E d u c a t i o n M i s s i o n 2 0 0 6 to Russia and Kazakhstan October 8th to October 15, 2006 (Sunday to Sunday) Enterprise Ireland, as part of its efforts to enhance the marketability of the Irish education sector, is organising an Education Mission to Russia and Kazakhstan in October 2006, whose purpose is to allow Irish educational practitioners the opportunity of meeting with the Russian and Kazakh educational agency community, potential future students and in the case of Kazakhstan, the Ministry of Education of Kazakhstan and the ‘Center for International Programs’ responsible for Kazakhstan’s state very attractive Bolashak scholarship programme. The provisional schedule of the Education Mission to Russia and Kazakhstan is as follows: Oct 8th Oct 9th and 10th Oct 10th (evening) Oct 11th Oct 11th Oct 12th Oct 13th Oct 13th/14th Oct 15th Kazakhstan Over the past several years, oil and gas rich Kazakhstan has been one of Asia’s fastest growing economies, with average annual GDP growth of 10.26% since 2000. Kazakhstan’s oil sector produces over 1.2m barrels per day, with reserves equivalent to those of Qatar. Kazakh gas reserves are on a par with countries such as Kuwait and Canada. Kazakhstan is also rich in metals, minerals and commodities. Internationally, the country is recognised as having the region’s most developed banking system and its vibrant economy has seen a doubling in mobile phone subscribers over the past year, with 300,000 new subscribers added per month. Kazakhstan has had rich educational history inherited from the USSR, however, today its educational infrastructure has not yet reached a stage where it matches the needs of Kazakhstan’s diverse and growing economy or the country’s societal needs. As well is being fashionable for young Kazakhs to study aboard, it is also essential that they do, especially in countries with long traditions of academic excellence such as Ireland. In annual comparative terms, Kazakh students go to the following countries to study, the majority of these students are self financed Country / Region United Kingdom USA Eastern Europe Ireland Other Destinations No. Of Students p.a 5,000 Plus 1,000 (approx) 300 150 1,500 Country / Region Russia China Canada Australia No. of Students p.a. 1,000 Plus 500 (approx) 300 100 Depart Ireland for Moscow Meetings with Russian Education Agencies – Marriott Courtyard Hotel, Moscow Education Mission Dinner hosted by H.E. Justin Harman, Irish Ambassador to Russia Transfer to Almaty, Kazakhstan (Almaty is Kazakhstan’s commercial capital) Evening Reception /Dinner for Almaty Education Agents and Invited Guests Full Day in Astana, Capital of Kazakhstan for meetings with Kazakhstan Ministry of Education and Education Agents (Returning that evening to Almaty) Morning seminar with Almaty Education Agents Irish Education Fair at Astana International Hotel, Almaty from 1200-1900 daily Depart Almaty for Ireland
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Kazakhstan – Bolashak Scholarship Programme Kazakhstan’s revised Bolashak scholarship programme now sends up to 3,000 Kazakh students aboard annually to study at undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD level. The scholarships are well financed, and cover the cost of tuition, accommodation and living expenses. The scholarship organizers will addition pay the receiving institution an additional 5% on top of the cost of fees, to pay for student welfare costs. In 2005, over 600 Bolashak scholarship students went to study in the UK. Ireland is currently in the process of ratifying its participation in the programme. Additionally, several Irish educational institutions are individually in the process of joining the programme. The Education Mission will feature a meeting for participants with the Ministry of Education of Kazakhstan, where each participant will have the opportunity to present their institution to the Bolashak programme organisers. Enterprise Ireland plans to invite the Bolashak programme organisers to Ireland in Q4 2006, so this will be an excellent chance to make a first impression. Astana and Almaty, Kazakshtan Astana has been capital of Kazakhstan since the late 1990s and is a new city built out of the Central Asian steppe. The city’s population has grown from 300,000 to 600,000 in 6 years and Astana is a sea of new modern buildings and infrastructure. The Education Mission will specifically visit Astana to meet Ministry of Education officials and the local education agency committee. Almaty, with a population of 1.5 million is Kazakhstan’s commercial and banking capital and is a dynamic city set against the beautiful backdrop of the Tien Shen Mountains, which is famous as a skiing and winter sports destination. October is still a warm month in Almaty and education mission participants will be able to enjoy the city as