Creotalents participate to CREATIVE SPARK ROADMAP MEETING in Almaty

On February 6-7, 2020, Creotalents Project team represented by Armiyash Nurmagambetova (CACTLE ENU) and professor Levent Altinay (Oxford Brookes University) are taking part in the Creative Spark Roadmap Meeting for program partners in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, organized by the British Council in Almaty. A two-day event aims at developing a roadmap for improving the ecosystem of entrepreneurial education, in collaboration with partnerships within the Creative Spark program, leaders of cultural and creative industries for economic and social impact in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Participants of the working meeting are partners of the Creative Spark program from the UK, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, decision-makers, champions of the Big Idea Challenge, leaders of Creative Central Asia, various representatives of NGOs and organizations associated with the creative industries.

This event involves working in four thematic areas:

* Curriculum (introduction of the curriculum in university program, extracurricular programs on entrepreneurship, teaching methodology, skills for students, etc.);

* Entrepreneurial hubs (hub development, hub operation, what hubs can offer, startups) financing mechanisms (grants, seed capital, investments, self-financing, and sustainability);

* Research in the field of entrepreneurship and creative industries;

* Cooperation and partnership (inter-institutional support, exchange and cooperation, how to cooperate with UK universities, what partners can offer each other, cooperation with businesses and communities).

On the first day of the event, Armiyash Nurmagambetova presented information about the Creotalents project at the main session, and spoke about the interaction with partners and other organizations within the project at the session on cooperation and partnership. Professor Altinay delivered a keynote on importance of research for teaching and policy development. He was also interviewed by British Council on the role of creative industries in Central Asia. He emphasized the importance of creative industries in regeneration of communities and the Silk Road.