In the city of Astana, a round table was held in the co-working center "Tokyo" on the topic "Pedagogical technopark at a higher educational institution: from idea to implementation".
The organizer of the event is the National Defense University of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Representatives of more than ten advanced military, civil and foreign higher educational institutions and experts in the field of pedagogical innovations and digital technologies took part in the discussion.
The purpose of the round table was to discuss new ways of organizing the educational environment in higher educational institutions, including the military education system. The main focus of the discussion was the pedagogical technopark, which was considered as a technological and methodological platform for the implementation of digital transformation.
Pedagogical technology park being created in the structure of the National Defense University of the Republic of Kazakhstan is considered as an innovative training center. It consists of three educational areas:
IT/VR/AR Lab is a modern educational space aimed at modeling professional situations and developing digital competences. The laboratory is equipped with monoblocks, tablets, laptops and virtual and augmented reality devices. Here, tactical, command and control scenarios are created, digital platforms and simulators are mastered. This contributes to the formation of information-analytical and professional competences necessary in the conditions of military service.
Pedagogical excellence media studio - designed to develop digital and verbal culture of the teacher. This is a special space equipped with professional video cameras, microphones, lighting equipment, teleprompter and video editing stations. Educational video materials, interactive courses and podcasts are developed there. The media studio creates conditions for improving the skills of teachers in public speaking, visualizing educational materials and creating multimedia content. It builds verbal, social-communicative and technological competencies important for teaching in the context of digital transformation.
Innovative teaching laboratory - a transformative space for testing and introducing modern pedagogical methods. It is equipped with interactive panels, simulators, gamification tools, mobile training stations and visual modeling tools. In this lab, teachers will learn the case method, blended learning, personalized learning trajectories, and artificial intelligence analytics. The laboratory plays the role of a methodological training ground for the development of pedagogical and research competences aimed at updating the subject content and quality training of officers.
The participants of the round table emphasized the importance of creating a permanent methodological and normative base of the technopark. A three-stage system of teacher training, which includes the stages of familiarization with teaching resources, practical use of digital tools and analysis of results, was proposed.
During the round table, the Ministry of Defense, Nazarbayev University (NU), Astana IT University, Academy of Law Enforcement Bodies under the General Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan, L.N. Reports and speeches of representatives of foreign colleagues such as Gumilev Eurasian National University, Abylkas Saginov Karaganda Technical University, as well as Omb State Pedagogical University of the Russian Federation were heard.
One of the important events was the presentation of the memorandum on interlibrary exchange between the National Defense University and the National Academic Library of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The main directions for the development of the pedagogical technopark were shown in the resolution adopted as a result of the discussion. They are: designing a resource map, introducing digital education models, forming a professional community of teachers ready for innovative activities. At the same time, the importance of mutual cooperation between higher education institutions and openness to the exchange of methodological solutions and best practices was emphasized.
The creation of a pedagogical technology park on the basis of the National Defense University of the Republic of Kazakhstan is a strategic initiative that gives impetus to the technologically innovative thinking of the military education system. This contributes to increasing the competitiveness of the university, as well as strengthening it as a scientific and educational center of the new generation.