Education and Training of Specialists in Print Media in the Framework of Reforms in Higher Education System in Kazakhstan

The article discusses education and training in print media in higher education system of Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is a former Soviet Union state, now a modern Central Asian state with clearly defined aim to integrate into global educational space. The country has done a lot of work to introduce the principles of Bologna system to its higher education institutions. At present time all Kazakh universities have transferred to credit system, developed system of academic mobility and introduced the ISO 9001 quality management system. These changes influenced the process of education and training of specialists in all spheres taught in the country including printing trades. Printing trades is a relatively new academic discipline in higher education of Kazakhstan; for the first time it was introduced in 1994 at the Kazakh National Technical University (KazNTU) named after Kanysh Imantayuli Satbayev. Today printing trades is one of the most dynamically developing areas in the country. Digital technologies changed the production process of printing trades and accordingly changed the approach to education and training of specialists in print media. KazNTU is the only university in Kazakhstan which prepares specialists in printing trades for about 20 years. The paper analyses challenges brought by the introduction of new education system as well as its benefits by examining experience of department of Machinery and Technology of Printing Production (MTPP) at the KazNTU. While comparing old and new education systems, the article sheds light at such questions as shift in teaching language from Russian to Kazakh and later to English, international accreditation and cooperation. After analysing these and other important questions, the article discusses future projections on the Kazakh printing trades academia and the tasks that it has yet to undertake.