director of "Antiplagiat" company, presented a report on the risks and perspectives of generative services in the preparation of educational and scientific papers.
• Daniar Zhumabekov, Education Development Lead at Microsoft Corporation, showcased the ways innovative Microsoft technologies are applied in education.
• Guldana Akanova, Deputy Director of Academic Affairs at the Institute of Digital Technologies and Professional Development at Satbayev University, who discussed the procedure for obtaining licenses for online educational programs and introduced the Polytechonline system architecture.
• Wang Boyue, Cloud Solutions Manager at HUAWEI, provided an overview of Huawei's AI-based technologies.
• Svetlana Koneva, Acting Professor at Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University, explored the perspectives of applying blockchain technology in education.
• Madina Mansurova, Head of the Department of Artificial Intelligence and Big Data at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, presented a vision of the competency model for university graduates in the era of AI development.

The foresight session concluded with a discussion on forecasts for the further development of higher education in the context of rapid advancements in artificial intelligence technologies. Despite the active integration of AI into all business processes within the education sector, participants are confident that traditional "offline" education will remain elite and in demand. Teachers equipped with modern technology skills will be able to utilize AI to enhance the quality of education, while professionals will be able to elevate their level of expertise across all fields with its assistance.

Al-Farabi Kazakh National University expresses gratitude to all speakers and guests of the foresight session for their active participation and progressive ideas aimed at the development of higher education in Kazakhstan.

Press-service of Al-Farabi Kazakh National