Центр знаний

Established in 1999, Deutsch-Kasachische Universität (DKU) is an international higher education institution in Almaty that offers as part of its academic higher education a Master programme in “Integrated water resources management in Central Asia and Afghanistan”. The UNESCO Chair on Integrated Water Resources Management and Natural Resources Research Institute under DKU are implementing activities aligned with directions of education, capacity building and science in the spheres of water management, climate change, and energy efficiency and aimed at the education and capacity building of youth, practitioners, and academia.

The Covid-19 reshaped the world and induced the governments to make significant changes in economic, sociologic, enterprise and education spheres. Its outbreak stormed through the educational system worldwide, negatively affecting the normal operations of schools and universities. Educational institutions in Central Asia have faced severe challenges to adapt themselves to the new reality they faced. The transformative challenges due to lack of technical capacity, limited facilities, the presence of preventive measures created an extra hurdle for adapting the educational system. Kazakh-German university, however, has picked up the challenge and quickly started coping with the emergency. Both the Educational Master programme in Integrated Water Resources Management and projects of the UNESCO Chair on Water Resources Management switched to the online format without disrupting their studies and activities.

The case study aims at analyzing challenges and issues the university faced during the Coronavirus Pandemic and adjustment and adaptation of the activities in the direction of education, capacity building and science in the spheres of water management, climate change, and energy efficiency through innovative approaches and practices. It introduces an assessment of the current situation and identification of opportunities for the development of the UNESCO Chair on Water Resources Management in Central Asia and the Institute of Natural Resources. The SWOT2 analysis method was used to assess the quality of educational services, and a report has been drawn up on the current position of the Chair and its future development vectors. The report shares the positive consequences of the global quarantine for the university, and in general.