by Ann M. Koenig, AACRAO staff
In ancient days the Silk Road made Uzbekistan an international destination. Now Uzbekistan is embarking on a 10-year plan with a goal of once again becoming an international hub – in higher education.
A promising pathway
Uzbekistan has outlined a road map for its pathway to becoming a regional leader in higher education, grounded in three connected components: the UNESCO “Education 2030” initiative, the Presidential Decree of October 2019 on “Development
of the Higher Education System of the Republic of Uzbekistan until 2030” and the new law “On Education” that became effective on September 23, 2020.
This pathway includes plans for changes and improvements to the educational system, to make higher education stronger for Uzbek students and more attractive for international students. AACRAO is on top of these developments and actively involved in supporting
one significant goal of the Presidential Decree: establishing a credit system in higher education. At the invitation of Webster University’s new campus in Uzbekistan, Webster University Tashkent (WUT), AACRAO staff Julia Funaki, Melanie Gottlieb, Tom Green, and Ann Koenig led a conference held virtually on Oct. 8, 2020 on the academic credit hour as a foundation for quality assurance and student mobility.
The WUT-AACRAO team is currently developing the next steps in helping Uzbekistan create a sustainable credit system that will be an integral part of its higher education future.
Significant changes in secondary education have already taken place in recent years and the journey to 2030 in higher education is already underway. A number of new Uzbek higher education institutions were opened just this past September, along with more
branches of foreign institutions offering programs in Uzbekistan. Relationships with international partners are increasing. Other developments are in the works.
Join the free webinar
To learn more about Uzbekistan’s road map to quality improvement in both secondary and higher education, and its plans for becoming a hub for international education by 2030, join AACRAO’s Ann Koenig and Uzbek colleague Botir Djuraev on a
Silk Road journey at a free AACRAO Webinar on Uzbekistan on Thursday, December 3 at 2:00 pm EST. More information and registration are available here.