GET News

Several Bolashak Scholars participating in the 2024 Travel Around the World event pose for a photo in front of their table and poster about Kazakhstan in November 2024.

From Kazakhstan to Illinois: Understanding the Bolashak Scholarship Program from a GET perspective

by Analicia HaynesMar 4, 2025 10:45 am

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a top destination for the program, welcoming 88 scholars total in 2024 (not all 88 scholars have been on campus at one time because of different program start and end times).

This year’s cohort is the largest Illinois has seen.

The Bolashak Program at Illinois can be traced back to 2021 when the university first participated as a host institution, and when Global Education and Training first welcomed only two scholars.

Bolashak fellows from Kazakhstan pose for a photo with the Kazakhstani flag and with members of Global Education and Training in front Foellinger Auditorium in July 2024.

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Visiting Kazakhstani scholars create, share video from Intercultural Spotlight Series

by Analicia HaynesNov 13, 2024 1:30 pm

Bolashak fellows attending the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign participated in an Oct. 28 Intercultural Spotlight Series event and created a video documenting that event.

The 2024-2025 Humphrey Fellow cohort visited the Innovation Studio located in the Center for Innovation in Teaching & Learning.

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Humphrey Fellowship Program returns to Illinois for 2nd year

by Analicia HaynesJun 4, 2024 10:00 am

The 2024-2025 Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Illinois) kicked off its long-term, intensive English training in April.

Two people read one of the posters displayed during the Bolashak Program Capstone Event on May 9.

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GET wraps up 2023-2024 Bolashak Program with capstone event, poster presentation

by Analicia HaynesMay 16, 2024 1:45 pm

The Bolashak International Scholarship Program at Illinois is a nine-month program and is designed, developed, and managed by Global Education and Training (GET) in Illinois International.

The primary objectives of the program at Illinois include enhancing academic and research skills, facilitating collaborative research projects, promoting cultural exchange, and most importantly strengthening the pedagogical skills of the scholars.

Karen Weng, program specialist at the Shanghai Office; Joanna Hu, program specialist at the Shanghai Office; GET Coordinator Allison Wheeler; GET Coordinator Wendy Spencer; GET Director Matt Rosenstein; Nianhua Wang, GET representative for China Training Programs; Grant Brewer, GET associate director for strategic initiatives; and Shujun (Amy) Chen, GET associate director for administration and operations, pose for a photo during the 30-year celebration event on March 22.

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GET celebrates 30 years of China Executive Leadership Programs

by Global Communication StaffMay 14, 2024 10:30 am

The Global Education and Training (GET) and UIUC Shanghai Office team celebrated 30 years of collaboration with Chinese partners in March 2024.

GET members traveled to China to reignite, continue, and celebrate GET and Illinois’ historic relationships with organizations, universities, and alumni of their joint programs.

The China Executive Leadership Programs 30^th Anniversary Celebration was held in late March.

Nurken Aubakir is currently serving as a Visiting Scholar at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA, in the framework of the national “500 scholars” scientific internship program by the Center for International Programs “Bolashak”. He is the Dean of the School of Transformative Humanities at Almaty Management University (AlmaU), which is among the top universities in KZ/Central Asia per the QS World University Rankings. In this photo he is posing in front of a screen that reads Kazakh Culture Day and is holding the Kazakhstan flag.

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Scholar Spotlight: Nurken Aubakir details his Illinois experience

by Nurken AubakirMay 8, 2024 2:00 pm

Nurken Aubakir is a 2023-2024 Visiting Scholar at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Illinois) in the framework of the national “500 scholars” scientific internship program by the Center for International Programs Bolashak (The Bolashak Program). He is the Dean of the School of Transformative Humanities at Almaty Management University (AlmaU), which is among the top universities in KZ/Central Asia per the QS World University Rankings.

(From left to right) Vice Consul Zhuoqing Li; Vice Consul Weimiao Yu; Shujun (Amy) Chen, Associate Director for Administration and Operations at Global Education and Training (GET); Dr. Matt Rosenstein, GET Director; Consul Yi Wang; Nianhua Wang, Representative for China Training Programs for GET; and Joanna Hu, Program Specialist for the Shanghai Office at UIUC, pose for a photo during a visit on Feb. 19.

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Consulate General of China in Chicago visits Illinois International, GET

by The Global Communication StaffMar 5, 2024 12:00 pm

A delegation from the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Chicago visited the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign on Feb. 19. The delegation met with senior leadership in Illinois International, Global Education and Training and the Grainger College of Engineering.

A Fulbright Fellow speaks with an instructor during a fellow welcome reception on Feb. 6 inside the Siebel Center for Design.

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GET welcomes new Fulbright Fellow cohort for Spring, Summer 2024

by Analicia HaynesFeb 12, 2024 2:00 pm

This new cohort, made up of 15 students from around the world who have been accepted into the Fulbright program, will spend a semester on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus taking English language courses through GET's Intensive English Institute.

From left to right: Assel Aryn, Vice Rector for Academic Development at AlmaU; GET Director Matt Rosenstein; Grant Brewer, GET Associate Director for Strategic Initiatives; and Kuanysh Abeshev, Dean of the School of Technologies at AlmaU pose for a photo during Rosenstein’s and Brewer’s visit to Kazakhstan in November 2023. Aryn and Abeshev were former Bolashak scholars at UIUC.

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GET visits Kazakhstan for Bolashak 30th anniversary celebration

by Analicia HaynesDec 20, 2023 10:15 am

Global Education and Training (GET) Director Matt Rosenstein and Grant Brewer, GET Associate Director for Strategic Initiatives, traveled to Kazakhstan to participate in the “Bolashak: Strategic Partnership and Cooperation” forum on Nov. 30. The event celebrated the 30^th anniversary of the Bolashak program, its impacts on higher education development in Kazakhstan, and contributions to global academic exchanges.

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GET News: Fall 2023

by Marta SchneiderNov 28, 2023 11:45 am

GET's fall newsletter is here! Read the update from Director Matt Rosenstein and explore the latest updates and stories.

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