The VIII Central Asian International Forum on Quality Assurance in Education: "Improving the quality of education as a phenomenon of strategic development of universities in the information space" was held on October 4, 2024, at Astana IT-University (Astana) and was organized by the Independent Agency for Accreditation and Rating (IAAR). 

Douglas Blackstock, President of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA), Stefan Lovik, President of the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR), representatives of international quality assurance networks in higher education, government agencies, heads of higher education institutions from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, France, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Turkey, Moldova, Armenia, and Latvia.

The International Forum began with welcoming speeches by: Director General of IAAR Alina Zhumagulova, Minister of Healthcare of the Republic of Kazakhstan - Akmaral Alnazarova, Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan Ahmed-Zaki Darkhan, and others.

The International Forum's primary goal was to ensure the quality of educational services offered by universities in Central Asia and Europe, as well as job opportunities and graduate demand.

The Forum will address the following key issues: a new paradigm for ensuring educational quality in the context of innovative transformations; the integration of medical education, science, and practice; and how artificial intelligence impacts the evolution of the education system's architecture.

The panel discussion "Integration of medical education, science, and practice" will cover topics such as improving medical education quality, developing faculty capacity in medical education, ensuring effective use of simulation training technologies, developing dual training in the training of healthcare workers, medical personnel distribution, and medical care accessibility.