Leadership Skills Training for Teachers as Leaders: The Research Report on the Erasmus+ CBHE Project. Development of Skills and Teachers Training for Leadership/DeSTT

The DeSTT concept of teacher training for leadership examines the importance of non-formal education, i.e., training for teachers. The monitoring study revealed the urgent needs of Kazakhstani teachers in training their leadership skills. The paper analyzes two sets of research questions (each consists of 6 sub-questions), which we defined as follows: 1) What are the challenges of teacher training/upskilling for leadership and their involvement in the local community? This group of questions was studied at the stage of preparing the project proposal. 2) What are the impacts of DeSTT training on teachers' leadership skills and experiences? This group of questions was studied during the 2nd year of the project lifetime. The purpose of this paper is to indicate the findings and implementation of the concept of preparing teachers for leadership from the project proposal launch to the execution of pilot trainings. Research methods employed in the study are interviews of universities specialists and analyzes of the State data/reports for the project proposal. Observations of training participants and post-training interviews were used to study the 2nd group of research questions. The findings of the study confirm the data obtained in both groups of interviews and observations. Participants were enthusiastic and interested in the pieces of training, aware and confident of the need to continue learning, share experiences, and develop leadership skills achieved in DeSTT training. The reflection on the central terms of leadership and training has proved to be crucial for teachers. Further research is to survey the implications of the DeSTT project for all its consumers. The dissemination and sustainability perspective of the project is to collaborate with the National Center ORLEU for training leadership skills to the instructors from 17 regional branches who, in turn, will train teachers for leadership. The authors acknowledge the Erasmus Plus CBHE for funding the DeSTT project.

Digitalization of Business Processes in Kazakhstani Companies

This article will be devoted to the consideration of business processes in large enterprises and their optimization. The main business processes used in such enterprises, their main algorithm and methods of application will be considered. In addition, each of the stages of the main business processes that can be optimized will be considered, as well as the optimization procedure itself and the results of updated business processes, with a description of the consequences that business process optimization procedures may entail. The main tool for optimizing business processes will be considered information systems, various CRM systems that allow you to partially or completely automate a particular process in the company, thereby eliminating manual intervention. And also, the influence of information systems on the final result.

E-commerce Jump 2020, the Survey of Suppliers and Consumers in Kazakhstan, as well as Ways for Growth Following Worldwide Leaders Examples

The pandemic made significant changes in our lives worldwide, many businesses in different directions and sizes suffered, but e-commerce grows up. E-commerce is the profit recipient in the current Covid19 restriction reality. The present situation with the pandemic forced more and more consumers to buy online; sellers followed them and started selling online. All this stimulated the development of all e-commerce chains, including delivery services, promotion services, and of course, the entire supply chain. But e-commerce growth is not the same in different countries, and there are some great examples that authors study, analyze, compare with Kazkhsatan online trade, and find some recommendations for further sustainable development. Our research covers both sides, Kazakhstani online traders and online consumers. Existing changes do not stop after the pandemic end customers' habits for purchases already transform, and this transformation will be stable for online trade. Here are some possibilities from leaders which Kazakhstan companies could use in their practice.

International Educational Migration: Case of Kazakhstan

This article is devoted to the issue of the current state of international educational migration from Kazakhstan. The article discussed the very essence of migration processes, the problems of this issue, identified the reasons for the increase in the number of those wishing to study abroad, considered the positive and negative consequences of the educational migration of Kazakhstanis and identified recommendations for stabilizing the issue of youth migration. With the development of globalization, the trend of getting education in foreign universities is increasing among young people. The multiple growth in the pace of development of educational migration around the world brings the formation of a carefully thought-out migration policy of states and the adaptation of foreign students to new living conditions to the very top of international agendas. In modern realities the issue of regulating educational migration in the Republic of Kazakhstan is becoming the most acute. Every year more and more young people from Kazakhstan prefer to get education abroad. For students there are a lot of advantages to get an education abroad. However, educational migration today has an impact on the state in several areas: the economy of states, foreign and social policy. And this influence is not always positive. The trend of educational migration of Kazakhstanis abroad carries the risks of a brain drain, since many young people after completing their studies in foreign institutions are in no hurry to return. With their foreign diploma they get a prestigious job and leave Kazakhstan forever. Today Kazakhstan needs effective mechanisms to prevent the outflow of students such as improving the quality of domestic education, facilitating the conditions for obtaining education, increasing the prestige of Kazakhstani universities, etc.

Theoretical Exploration of Consumer Behavior

This article discusses consumer behavior phenomena, its essence and several models and theories. The purpose of the study is to determine consumer behavior patterns, types, necessity and application. In this article we determined a several definitions of consumer behavior. We also studied different theories and models of consumer behavior. The main research question is the following: What are the phenomena of consumer behavior and what kinds of consumer behavior models exist? All data has been collected from the secondary sources, including websites, books, articles, journals and scientific articles. As a result of this work we determined a several definitions of consumer behavior and comparison of them. In this work we also described models and theories of consumer behavior, determined by different authors. Current knowledge will be implemented in a future works, devoted to the identification of consumer behavior models in e-commerce. In the end of this work, we will conclude that consumer behavior analysis can positively effect on company’s revenue.

