The first deliverable of the work package 2.4 was the Master class “Benchmarking of international best practices in managing the work of nursing faculties, cooperation in organizing PhD educational programs and assessing Master’s and PhD theses”. The University Medical Center Utrecht and the Kazakh National Medical University named after S. Asfendiyarov organized the event.

In WP2.4 the first Masterclass, which included five days, took place from May 14 until June 1, 2021. The MC aimed to benchmark international best practices in management of nursing faculties in organizing PhD education, assessment of Master and PhD thesis and national and international collaboration. A group of 30 participants was invited to take part, with representatives from all partnering institutes including the MoH and MoES. The MC days started with presentations which partnering organizations give on the topic of the day; followed by group discussion in breakout rooms and ending with plenary reporting from groups focusing on recommendations on the topic area. A group of experts was approached to provide input on the recommendations. This was resulted in range of draft recommendations, which was further discussed and developed during the last day of the event.

The first MC was a highly successful with partners engaging in fruitful discussions with experts from both Kazakhstan and European partners. In this way, we are hopeful that the activities carried out will improve and strengthen the Master and PhD education within nursing faculties (schools of nursing) of KZ universities.