This study examines the problem of training personnel for the education sector through a model of academic excellence like honors college. Based on the analysis of legal documents, scientific, pedagogical, and specialized literature on the problem, the authors tried to present a holistic view of the model of academic excellence like honors college. Based on a comparative analysis of the experience of implementing this concept, the features of the implementation of academic excellence programs of foreign universities were revealed.

The authors also presented some data on the implementation of the Honors College program, which was launched in pilot mode in 2022 at the Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University. The goal of the Honors College project is to train professional teachers for specialized schools in Kazakhstan by providing students with additional education and practical training bases. Thus, according to the work plan of the Honors College, the students had an internship on the basis of the Republican Physics and Mathematics School in Almaty.