From March 29 to 30, 2023, a delegation of the Center for Eurasian Studies of the Institute for International and Area Studies (IIAS) at Tsinghua University visited KIMEP University in Kazakhstan. The two sides had an in-depth exchange of views on academic cooperation.

Dr. Chan Young Bang, President of KIMEP University, received the delegation. On behalf of the university, Dr. Bang awarded an honorary doctorate in international relations to Professor Shen Zhihua, Director of the IIAS Center for Eurasian Studies, in recognition of his remarkable contributions in the fields of the Cold War international history and Korean Peninsula studies.

The two sides jointly unveiled the KIMEP-IIAS Fieldwork Station and nailed down relevant matters through discussion. The KIMEP-IIAS Fieldwork Station is the first overseas fieldwork station established by the IIAS, with the aim of facilitating Eurasian studies for scholars in China, exploring the approach to area studies based on fieldwork and promoting academic cooperation between research institutes and scholars in China and Eurasia.

Professor Shen Zhihua gave a lecture at KIMEP University and had a roundtable discussion with the KIMEP research team on the Cold War international history. Present at the events were the administration and faculty members and students of KIMEP University and Dr. Zheng Nan and Dr. Shi Jing from the IIAS.

Located in Almaty, Kazakhstan, KIMEP University is a leading North American-styled educational institution in Central Asia. The university traces its roots to the Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics and Strategic Research (KIMEP) founded in 1992 with the approval of Kazakhstan’s first president Nursultan Nazarbayev. In 2022, the IIAS inked an MOU with KIMEP University, in which the two agreed to establish a fieldwork station at KIMEP University and jointly carry out area studies.