Meruyert Bizhanova is a DPhil student at Oxford University, specializing in International and Comparative Higher Education Development, and proudly represents Kazakhstan and Central Asia on the global academic stage. Before Oxford, she earned a bachelor’s degree at Nazarbayev University and a Master’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), where she distinguished herself as an exceptional advocate and transformative leader for graduate and professional students, graduating from both programs with first-class honors.
During her fully funded graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), Meruyert demonstrated exceptional leadership as President of the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly (GAPSA), serving as the representative for over 20,000 graduate and professional students across 12 graduate schools, and as President of the Penn GSE Student Government, where she spearheaded initiatives to advance student welfare, inclusivity, and academic excellence. She also proudly represented UPenn at the Ivy+ Leadership Summits, collaborating with Student Leaders from other Ivy League institutions to exchange insights and shape best practices in higher education leadership. Her exemplary leadership and unwavering commitment earned her numerous prestigious and highly selective accolades, including the University Leadership Award – Andy Binns Leadership Impact Award for Outstanding Service to Graduate and Professional Student Life, the William E. Arnold Award for Outstanding Contributions by a Student, GAPSA Leadership Service Award, the Pan-Asian Advocacy and Leadership Award, and the Laurie Wagman Award, which recognizes a Penn GSE scholar who demonstrates an innovative and creative educational vision through academic research. In recognition of her exceptional contributions to fostering global engagement and intercultural understanding, Meruyert became the first Kazakhstani student to receive the Penn Global Citizenship Award, an honor bestowed upon only one graduate student annually.
Prior to Oxford, Meruyert worked as a Research Assistant at the Penn GSE Hub for Equity, Anti-Oppression, Research, and Development, and as a staff member at the Penn Carey Law School, where she advanced scholarly initiatives and promoted equitable institutional practices. She also served as Deputy in the Capital Youth Maslihat in Kazakhstan and has extensive experience on University Committees and high-level decision-making Councils.
Meruyert’s research interests lie at the intersection of higher education systems and global comparative studies, with a particular focus on post-Soviet legacies, internationalization, and the globalization of higher education. She is committed to investigating the research ecosystems of universities, examining how institutions define research excellence, develop research capacities, foster sustainable research cultures, and balance the often-competing demands of teaching and scholarship, essentially exploring what makes a university world-class. She interrogates both internal organizational, institutional, and normative challenges that universities face in cultivating vibrant, globally competitive research environments. During her time at UPenn, Meruyert completed a capstone research project titled “Balancing Research and Teaching in Kazakhstani Universities: Insights from Global Literature on Enhancing Teaching Quality in Research-Intensive Institutions”, exemplifying her dedication to producing scholarship that bridges theory, policy, and practice in higher education. She presented her research at the CIES Conference in Chicago and at several other prestigious international conferences.
Meruyert’s research and professional pursuits are guided by a vision of universities as catalysts of opportunity, where research excellence and inclusive access enable students from historically marginalized backgrounds to fully engage in scholarship and achieve the same outcomes as their privileged peers.