Next Training -- Mini MBA Effective Management
Mini MBA -- Effective Management (April 24-26):

The program covers topics that would be taught in a typical Masters of Business Administration graduate program in the US and Europe. This training will cover project management, time management and team building and all participants that successfully complete the training will receive a certificate certified by IBC Group, BG Kazakhstan and New Leaders.

Each participant will also receive a CD three weeks before the training that includes 3 pre training modules. Participants will be able to begin to learn about the topics prior to joining us for the training.

Purpose of training:
The Advanced Mini MBA Training Program is designed to help entrepreneurs as well as managers across the West Kazakhstan Oblast and throughout Kazakhstan to expand their skills in business.

Trainer:
Renee Raper MSc, Chartered FCIPD, FITOL
Director of Learning, New Leaders
Renee has over 20 years experience in learning, training and development across business and academia at regional, national and international level. Her path has led from the banking industry along an interesting route - through college and university lecturing, learning and training consultancy, education/industry liaison and CPD Development Manager - to her present role applying new technologies to enhance learning.

She holds a Masters degree in Training, SVQ level 5 in Training and Development Strategy and a Diploma in Psychology. She is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personal and Development, a Fellow of the Institute of Training and Occupational Learning and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, and she holds the chair of Aberdeen Businesswomen’s Network.

Renee is a regular features writer for the monthly “Learning and Development”, a magazine for training professionals. She has also led her team to a European Netdays award for the innovative use of technology in learning and shortlisted for a national Team of the Year 2005 Award for learning work with the Food Standards Agency in Scotland.

The training will be held April 24-26, 2006 at IBC.

Our Latest Project - KACEBI
Kazakhstani-American Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation (KACEBI)

What is KACEBI?

KACEBI stands for Kazakhstani-American Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation. The Center plans to officially open in the fall of 2006 as a part of the West-Kazakhstan Institute of Languages and Management Evrazia. Since its founding 10 years ago, Evrazia Institute has proved itself to be a prestigious institute of higher education. In 2005, the Institute ranked 7th place among 96 private and public institutions of higher education in Kazakhstan . IBC Group is an organization consisting of 3 divisions (Business Incubator, Loan Fund, and Internet Division) with the common aim of helping entrepreneurs. These two organizations recognize that KACEBI would have a positive impact on business development in the region of western Kazakhstan, and so they are teaming together with USAID Carana’s Business and Economics Education Project and international partners in order to create KACEBI!


Vision: to establish and develop a center for entrepreneurship and business innovation that encourages entrepreneurial activity and economic development in western Kazakhstan while positively impacting the business and economics education system and becoming a model center for the region.


Project Overview - for KACEBI’s first 3 years of operation

Phase I: January through July 2006 – preparation period
•Trip for Evrazia Institute and new KACEBI staff to a Center for Entrepreneurship in America.

•Visits to Uralsk, Kazakhstan by 3 American professors in spring and summer for instructors’ training and then evaluation of instructor’s knowledge.

•Course materials to be developed with partner universities abroad by mid April 2006.

Phase II: First year: pilot period – August 2006 – May 2007
•Start of program with 1 year Certificate in Entrepreneurial Management for current and aspiring entrepreneurs.

•Begin offering a variety of short-term trainings and several outreach activities to connect with entrepreneurs and companies in the region.

•Invite one full-time entrepreneurial expert from abroad to work in Uralsk for 1st year of operation in the role of Academic Director and assisting in the planning of the Bachelor’s program.



Phase III: Second year – September 2007 – May 2008
•Start addition of 4-year undergraduate degree program for a Bachelor’s of Business Administration (BBA) with concentrations available in Entrepreneurship and in Business Innovation.

•Expansion of outreach activities.

•Invite another expert in entrepreneurship from abroad to come to Uralsk and work for the 2nd half of Phase III to assist in the planning of the MBA program.

Phase IV: Third year – September 2008 – May 2009
•Begin addition of 2-year graduate degree program for a Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) with concentrations available in Entrepreneurship and in Business Innovation.

•Invite an expert in entrepreneurship from abroad to come to Uralsk for a shorter-term stay.

•Two BBA or MBA students to visit an American partner university for 1 month.

KACEBI (CONT)
Why is KACEBI so unique?
KACEBI will always look to the business community for partnership and for advice on the needs of local businesses. Every course and training will contain components that get participants involved in real world business projects and solving actual business problems.


KACEBI plans to utilize technology to implement innovative methods of instruction such as distance learning and holding videoconferences for its students who are located in other nearby cities. Such methods will also be used to allow for close cooperation with international partner institutions. No need to travel to Almaty or Europe for high-quality training when KACEBI is located next door. KACEBI enables you to get a high-quality education utilizing internationally recognized teaching methods right here in western Kazakhstan!


