The Coupling Mechanism of Internal and External Factors of Higher Education Competitiveness in Countries along the Belt and Road Initiative: A Case Study of Kazakhstan

Abstract

Against the backdrop of the continuous advancement of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), shaping the competitiveness of higher
education in participating countries has become a crucial proposition for regional coordinated development. Taking Kazakhstan as a research sample, this paper systematically combs through the current status of its higher education development, deeply analyzes the internal
and external factors forming its competitiveness from a professional and technical dimension, and constructs the corresponding coupling
mechanism. The study finds that Kazakhstan’s higher education has internal shortcomings such as spatial mismatches of resources and lagging curriculum systems, and faces external challenges such as intensified regional educational competition and global shifts in educational
paradigms. Through refined strategies like establishing dynamic resource allocation models and constructing industry-education integration
curriculum matrices, a benign coupling of internal and external factors is expected to be achieved, providing a referenceable practical path for
the development of higher education in BRI countries.