On 26 February, at Bishkek Academy of Finance and Economics in a solemn ceremony Dr. Thomas Kunze was awarded an Honorary Professorship from BAFE. Thomas Kunze is a Regional authorized representative of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Central Asia.

Assoc. Svetlana Rustamovna Sirmbard, Rector of the Academy, opened the solemn ceremony in the presence of the BAFE professorial staff and students. She noted the success of Dr. Thomas Kunze on the development of problems in the modern history, his effective work as the Regional authorized representative of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Central Asia, stressed his contribution to reform of higher education in the region, including Kyrgyzstan, holding of a number of trainings, round tables to establish a system of quality assurance of higher education, to implement eLearning in HEIs.

S.R. Sirmbard has emphasized the cooperative relations established with the representative of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, a successful participation of students of the Academy in competitions for a scholarship of the Foundation.

It has also been noted, that the representatives of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation are providing direct assistance to the Academy in the development of distance education on the conclusion of agreements with the EU higher education institutions in this area.

Closing her speech, BAFE Rector Assoc. S. R. Sirmbard announced the decision of the Academic Council of the Academy on conferring the title of Honorary Professor of BAFE to Dr. Thomas Kunze and handed him the diploma of Honorary Professor of the Academy and donning of the mantle.

Addressing the ceremony, Dr. Thomas Kunze thanked the BAFE direction, Academic Council of the Academy for the high appreciation of his activity. Dr. Thomas Kunze expressed his satisfaction with the cooperation between Academy and the Mission of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, noting that the image of the Bishkek Academy of Finance and Economics is growing as a developing modern university and that for him and the Mission of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation it is important to continue to work productively with BAFE, continuing to go toward increasingly high and new level in working in Kyrgyzstan higher education reform.

Department of External Relations