The UA entered a partnership with a university in Tucson's "Sister City" Almaty yesterday, further solidifying the relationship between the two cities established in 1989.
President Peter Likins signed an International Memorandum of Agreement with Al-Farabi Kazakh National University in Almaty, Kazakhstan, a move that will promote an exchange of faculty, students and research collaborations.
Al-Farabi, located in central Asia, will join the list of more than 260 universities worldwide that the UA has partnerships with, including institutions in countries such as Italy, China, Argentina, Tanzania and Egypt.
Kirk Simmons, executive director of UA International Affairs, said while some of the partnerships place an emphasis on an area of study, the partnership with Al-Farabi will encompass multidisciplinary studies.
This will allow students from a range of interests to study abroad, in what Simmons referred to as a "body swap."
A unique aspect of the memorandum of agreement is students can study at partner universities and pay the tuition of their home institution, a clause which is particularly advantageous to UA students since many schools have higher tuition, Simmons said.
While students can still study abroad at institutions without UA sponsorships, Simmons said student exchanges through IMOA institutions are half the price of traditional study abroad programs.
Jerry M. Gary, chairman of Tucson-Almaty Sister Cities Committee, said Al-Farabi excels in the fields of mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology, economics, history, philosophy, philology and juridical sciences.
Although research is competitive, Simmons said collaborations have not been a problem with partnerships in the past since the research became faculty-driven.
"Relationships are not imposed by faculty, they are initiated by faculty," Simmons said. "So (faculty) pursue relationships which are mutually beneficial."
The only time intellectual property has been an issue is when dealing with politically sensitive countries. The UA is in negotiations with universities in Iran and Syria because there are restrictions on intellectual property, Simmons said.
Barbara Chinworth, vice chairwoman of Tucson-Almaty Sister Cities Committee, said Tucson already has strong ties to Almaty, Kazakhstan, the ninth largest country in the world.
Already four students from Kazakhstan are studying at the UA.
Bakhyt Baikenova, a non-degree seeking graduate student and visiting scholar for linguistics, said she was surprised at the wealth of information at the UA and has met friendly students as well as faculty members who have positive attitudes.
Akmaral Mukanova, a graduate student in English and linguistics, said UA students who study at Al-Farabi can expect a lush, green campus situated in a cosmopolitan city draped with a backdrop of snowcapped mountains.
Kazakh cuisine is heavy on meat and dairy, with camel meat and horse milk staples in their diets, Mukanova said.
The only advice Ali Yuldashev, a computer science sophomore from Almaty, has for UA students who want to participate in an exchange is "don't show off."
Likins, who signed the IMOA both in English and Russian, said international exchanges are less about research and more about the people.
"I hope we've enriched your education, but I know you've enriched our experience," Likins said to the international students.