A group of teachers from the Academy of Public Administration under the President of Turkmenistan has visited the Republic of Kazakhstan to study international experience in drawing up Master’s Degree Programs in the context of the Bologna Process. Kazakhstan is known to be the first Central Asian country, which has been recognized as a full member of the European Higher Education Area.
The visit, organized as part of a joint project of the Academy of Public Administration and the European Union (which is designed to provide technical assistance in building the capacity of academic staff and improving teaching methods) aimed to perfect the system of training and retraining of state officials. As known, in the 2018-2019 academic year, Master’s Degree Programs were launched for the first time in Turkmenistan’s three higher-education institutions: the International University for the Humanities and Development, the Oguzkhan University of Engineering Technologies, and the Turkmen State Institute of Economy and Management.
The visit program included meetings, consultations, discussions as well as thematic round-table talks attended by leading specialists and experts of the Academy of Public Administration under the President of Turkmenistan and members of the Turkmen delegation.
One of the main aims of the visit was to develop a draft Master’s Program in Public Administration. The faculty members of the Academy of Public Administration took part in the work. The Program provides a good foundation for acquiring necessary organizational skills in this field.
The Program is meant to develop managerial approaches in master’s students, particularly: abilities to provide effective management of a government body’s departments and ensure the practical application of innovative technologies, while working out and implementing state development programs.
According to international experts, education modules, which are based on a comprehensive approach to tackling the tasks of Turkmenistan’s socio-economic and cultural development, and the widespread adoption of interactive and distance education instructional methods, are the Program’s key advantage. A series of lectures and a theoretical course will be presented in discussion formats.
To equip students with wider practical knowledge, the draft Program focuses on developing their managerial skills through innovative methods, including evaluating decision effectiveness. The following subjects were proposed to be introduced into the curriculum of the Master’s Program in Public Administration: Administrative Law, Organizational Management, Research Methods, Administrative Economy, Local Government, Human Resource Management, Ethics for Public Officials, Strategic Planning, State Finances, Electronic Government among others.
The Program will also include elective subjects in accordance with the current educational standards.
The teaching staff is expected to adopt a wide range of teaching strategies and assignments such as group presentations, student-led discussions and debates; situational discussions; oral defense of projects and research work; content analyses of development plans and managerial decisions; interviews; thematic presentations; preparation of analytical materials, etc.
As the study visit neared its end, a thematic round-table meeting was held to discuss tasks and ways of teaching analytical and problem-solving skills, data grouping, preliminary evaluation of efficiency and quality of management processes.
The Master’s Program in Public Administration is in accord with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which cover the fields such as inclusive and sustainable growth through the diversification of the economy and development of human resources; high-quality education; gender equality; industrialization, innovation and infrastructure.
It remains to make mention of the fact that along with the Master’s Program, the academic staff of the Academy of Public Administration has started drawing up a new Master’s Degree Program in Electronic Monitoring as part of the Agreement on Cooperation with the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Belarus.
The visit, organized as part of a joint project of the Academy of Public Administration and the European Union (which is designed to provide technical assistance in building the capacity of academic staff and improving teaching methods) aimed to perfect the system of training and retraining of state officials. As known, in the 2018-2019 academic year, Master’s Degree Programs were launched for the first time in Turkmenistan’s three higher-education institutions: the International University for the Humanities and Development, the Oguzkhan University of Engineering Technologies, and the Turkmen State Institute of Economy and Management.
The visit program included meetings, consultations, discussions as well as thematic round-table talks attended by leading specialists and experts of the Academy of Public Administration under the President of Turkmenistan and members of the Turkmen delegation.
One of the main aims of the visit was to develop a draft Master’s Program in Public Administration. The faculty members of the Academy of Public Administration took part in the work. The Program provides a good foundation for acquiring necessary organizational skills in this field.
The Program is meant to develop managerial approaches in master’s students, particularly: abilities to provide effective management of a government body’s departments and ensure the practical application of innovative technologies, while working out and implementing state development programs.
According to international experts, education modules, which are based on a comprehensive approach to tackling the tasks of Turkmenistan’s socio-economic and cultural development, and the widespread adoption of interactive and distance education instructional methods, are the Program’s key advantage. A series of lectures and a theoretical course will be presented in discussion formats.
To equip students with wider practical knowledge, the draft Program focuses on developing their managerial skills through innovative methods, including evaluating decision effectiveness. The following subjects were proposed to be introduced into the curriculum of the Master’s Program in Public Administration: Administrative Law, Organizational Management, Research Methods, Administrative Economy, Local Government, Human Resource Management, Ethics for Public Officials, Strategic Planning, State Finances, Electronic Government among others.
The Program will also include elective subjects in accordance with the current educational standards.
The teaching staff is expected to adopt a wide range of teaching strategies and assignments such as group presentations, student-led discussions and debates; situational discussions; oral defense of projects and research work; content analyses of development plans and managerial decisions; interviews; thematic presentations; preparation of analytical materials, etc.
As the study visit neared its end, a thematic round-table meeting was held to discuss tasks and ways of teaching analytical and problem-solving skills, data grouping, preliminary evaluation of efficiency and quality of management processes.
The Master’s Program in Public Administration is in accord with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which cover the fields such as inclusive and sustainable growth through the diversification of the economy and development of human resources; high-quality education; gender equality; industrialization, innovation and infrastructure.
It remains to make mention of the fact that along with the Master’s Program, the academic staff of the Academy of Public Administration has started drawing up a new Master’s Degree Program in Electronic Monitoring as part of the Agreement on Cooperation with the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Belarus.
