The overall project goal of ACeSYRI (Advanced Centre for PhD students and young researchers in informatics) is to improve research conditions of young researchers and PhD students in informatics (computer science) from Kazakhstan universities based on development of international cooperation with EU universities. Therefore we plan to develop a virtual portal and center in Kazakhstan in order to promote the collaboration between the target groups: PhD students, young researchers, academic teachers. In general, ACeSYRI allows participants to form research groups, collaborate with international research partners and to share information and project results. Using ACeSYRI to collaborate is free of charge and is available to students and young researchers from PC universities and enterprises. The project is scheduled for 3 years and is conducted by 4 EU and 9 Kazakh institutes, including 7 universities (private and public) . The implementation of ACeSYRI provides a valuable contribution towards the modernization of higher education in Kazakhstan. Both, promoting the research conditions of young researchers and involving them into actual research problems are expected to raise the level of higher education PC.ACeSYRI has a long-lasting impact on the higher education of PC. First pilot collaborations between PhD students/young researchers and professors from Kazakhstan and teaching staff from EU universities are conducted during the project and are expected to spill over to other young researchers .

Armenia, Georgia, Belarus and Kazakhstan are currently facing economical difficulties as consequences of economic policy, recent international financial crisis, collapse of world oil/gas prices and economcal slow down in China and other emerging countries. The situation causes an urgent need to implement structural economic reform to transform traditional economy to diversified, knowledge-based and innovation-driven economy. However, present higher education in these countries does not have a strong link to innovation and entrepreneurship. It has failed to become the drivning force to create new innovative enterprises which lead to new jobs and economic growth.This project aims to enhance innovation competences and entrepreneurial skills in engineering education through university-business cooperation in order to support creation of new enterprises, new jobs and economic growth in the partner countries.The specific objectives of the project are to:- foster an innovation culture among partner university staff and students- establish 8 innovation centers at partner countries- provide training to 104 partner country staff on innovation and entrepreneurship - introduce innovation pedagogy in teaching and learning- define transversal innovation competences and develop tools to assess such competences- introduce new courses on innovation and entrepreneurship to engineering students- promote university-business cooperation- provide business incubator and start-up accelerator services to staff and students to develop successful businesses- organize an innovation competition to promote entrepreneurship- disseminate project results to other universities in the partner countries- help partner countriey to develop a national innovation strategyThe project is coordinated by Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Sweden, with 2 more EU universities, 8 partner country universities, 4 education ministries as well as 1 NGO and 3 small private enterprises.