The Evolutionary Role of Higher Education in Sustainable Development: Pandemic 2020–2021

This article investigates the role of higher education in the economic development of the country. The research aims to investigate the theoretical and methodological basis of the role of higher education and human capital in economic growth, evaluate the current state of higher education within pandemic COVID-19, and develop scientifically and applied recommendations to strengthen capacity and improve the competitiveness of human capital in the developing countries. An analysis of the existing researches and debates is made. We defined the state of higher education in Kazakhstan and considered the changes in education within the context of COVID-19. We made multiple correlations and regression analysis based on the education coverage index and GDP(mln KZT), where defined the moderate correlation between two variables. Statistical data is studied in a period from 2000 to 2019. This paper contributes to the literature by fulfilling a theory of human capital development in the knowledge economy, revealing the relational mechanism between higher education, sustainable development, and the economic boundary of this relationship. It also contributes to the further understanding of the role of higher education in economic development. This study result implies to strengthen capacity and improve the competitiveness of human capital, draft human capital development policy. Keywords: SDG; COVID-19, human capital, higher education

New Trends in the Professional Training of Young People in the Modern Conditions

The transformation of the importance of vocational education and training, the determining the development trajectories occur due to the structural changes that are under the influence of technological factor changes. Especially, digitalization, automation, robotics, the artificial intelligence, the transition to industry 4.0, the changing nature of consumer demand directly affect the restructuring of the labor market. The listed factors accelerate the development of new professions in demanded areas and the disappearance of outdated ones, they stimulate the improvement of needed skills and meet the modern requirements from employers for educationalщl programs. The purpose of research paper is to identify the new trends in the training of competitive young employees, taking into account the conditions of digitalization of economy The research methodology includes general scientific and theoretical research methods. Methods of tabular representation of data is used as statistical tool. Originality of the research is that It is relevant and necessary to develop new model of training young specialists, involving the implementation of educational, research, innovative and entrepreneurial, spiritual and moral activities that meet modern trends. Authors carried out the analysis of the level and quality of training of national personnel in terms of ensuring the future needs of the labor market of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the conditions of digitalization of economy. It includes the factors affecting the reproduction of competitive national personnel and their provision with high-quality jobs, identifying new trends in the training and retraining of professional personnel and improving their skills, examining the features of training competitive national personnel in the system of ensuring the balance of labor resources and jobs. The paper was prepared within the grant project of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan AP09260584 «Employment restructuration in Kazakhstan in terms of social and economic tensions».

Transformation of Fintech: Impact of POS and ATM on Non-Cash Payments

The banking system of Kazakhstan has undergone many changes in recent years: traditional bank branches are no longer in such demand as 20 years ago. Now banks are intentionally closing branches and transferring their clients to the online format. These steps were especially justified in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, technology has grown: since the beginning of the emergence of point-of-sale (POS) terminals, Automated teller machines (ATM) have developed. To ensure the security of transactions, transfers are tied to an individual, and the transfers themselves have multi-factor identification. The necessity to have payment cards linked to the account is still relevant, even if the user uses applications on his mobile phone to make non-cash transfers. The purpose of this study is to identify the existence of a relationship between non-cash payments and proxy servers for non-cash banking in Kazakhstan. In this scientific study, two hypotheses (zero and alternative) were put forward and tested, of which one was later confirmed. Statistical monthly data cover the period 2004-2020, were obtained from the electronic repository of the Statistical Bulletin of the National Bank of Kazakhstan. To test the relationship of selected determinants have been used program SPSS and Microsoft Excel. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used for checking the normality of data distribution (revealed the normal distribution of the collected quantitative data). This made it possible to find the Pearson correlation coefficient. Further, in the course of the study, a correlation matrix was compiled. It was found the presence of a significant relationship between the amount of non-cash transfers, POS & ATM. This confirms the correct orientation of public policies towards the development of technical systems and the digitization of the economy. The results of this study are important for the banking system and policy dissemination of non-cash payments.

How Effective Gamified Technics will lead to Customer Engagement?

Gamification approach recently has sparked interest among researchers as a new trend of increasing customer engagement (CE) in business-to-consumer (B2C) contexts. However, there is a dearth of exploratory specifically in Iran Market. This study aims to provide deeper insights into process of customer engagement by analysis of key factors in effectiveness of gamification. In order to achieve this aim, two main research phase were planned:1) detailed literature review on current studies in this scope and 2) Exploratory semi-structured interview with experts of gamification in small and medium enterprise (SMEs) in information technology (IT) industry in Iran. The synthesis of findings identified there are many game mechanics uses in designing games, which three key factors of feedback, gift and challenge have found to be more effective studies that confirm the effectiveness of gamified mechanism in process of CE, in our sample based on gamified engagement mechanism. Implication of this study may help practitioners in developing more effective gamified CE strategies.

Impacts of Visa Policy on Inbound Tourism in Kazakhstan

Every destination in the world tries to create affordable conditions for tourists to get the maximum benefit from international tourism and one of these conditions is accessibility, which refers to the visa policy of a country. An effective and appropriate visa policy makes travel destinations more attractive and easily accessible to visit. This research focuses on the visa policy of Central Asian country – the Republic of Kazakhstan and reveals several problems related to it, such as lack of information on the visa application process, especially on e-visa, raw systemized visa and migration portal, a long list of visa-needed countries, plenty of refusals in invitation letters by Migration Police and existence of huge visa restrictions for some countries. The current visa policy makes the Republic of Kazakhstan less open to foreigners and less competitive among other countries. Based on a literature review on visa policy and its effects on the economy and tourism sector in a destination and by using comparative analysis of visa policies of two Central Asian countries – Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, several problems that affect inbound tourism, as well as recommendations for improvement of visa policy for Kazakh government are discussed in this research.