ENU Concludes Professional Development Course on Mindful and Human-Centered Education

At L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, a professional development course dedicated to mindful, human-centred education has been completed - the integration of heutagogy, mindfulness practices (MBSR) and the international teaching-quality standards MBI-TAC into the higher-education process.

The programme was organised and developed by Mindful Academy Project LLP - a team specialising in mindful education, teacher development and the introduction of internationally recognised mindfulness and MBI-TAC approaches into the academic environment.

The course brought together faculty and methodologists from different schools around an important question: what can teaching be like so that it develops students' attention, autonomy and intrinsic motivation - while preserving the teacher's own resilience and professional resource?

During the programme, participants approached teaching as a holistic, mindful process. Special attention was given to the teacher's role as a guide and designer of the learning experience, to mindfulness as a professional competence, to the principles of self-determined learning (heutagogy), to integrating mindfulness practices (MBSR) into the classroom, to the international teaching-quality criteria MBI-TAC, and to adapting syllabi to a human-centred approach.

One of the key insights was the understanding that a quality syllabus is not a formal document or a list of topics, but a clear map of the course in which the student sees the goal, the logic, the success criteria and the ways to get support. Equally important was a shift in attitude towards mindfulness: participants came to see it not as ‘esoterica’ but as a working tool — a way to manage attention, reduce the risk of professional burnout and create a safe, engaging learning environment.