UCA Joins Eurasia-Pacific Uninet Meeting to Advance Academic Partnerships
The University of Central Asia (UCA), represented by Rector Professor Christopher J. Gerry, participated in the 2026 Eurasia-Pacific Uninet (EPU) Plenary Meeting and Erasmus+ Cooperation Seminar at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University in Almaty.
Professor Gerry delivered a keynote address titled “Universities Without Borders? Academic Connectivity in an Age of Fragmentation”, exploring how universities can sustain meaningful international cooperation amid geopolitical tensions, growing inequalities and increasingly complex barriers to academic exchange.
Drawing on his experience at universities in the UK, Russia and Central Asia, Professor Gerry argued that the era of easy internationalisation is over. Universities can no longer assume that international partnerships, student mobility and research collaboration will continue to expand without interruption.
“Connectivity is not the same as collecting connections,” he said, urging universities to focus less on the number of partnerships they establish and more on what they can achieve together.
The Rector called for a shift from internationalisation centred on mobility and institutional agreements towards partnerships built around shared challenges and clear objectives. He also emphasised the need for more equitable collaboration, in which Central Asian universities help shape research agendas, contribute intellectual leadership and build lasting institutional capacity.
“Equality doesn't mean identical resources or capabilities. It means meaningful agency, fair recognition and genuine intellectual contribution,” he said.
UCA's participation in the Eurasia-Pacific Uninet (EPU) provides an important platform for strengthening connections with universities in Austria and across the wider network. Through EPU, UCA will explore new opportunities for joint research, academic mobility and participation in international funding programmes such as Erasmus+.