they overnight in Almaty for the duration of the Kazakhstan portion of the mission, which it is also the location of the mission’s Irish Educational Fair. Russia With a population of 143 million, Russia is the pre-eminent economy in Eastern Europe in terms of its size, inherent wealth and the development of its consumer markets. The country has a burgeoning middle class which has a high propensity to spend, which is one of the key factors behind Russia’s current retail boom. Money from the oil and gas sector has peculated into all sectors of the economy and Russia as a nation runs a massive budget surplus and is paying of its national debt at a blistering pace (it currently stands at 14% of GDP). At 90%, Russia has the highest mobile phone penetration rate in Eastern Europe. Russia remains the world’s 4th largest oil producer and its largest producer of natural gas. The modern Russia bears no resemblance to the stereotyped view of 1990s Russia that sometimes persists in Ireland, and is today a very strong market for the Irish university, IT, independent college and English language learning sector. Education in Russia The children of Russia’s growing middle class and that of its ruling elite grow, up in a country that places an extremely high value on educational attainment. Many of Russia’s universities and educational establishment are of a very high academic standard and continue to attract students from aboard, however most have not yet re-orientated their learning proposition to meet the needs of a modern and diverse economy. Unfortunately, the preponderance of facilitated cheating in Russian universities remains high and many Russian and foreign employers prefer to accept Russian candidates with foreign education qualifications, as such validation can be more easily relied upon. As a growing internationally orientated economy, Russians recognise the value of good English language skills and such courses are in high demand both in general terms, but also in respect of tailored and specialist English language programmes aboard. Moscow Moscow, with an official population over 9.7 million (unofficially 16 million) is Europe’s largest city and has a burgeoning middle class, which in the past number of years has fuelled a citywide retail boom and a mobile phone penetration rate approaching 125%. Europe’s two largest shopping malls are now in Moscow and IKEA (which has two Moscow stores,) notes that the average customer spend per visit in Moscow is the same as in IKEA’s Stockholm and Paris stores. As a city, Moscow has the world’s biggest collection of USD billionaires and over 30,000 Muscovites declared incomes to the tax authorities in 2005 in excess of USD 1m. Moscow is clearly a rich city and one with a strong appetite for foreign educational services. Education Mission to Russia and Kazakhstan Oct 8-15th Page 2
The core Trade Mission programme is as follows:
Date Sunday, October 8th Morning/Afternoon Arrive to Moscow from Ireland Participants travelling on the designated Education Mission Flight will be met at the airport and transferred to city centre All Day Meetings with Russian Education Agents 0900-1800 Marriott Courtyard Hotel, Moscow All Day Meetings with Russian Education Agents 0900-1800 Marriott Courtyard Hotel, Moscow Transfer to Almaty Participants Travelling on the Designated Education Mission Flight will be transfered to Moscow’s Domodedevo Airport and Transferred from Almaty Airport to Hotel Evening Check-in Marriot Courtyard Hotel Welcome Briefing At 1900 Evening at Leisure
Monday, October 9th Tuesday, October 10th Wednesday, October 11th
Evening at Leisure 2000-2200 Education Mission Dinner Hosted by HE Ambassador Justin Harman Arrival in Almaty in late afternoon. Check-in Astana International Hotel (Almaty) Evening Reception / Dinner with Almaty Education Community
Thursday, October 12th
Transfer and flight to Astana for meetings with the Ministry of Education of Kazakshtan, the Center for International Programs (Bolashak Programme) and Astana Education Agencies Morning Seminar / Round Table with Almaty Education Agencies Afternoon (1200-1900) Irish Education Fair in Astana International Hotel (Almaty)
Return to Almaty by plane and transfer Astana International Hotel Evening at Leisure
Friday, October 13
Saturday, October 14 Sunday, October 15th
Irish Education Fair at Astana International Hotel (Almaty) 1200-1900 Depart Almaty in Morning for Flight to Ireland Partciipants on the designated flight will be transferred to the Airport Mission Ends
Evening at Leisure
Participation Fee The participation fee for Enterprise Ireland clients is €400 plus VAT. EI client companies may, in addition to this, request a tailor-made individual schedule of meetings with education agents in Moscow for an additional fee of €950. Details of what the fees include are attached.
