Cardiff University is pressing ahead with plans to open a campus in Kazakhstan later this year and said it is also looking at "opportunities" in other countries including China, India, Malaysia, Singapore, and the USA. Vice-chancellor Professor Wendy Larner and chair of the university's council Pat Younge said the university council had now approved the Kazakhstan branch which will go ahead subject to final legal agreement.

The university was criticised for its the plans to open a branch in the Kazakhstan capital Astana in light of massive proposed cuts announced in January. Concerns have also been also raised about human rights in the former Soviet republic.

The council's approvals to expand operations into the central Asian country comes as members of the Cardiff UCU ballot on strike action over sweeping planned cuts and 400 redundancies here. Faced with financial pressure, a £31m projected deficit, and falling numbers of higher-paying international students the university proposes slimming down operations here at the same time as taking its wares overseas. Never miss a Cardiff story by signing up to our daily newsletter here.

In an update statement on the Kazakhstan campus Prof Larner and Mr Younge said: "The decision to move ahead reflects our ambition to play a full and meaningful role in the future of global higher education, delivering high-quality degree programmes in a range of countries, in line with our strategy, Our future, together. Transnational education on this scale is a new endeavour for us and it will extend our global reach and reputation as well as diversifying our income.

"It signals our ambition to make an impact across the world and is the first in a network of new transnational education opportunities being explored with others in the pipeline in China, India, Malaysia, Singapore, and the United States. We are excited about the opportunities that the branch campus will open up: it’s clear from our detailed discussions with the Kazakh government, the investors, and other organisations in the country that this really will be a reciprocal and mutually beneficial initiative."

But they conceded that establishing branches abroad "is is not without risk". The university would take an "incremental approach", starting with two foundation programmes in 2025, and building from there. Senior management has worked with international and local experts to understand the politics, society, and culture of Kazakhstan and have undertaken extensive due diligence and risk assessments, they update added.

The university said that it realised "this announcement may spark further questions and queries" and said there has been "a lot of misinformation about this venture". "We are not investing any capital in this venture, we are not paying for a campus, we are not making staff redundant and then offering them a contract in Kazakhstan, and we are not outsourcing jobs there," the update added.

Professor Ruedi Allemann and Anne Morgan, the university's director of international, are leading the project from an academic and professional services perspective. Prof Larner and Mr Younge added that they wanted to thank the whole team for their work getting "to the end of this first stage in establishing our branch campus".

Hinting at the tricky period they have been planning the new branch in they added: "Getting to this point has required hard work, at a time of conflicting priorities, by academic and professional services staff, at School, College, and central professional services level. It is a great example of colleagues working together to deliver on our strategic priorities and to seize opportunities when they emerge for us."

Conservative shadow education secretary Natasha Asghar has said “it would be a national disgrace" if closures and job cuts go ahead in Cardiff while the university pushes ahead overseas branches. On its website Amnesty International says of Kazakhstan: "The rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association continued to be unduly restricted. Prosecution of members of the security forces for unlawful killings and torture and other ill-treatment during mass protests in January 2022 continued but often resulted in sentences not commensurate with the gravity of the offence.

"Police regularly disrupted or prevented peaceful political street protests. Practising religion outside registered religious organisations remained banned. Widespread violence against women and girls continued. Climate action policies remained inadequate."

On its website Human Rights Watch says: "Authorities in Kazakhstan did not meaningfully address persistent human rights violations in 2023 or ensure accountability for past abuses. Two years after large-scale anti-government protests rocked Kazakhstan in January 2022 few officials have been held accountable for their part in disproportionate use of force against protesters, arbitrary arrests and imprisonment, and torture and ill-treatment of detainees.

"Violent attacks on journalists increased in early 2023 and authorities persisted in using overbroad criminal charges against government critics and activists. Heavy restrictions in law and practice on the right to peaceful protest and freedom of speech and religion continued. New legislation strengthening protections for women fell short of criminalising domestic violence as a standalone offence."

Prof Larner has addressed university staff concerns about this as well as the country's neutral stance on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Staff have been assured in briefings by Prof Larner, seen by WalesOnline. that Cardiff's education programme there can remain "true to our values". There are alreday 23 international universities said to be "active" in Kazakhstan including Queens, Belfast.

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