There are another 20 research institutes at 53 universities plus more than 25 institutes under various ministries (e.g. Education and Science, Health). The number of public sector employees increased over 2009-2013 (Table 3.2), driven largely by increased numbers of research specialists. Furthermore, there are various joint projects with universities (e.g. with the Kyrgyz National University (KNU) in the field of hydrometeorology) and efforts to integrate higher education with the NAS.