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Accommodation Moscow Mindful of the high cost of accommodation in Moscow, which is one of the world’s most expensive city’s for business travellers, Enterprise Ireland has blocked booked rooms in the centrally located Marriott Courtyard http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/MOWCY in Moscow for participants. The hotel is a 4 Star facility and is also the location of the meeting rooms Enterprise Ireland has booked for Education Mission participants. A room only charge of USD 270 (Euro 213.50) is applicable for the nights of October 8, 9 and 10th. Almaty In Astana, for the nights of October 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th (4 Nights) we have booked the Astana International Hotel http://www.astana-hotel.com/page.php?lang=2 (which despite the name is in Almaty, not Astana). The hotel is also the location for meetings with education agents and the Irish Education Fair. The cost of a single room is 22,500 Kazakh Tenge (Euro 150) per night plus VAT of 15%, but including breakfast Please note Enterprise Ireland, Moscow will book the hotel rooms in both locations following the confirmation of your participation in the Education Mission Visas IMPORTANT Participants will require TWO visas for this Education Mission, one single entry/exit visa for Russia and one single entry/exit visas for Kazakhstan. While, the Russian visa can be processed at the Russian Embassy in Dublin, a Kazakhstan visa must be applied for and received by post (sending your passport) without an invitation through the Kazakhstan Embassy in London. Because Visas are required for both countries, no last minute changes to the person or persons travelling can be accommodated. Kazakhstan Visa PLEASE APPLY FOR YOUR KAZAKHSTAN VISA FIRST and ASAP BY 1. 2. 3. 4. Downloading a Visa Application Form from the Kazakhstan Embassy Website at http://kazakhstanembassy.org.uk/files/Visa%20Application%20Form.doc ; Information about documents and photos to be sent with your application and passport is available on the website at http://kazakhstanembassy.org.uk/cgi-bin/index/92 ; The cost of a single entry/exit business visa is 33 GBP, and you will additionally have to provide 9 international postal coupons for return postage ; It will take approximately one week to process your Kazakhstan visa, please apply for this visa the moment you confirm your attendance on the Education Mission ;
Russian Visa Should you wish to participate on the Education Mission, you will need to send your full passport details to my colleague Tatiana Kartseva tatiana.kartseva@enterprise-ireland.com by September 19th at the very latest to be sure of receiving a Russian business visa. Full passport details includes: full name, date of birth, place of birth, passport number, issue date and expiry date. The earlier you can process your Russian visa in Dublin, the cheaper the cost of visa issuance. YOUR PASSPORT MUST BE VALID FOR A PERIOD OF SIX MONTHS AFTER OCTOBER 15th 2006 TO RECEIVE VISAS FOR KAZAKHSTAN AND RUSSIA
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Flights Enterprise Ireland has designated the following flights for Education Mission, and due to the high cost of travel in the region, we strongly recommend that you book these flights as your earliest possible convenience. A number of flights must be booked separately. Details of the flights and the Trade Misson have been given to Neenan Travel’s office in Enterprise Ireland’s HQ in Glasnevin, and participants may find it easier to book their flight by contacting Sue Whittaker by email sue.whittaker@neenantrav.ie or by telephone 01 6079916, stating that the flights are for the Education Mission to Russia and Kazakhstan Flight One KLM ROYAL KL 3152 KL 903 KL 410 KL 3155 Dublin-Moscow and Almaty Dublin DUTCH AIRLINES 08OCT DUBLIN – AMSTERDAM Depart 0610 Arrive 0845 08OCT AMSTERDAM – MOSCOW SHEREMETYEVO Depart 0935 Arrive 1450 15OCT ALMATY – AMSTERDAM Depart 0715 Arrive 1040 15OCT AMSTERDAM – DUBLIN Depart 1250 Arrive 1325
As of July 25th - FARE EUR 991.94 INCL TAXES Flight Two Moscow – Almaty Depart 0930 Arrive1550
TRANSAERO AIRLINES – Boeing 737 UN 255 11OCT MOSCOW DOMODEDOVO – ALMATY As of July 25th - FARE EUR 174.72 INCL TAXES Flight Three Almaty-Astana-Almaty
Air Astana – Either Boeing 737 or Airbus 320 4L 851 12OCT ALMATY – ASTANA Returning same day 4L 954 12OCT ASTANA – ALMATY As of July 25th - FARE EUR 324.45 INCL TAXES
Depart 0740 Depart 2115
Arrive 0925 Arrive 2255
Please note that Moscow has three International Airports, Shermetyevo, Domodedovo and Vnukova. Our designated flights fly into Shermeteyevo and flies out of Domodedevo Airport. Next Steps If you are interested in participating, please complete and return the attached Booking Form by September 11, 2006 to my colleague Irene Sadleir in our Group Promotions Department in Dublin. Her contact details are as follows: Tel: (01) 2066403; Fax: 01-206 6497; e-mail: Irene.Sadleir@enterpriseIreland.com Spaces on this mission have to be limited and applications will be accepted on a first comefirst served basis. If you have any questions about the format, structure and logistical aspect of the trip, please contact email my colleague Zac Maenpaa Zachary.maenpaa@enterprise-ireland.com We hope you’ll join the Mission. Maria, Tatiana, Zac and I, look forward to working with you to get the most out of it for you. Kind regards, Mike Hogan Manager - Enterprise Ireland Russia, Kazakhstan and CIS. Education Mission to Russia and Kazakhstan Oct 8-15th Page 5