Why create KACEBI?

Kazakhstan’s economy has been booming. The country’s GDP growth rate of approximately 9% (for 2005) ranks Kazakhstan as the 17th fastest growing economy in the world. Yet, there are still several factors discouraging the rapid development of the business sector in the region of western Kazakhstan.

One key factor is the gap that exists between the education that institutes of higher education in western Kazakhstan are providing and the needs of the local business environment. Start-up entrepreneurs, Directors of International companies, and university instructors of business and economics in the region have not had the opportunity to take practical courses that emphasis real-world business projects. (Most typical courses focus on theory.) KACEBI programs will focus on practical applications of course material to allow participants to successfully keep up with the ever-changing demands of today’s international business world. The KACEBI project will also create a mechanism that allows for continuous cooperation between Evrazia Institute students and faculty (or those of other local universities) and local entrepreneurs.

The lack of business diversification in our region is evident. There is significant opportunity for development in the manufacturing industry and the service industry. The majority of entrepreneurs (approximately 70% in western Kazakhstan) have been focusing on the common practice of simply buying and selling ready-made goods (often very small, mom-and-pop type shops that for the most part offer parity products).

Furthermore, given the likely prospect that Kazakhstan will join the WTO, this change in the country’s status will cause the level of competition in the market to increase. Such an increase in competition will force private organizations to diversify their activities in order to survive. Most of the region’s entrepreneurs are not yet ready to work under these new market conditions.

As a result, there are many opportunities for KACEBI to make an impact on the local business community!

KACEBI (Cont)
Who will benefit from KACEBI?

KACEBI will customize its short-term trainings and its long-term course programs to fit the different needs of the business community, so that everyone from the owner of the local start-up shop around the corner to high-level managers working at multi-national companies will want to participate in KACEBI’s offerings. In addition, instructors and students (the future entrepreneurs and businessmen) from Evrazia Institute and other local institutions of higher education will participate in KACEBI’s trainings and courses.


KACEBI will be designed to serve all of western Kazakhstan, including the areas of Uralsk, Aksai, Atyrau, Aktau, and Atkobe. By creatively integrating distance learning (e-learning methods, video-conferencing, independent learning modules, etc) with face-to-face interaction, KACEBI hopes to involve companies near and far. In short, KACEBI will be flexible in order to involve those from all over western Kazakhstan in both its long-term courses and short-term trainings.


How is KACEBI working with international partner universities?

From January 9 – January 18, 2006, entrepreneurial expert and representative of the prestigious Beyster Institute at the University of California – San Diego (which has started up centers of entrepreneurship all around the world, including in Moscow and St. Petersburg), Dr. Alex Liu, came to Uralsk to assist us in planning for the Center. Dr. Liu’s trip to Uralsk was financed by our project partner USAID Carana. Dr. Liu is also the Director of the RM Institute for Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation in California.

We will continue cooperating with Dr. Liu and the Beyster Institute in order to allow a few of our new Center staff to visit the Beyster Institute. We also look to the Beyster Institute as well as other interested universities in America and Europe to provide us with training materials, trainers to train and evaluate our course instructors, and expert staff to work at our Center as we are starting up. Our international partner universities will provide certificates for the trainings and courses KACEBI offers. KACEBI wants to create sustainable partnerships with universities abroad in order to ensure high quality instruction, continual improvement of programs, and responsiveness to the ever- changing needs of the business world.


How can Kazakhstani and international businesses help KACEBI?

The successful creation of KACEBI will be of great benefit to the economy and educational system in the region of western Kazakhstan. USAID Carana is willing to fund the initial stages of the project. However, in order to provide the highest quality instruction, we need a significant amount of funding from other donors.

As the initiators of this project, Evrazia Institute and IBC Group look forward to receiving the support of the Kazakhstani and international community in order to overcome the challenge of creating such a center in western Kazakhstan. We hope that businesses located in Kazakhstan will recognize the value KACEBI will have on the community, and for this reason, that they will offer us financial assistance until the Center becomes self-sustainable.


How else will KACEBI stay in touch with the needs of the western Kazakhstani business community?

Besides making real world business projects a part of every course and offering research and consulting opportunities to the community, KACEBI’s organizational structure allows for the creation of both a local and an international Board of Advisors. By receiving advice from real world entrepreneurs in our region, KACEBI hopes to provide educational course and training offerings that meet local companies’ demands. At the same time, receiving advice from international university partners will to help constantly offer KACEBI new insight and ideas.


