Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 3-7 July 2023, the city of Tashkent hosts a week of international partnership initiatives on the theme "New Uzbekistan: development, innovation and education".

The main goal of this international week is to discuss the democratic reforms carried out in recent years in New Uzbekistan, their achievement and new tasks for the future, the discussion of a completely new socio-economic, political-legal and spiritual-educational environment in the country, as well as the exchange of views among international and local experts on priority issues in the country’s foreign and domestic policy.

More than 450 state and public figures, politicians, experts, representatives of big business, as well as a number of international organizations from more than 60 countries of the world take part in the prestigious international conference, which attracted the attention of the world community.

Within the framework of the international week, the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation of the Republic of Uzbekistan held an international conference on the theme "Quality education and innovation - the basis of a sustainable future" in the Event hall in Tashkent.

In his speech at the conference, the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Academician Ibrokhim Abdurakhmonov noted that as a result of the reforms of the last 5 years, effective mechanisms have been developed in our country to increase the coverage and development of the quality of education, ensure the flexibility of the training system to the needs of the economy, comprehensive support and development of scientific and innovative activities, creation of favorable conditions for the formation and further improvement of the country’s innovative potential.

The annual amount of funds allocated from the state budget for innovation and science has been increased by 3 times, and the amount of project financing - by 3.5 times. In order to form a startup ecosystem, 19 innovative infrastructures have been created, a system for allocating grant funds for startup projects has been introduced, startup teams have passed through acceleration and incubation programs, 136 startups have been financed for a total of 105.7 billion soums. As a result of the introduction of new mechanisms for the implementation and commercialization of scientific and technical developments, scientific developments worth 455.1 billion soums were commercialized.

In addition, in higher educational and research institutions, the official salaries of employees with a scientific degree were increased by 3.2 times, and a procedure for stimulating (additional payments) employees based on target indicators was introduced. As a result, in 2022, Uzbekistan took 82nd place among 132 countries of the world in the ranking of the Global Innovation Index, which determines the trends in innovative development of the countries of the world (3rd place among the countries of Central and South Asia, having risen by 40 positions compared to 2015).

In order to develop a continuous ecosystem "industry-region-scientific/higher educational organization" from creating new jobs to creating economic value (capital) in the formation of a creative economy in the country, the Strategy for Innovative Development of New Uzbekistan was adopted. It set the task of entering Uzbekistan into the Top 50 countries in the world ranking of the Global Innovation Index.

In the panel session "Strategy for Innovative Development of New Uzbekistan", the international expert of the project "Modernization of the National Innovation System of Uzbekistan" (MUNIS) Erbol Suleimenov, international expert in the field of energy and new materials Bashir Chanbasha (India), director and founder of the company "Nexus Innovation Hub and Incubator" Eric Ajulay (USA) attended. In particular, it was noted that the process of implementing the Strategy for Innovative Development of the Republic of Uzbekistan for 2022-2026 requires flexibility and constant assessment of the current state of science and innovation, taking into account global trends. Therefore, special attention was paid to the need for regular research in this direction. The importance of an objective assessment of the current state of the country in order to create a more effective development strategy in accordance with changes in the world arena and its own needs was also emphasized.

Rector of Webster University in Tashkent, Academician Vassilis Polimenis, Rector of the British University of Management in Tashkent Konrad Ozog, Vice-Rector of Westminster International University in Tashkent Michael Clark and Rector of Tashkent State Technical University Sadriddin Turabjanov also took part in other session.

Over the past 6 years, the number of universities in the higher education system of Uzbekistan has increased from 77 to 210, admission to them has increased 3.5 times, and the level of youth enrollment in higher education has increased from 9% to 39%. 65 non-state higher educational institutions, the number of foreign universities has been increased to 30, and state universities to 115. On the basis of the European ECTS - European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System, the educational process in higher educational institutions has been transferred to a credit-module system, 41 universities have been granted academic and financial independence. The state educational standards in the system of higher education have also been changed on the basis of the "International Standard Classification of Education" and "TSCK: areas of education and training" introduced by UNESCO. To date, these standards have been approved by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation and have undergone state registration and are used in the educational process.

Over the past six years, 8,636 professors and teachers have been sent to foreign higher educational institutions and research institutions for internships within the framework of mutual cooperation and grant programs of higher educational institutions. In order to further improve the quality and efficiency of education in universities, 7,385 foreign specialists were involved in the educational process.

In the panel session “Global Innovation Index - an indicator of innovative development: world experience”, the rector of the Tashkent State University of Economics Kongratbay Sharipov, international expert (USA) Kendrick White, consultant on international management development and capacity building (Switzerland) Marlon Lazema, member of the board Kazakhstan Association of Technology Commercialization Experts Abilai Akimbekov attended. It was noted that as a result of the country’s policy of openness, attention to science and work aimed at increasing innovative potential, Uzbekistan for the first time became the leader of Central Asia and ranked 82nd in the world in terms of innovative development in the Global Innovation Index 2022.

The panel session "Higher Education and Innovative Development" was attended by World Bank expert (France) Jean Jacques Royes, SwissNewater Chairman (Switzerland) Claude Begle, intellectual property legal consultant and project manager at Red Sea Farms (Saudi Arabia) Abai Djangabilov , Rector of the Tashkent University of Information Technologies named after Muhammad Al Kharezmi Bakhtiyar Makhkamov.

It is noted that over the past 6 years, the percentage of teachers with a scientific degree in the republic has increased from 32.7% to 39.3%.

The system of financing science and scientific activities has been diversified, the funds allocated for science and innovation from industrial enterprises and the private sector have increased 3 times in 2018-2022. In 2018-2022, the number of quotas allocated for doctoral studies increased by 7.1 times and reached 3,600 places in 2022. As a preparatory stage for postgraduate education, the institution of trainee researchers was introduced, thanks to which 1,200 young scientists were covered.