Fees/discounts 1. The Participation Fee of €400 (plus 21% VAT) includes: Cost of meeting facilities in Moscow and Almaty/Astana and participation in the Irish Education Fair in Almaty and all organisational expenses; Business briefing at 1900 on Sunday, October with materials on the Education Mission; Education Mission Dinner hosted by Irish Ambassador Justin Harman and Enterprise Ireland. Each participant is entitled to a maximum of three places; Evening Reception/Dinner for Almaty Education Agents; Local advertising Almaty to promote the visit to the local student market; Meeting with Ministry of Education in Astana and Astana educational agents; Organisational and logistical support in Russia and Ireland; Airport Transfers for designated flights;
Additional Costs: The participation fee does not cover: Setting up Moscow educational agent meetings and other pre-mission market research to enable appointments to be set up. If you need Enterprise Ireland’s help in preparing your programme of meetings in Moscow, the cost for setting up a full programme will be an additional Euro 950.00 plus VAT; Hotel Accommodation: EI has block-booked rooms at the following hotels during the curse of the Education Mission: Marriot Courtyard, Moscow City Centre http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/MOWCY on the nights of Oct 8, 9 and 10th at a discounted rate of USD270/€213.50 per night (excluding Tax) Astana International Hotel, Almaty, Kazakshtan http://www.astana-hotel.com/page.php?lang=2 on the nights of October 11th, 12th, 13th and 14t at a single room rate of 22,500 Kazakh Tenge (Euro 150) per night plus VAT of 15%, but including breakfast On confirmation of your participation we will make a booking on your behalf with the hotel. You are of course free to stay at other hotels, however all on the ground transport provided by Enterprise Ireland will be organised from the hotels above. The cost of flights or transportation to Moscow, Almaty and Astana; On-the ground expenses, i.e. meals, taxis etc. ; Interpreters (please notify EI if you need us to book these for you); Other miscellaneous costs;
2. Cancellation Policy In the event that you cancel your participation in the mission the following charges will apply: Participation Fees: No charge if cancellation is before 50% charge if cancellation is before 100% charge if cancellation is after No charge if cancellation is prior to 100% charge after this time September 11, 2006 September 25, 2006 October 3, 2006 September 25, 2006
Individual Itinerary Fees:
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Education Mission 2006 Russia a n d K a z a k h s t a n Sunday, October 8th, 2006 to Sunday, October 15th, 2006 Booking Form PLEASE TYPE OR PRINT ALL INFORMATION Executive Travelling: Title: ________________________________
____________________________________________ ___________________________________
Company Name:
Address: ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ Email:_______________________________________________ Area Code: _____Tel No:__________Fax No:______________ YES NO
I will participate
Please complete and return to: Ms Irene Sadleir Group Promotions Department, Enterprise Ireland, Merrion Hall Sandymount, Dublin 4 Tel: (01) 2066403 Fax: (01) 206 6497 E-mail: Irene.Sadleir@enterprise-Ireland.com
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Page 2 Objectives Please summarise any particular or speciality curses that you will be promoting on the Mission. ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________ Please state your objectives in participating on this Mission. Indicate order of priority 1 to 5 Sourcing New Students Maintenance of Relationship with Exiting Education Agencies Establish Relationship with New Education Agencies Establish or Build Relationship with Russian / Kazakh Education Institutions Other (please specify) _____________________________________________________________ What was the value of Russia, Kazakhstan or CIS in terms of inbound students to your institution in: (a) (b) (c) 2004 2005 2006 (est.)
How do you currently service the Russian and Kazakh Education Market: (a) (b) (c) (d) Existing Relationship with a Russian / Kazakh Education Agency Direct Marketing from Ireland In-country Representative or Representative office Not Currently Servicing the Market
Briefly describe the goals you hope to achieve by your participation in the Education Mission _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________
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Page 3 Programme of Meetings in Moscow I am organising my own meetings with Russian Education Agencies YES/NO _____________ I require Enterprise Ireland to set up my programme of meetings with Russian Education Agents at a cost of Euro 950 plus VAT YES/NO _____________ Please enclose at least 30 copies of product/company literature to assist in setting up appointments and send them by courier (preferably DHL) to: Tatiana Kartseva, Enterprise Ireland, C/o Commercial Section, Embassy of Ireland, Grokholski Pereulok 5, 129010 Moscow Russia Telephone: +7-495-937 5943 Your company literature should arrive no later than September 15th, 2006. Otherwise, Enterprise Ireland cannot guarantee that there will be enough time to set up a full programme of meetings. To avoid any delays, please also send the same literature by e-mail to tatiana.kartseva@enterprise-ireland.com
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