19 April 2018, the leadership of the Independent Agency for Accreditation and Rating (IAAR) held a meeting with the leaders of the Public Association “Republican Student Movement ‘Alliance of Students of Kazakhstan». 
The Alliance of Students of Kazakhstan is one of the largest student organisations in the country, uniting thousands of students nationwide and aiming to improve the quality of higher education, ensure the protection of students’ rights, and create conditions for the effective development of the intellectual, creative, spiritual, and innovative potential of student youth. 
Throughout its activities, IAAR has cooperated with student representatives, involving them in the procedures for the external evaluation of universities and colleges, and including them in the Agency’s Expert Councils and Accreditation Council.
During the meeting, the General Director of IAAR, A.B. Zhumagulova, and the President of the Alliance of Students of Kazakhstan, I. Tustikbayev, signed a Memorandum of Cooperation between the two organisations. The signing of the Memorandum will contribute to closer cooperation in consolidating Kazakhstani student youth around the idea of the development and prosperity of Kazakhstan, promoting students’ awareness in the field of quality assurance, and improving the national higher education system. 
The cooperation between IAAR and the Alliance of Students of Kazakhstan will focus on the following areas:

-increasing the level of openness (transparency) and objectivity in the field of education quality assurance;

-informing students about the quality of educational services and educational programmes;

-developing cooperation by involving students as experts and preparing student experts in the evaluation of education quality for participation in independent accreditation procedures;

-exchanging experience in the field of procedures and mechanisms of independent evaluation and accreditation of educational organisations;

-mutually beneficial representation of interests in the field of accreditation at national and international levels, as well as supporting the promotion of the national quality assurance system.