Evgeny Troitskiy, Sergey Yun. Internationalization of higher education in Uzbekistan: goals, tools, role of Russia and scenarios of evolution

Uzbekistan: the course towards reforms and change of development models

Modern Uzbekistan is in a special place among the post-Soviet countries from the point of view of Russia's interests. It is the third most populous post-Soviet state, the fifth largest economy, a military-political ally of Russia, one of the two regional political leaders and leading trade and economic partners of Moscow in Central Asia. According to expert estimates, the level of active or passive command of the Russian language of the population in Uzbekistan is about 40%. In the field of higher education, Uzbekistan is one of the main export markets for Russia. According to the data for the 2017/2018 academic year, Uzbekistan ranked fourth in the world in terms of the number of citizens studying in Russian universities, after Kazakhstan, China and Turkmenistan.

Interest in Uzbekistan is also determined by the fact that President Sh.M. Mirziyoyev’s taking office in 2016 began a new stage of systemic reforms in the country, which marked the transition from a model of economic development focused on the domestic market and resources to a model focused on export and active involvement of external development resources. The sphere of higher education occupies an important place in the program of ongoing reforms. The tasks of increasing availability of higher education, ensuring its quality and competitiveness at the international level have been set...