Hohai University

Hohai University was founded in 1915 as China's first higher education institution dedicated to water conservancy, and it remains the country's leading university for water resources, hydraulic engineering, hydrology and water environment. That specialism matters to Kazakhstan more than almost any other subject taught in China, and for a specific reason. The Ili and Irtysh rivers rise in China and flow into Kazakhstan, making transboundary water management a live and unresolved bilateral issue. Lake Balkhash depends on the Ili. The Aral basin remains one of the most serious water crises anywhere. A Kazakh graduate who understands Chinese water engineering, reads Chinese, and has studied at the institution that trains Chinese hydraulic engineers is positioned for work that few others can do. That is a narrower and stronger argument than general institutional standing. Hohai also teaches civil engineering, environmental science, ocean engineering and management.