On February 26, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL), through the Office of Global Partnerships and Initiatives and DWFI, hosted a delegation from the Kazakh National Agrarian Research University (KazNARU). The two entities signed a letter of intent, creating a formal partnership which follows a decade of informal collaborations in the Central Asia region.
KazNARU is the longest standing university in Kazakhstan and has a rich history of international collaborations with universities and institutions around the world. It selected UNL to be its primary connection in the United States because of the university's focus on water and food security in a global agricultural context.
KazNARU and UNL aim to increase opportunities for student training and global collaborations, especially since Kazakhstan and Nebraska have similar climates and face similar challenges in water quality.
The Kazakh Academy of Sciences President, A. K. Kurishbaev, and the KazNARU Vice Rector, Rafis Abazov, traveled to Lincoln, Neb. to meet with departments on campus and sign the letter of intent in-person. As a part of the visit, DWFI Executive Director Peter McCornick and Water Sciences Laboratory Director Dan Snow also received titles of honorary KazNARU professors.