Will KACEBI always be dependent on donor funding?

Our goal is to make our Center fully sustainable without the need for continuous donor support in 5 years. By collecting revenue from its’ long-term course participants, short-term trainees, and its’ research and consulting services, KACEBI hopes to become a profitable enterprise that can continually offer more and more to the educational system and business community of Kazakhstan.

Trip around Kazakhstan
I just returned from my last trip around KZ. Sue and I took a 17 day tour from Uralsk to Aktobe to Astana to Borovoe to Almaty. During our first leg, we stopped to see our fellow volunteers in Aktobe (about 12 hours from Uralsk). There we enjoyed Sushi, bowling and monopoly (not to mention Eric’s jokes). We then journeyed 44 hours by train to Astana – the new capital of Kazakhstan. Astana became the capital around 1997 and since then has been under construction. When you look around Astana you can probably see 100+ new building being developed – high rises, office building and special monuments. The plan is for Astana to become the DC of KZ and Almaty and small New York. We had an amazing time in Astana since BG gave us the VIP tour of the city. After working with BG for two years on social projects, they repaid our efforts by showing us around Astana and joining us for some great entertainment. We then headed to Borovoe (about 3 hours from Astana) to experience the hills, lakes, cross country skiing and snowmobiling. The nature in Borovoe is truly beautiful. After Borovoe, we headed by train to Almaty for our final Peace Corps conference. At the conference, we saw the remaining volunteers for the last time, since we will now all depart KZ on different dates. Sue and I ended the week in the mountains of Almaty enjoying some excellent downhill skiing. All in all, it was great FINAL vacation in KZ.

Now, we are on the final countdown since we only have 7 more weeks until we depart KZ. I will officially depart KZ on May 5 and head back to the US.

IBC Launches First American Website
I want to give some kudos to the IBC Internet Division team for launching their first site for an American client. The site is located at www.dwacademy.com. In addition to this being the first American website, the team also used this opportunity to train one of the kids from the Zhas Dauren Orphanage in web development, flash and cms development. It was an all around win, win.

The team has come a long way in a year and a half.

This Blog and my site
First, I want to say that I absolutely had no idea how many people checked my site and read my blog until I went home for the holidays. It seems almost everyone that I know keeps tabs on me via my site. With that said, I guess I need to apologize for not being more diligent in my updates. Basically my lack of updates has been a combination of being busy with projects and just thinking that the content was boring. I guess it is more interesting to my reader base than to the writer. To say it another way, I think the things that seemed extraordinary about this experience have now become completely ordinary but I think they still give you a laugh or a smile.

So, I will try to update the blog a bit more often and I will try to add new photos over the next few weeks. I also need to finalize my final e-mail newsletter.

Three Months to go
Can you believe it, I only have three months left in Kazakhstan. Well, I can’t say that the time has flown by but I can say the time has been filled with some great experiences. I am ready to head back to my “real” life in the states but I am sure it will be difficult saying goodbye to all of my new friends.

No final decisions on where I will land when I return to the US but it is looking like New York or Dallas. Stay Tuned for my latest job news.

The Weather Is Freezing
Well, I have finally experienced a REAL winter. For the past few weeks, the temperature in Uralsk has been hovering around -35. Luckily this week, it is about -15 to -20 and snowing. I realized that this was the coldest weather that I had every experienced when I was walking to work and my eyelashes froze together.

You would think that the cold winter weather would keep us inside but I joined 8 other volunteers (and 6 local friends) for the annual sin cleansing cold plunge. Yes, we did the plunge in -35 degree weather. And yes, it was really cold. I lost feeling in my feet and hands almost instantly but I still managed to drink my shot of vodka and take a bite of a salty pickle before I put my clothes back on. It was still a great time but I much preferred the -5 weather that we had last year.

I knew this was my last chance to plunge in Uralsk so I couldn't let the weather stop me!

Back in Uralsk
I arrived back in Uralsk after a fantastic visit to the states. I definitely feel refueled after my month home. I had a great week in Dallas reconnecting with friends and colleagues and seeing my new niece for the first time not to mention seeing my sister for the first time after a year. I also did some preliminary job interviews. Then I was off to New York for more visiting, hanging with my family and doing a few more interviews. After New York, I headed to Kentucky to spend time with my Mom, Dad and other family members. It was a great and relaxing visit. I ended my trip back in Dallas with my mom, sister and a few friends. I also had a nice stop in Amsterdam on the way back to Uralsk.

Now I am on my final 4 months in Uralsk and the last mile of my Peace Corps Volunteering.