On 17 May 2023 members of the UK Commons Select Committee on Foreign Affairs visited Westminster International University in Tashkent (WIUT) as part of their visit to Uzbekistan.
The delegation was led by the Chair, Alicia Kearns MP, and included Sir Chris Bryant MP; Neil Coyle MP; and Liam Byrne MP.
The group was accompanied by H E Mr Tim Torlot, HM Ambassador to the Republic of Uzbekistan, and by Denise Waddingham and Jamilya Gulyamova, Country Director and Deputy Director of the British Council in Uzbekistan. The delegation was welcomed to the WIUT by Dr Michael Clarke, First Deputy Rector, WIUT and Stephen Wallis, Director of Transnational Education at the University of Westminster.
During their visit they were briefed on the history of WIUT which, since its foundation 21 years ago, has grown from 120 students to over 5000 studying on both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. Subjects offered now include Business, Economics, Finance, Computing, and Law, alongside specialised Master’s degrees in areas such as Public Health Science, and Learning and Teaching.
The delegation also met with WIUT students, recently returned from visiting the University of Westminster having participated in the 6th International Students Democracy Education Network Conference, and with Westminster students from the School of Computer Science and Engineering, who were visiting WIUT to take part in a conference on Digitalisation and Digital Transformation Over the Silk Road and a joint student computer hackathon. The delegation were keen to learn about the thoughts and aspirations of the students and their vision for Uzbekistan and its future.
The University of Westminster continues to develop transformative research, Knowledge Exchange (KE) and training activity in collaboration with WIUT and in the region, including through work enabled by the Forum for Uzbek and Silk Road Studies and the Westminster Development Policy Network.
The University also continues to contribute to policy developments in Uzbekistan in other ways, for example through membership of the national Inclusive University working group under the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovations. Coordinated by the Ministry and the British Council in Tashkent, the group is the outcome of an Inclusive University Conference organised in May 2022 as a joint initiative of the then Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialised Education, the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the British Council, WIUT, and the University of Westminster.
The group is taking forward critical impact-driven work on inclusive higher education provision in Uzbekistan, focusing on embedding inclusion in university strategies; shaping an inclusive curriculum; and inclusive student support. Priorities for the Ministry include widening access for people with disabilities and people from low-income families, as well as women’s and girls’ empowerment. The group aims to develop good practice materials deriving from national and international expertise, in recognition of the socio-cultural, educational and economic benefits of inclusive HE.
The University of Westminster and WIUT also work closely with the British Council in Uzbekistan in other areas, such as the development of UK alumni networks and developments in Transnational Education (TNE), quality assurance and language policy.
Over the past 20 years the partnership between the University of Westminster and WIUT has become a beacon of educational quality and transformative TNE. It remains the best example of a sustainable British-Uzbek higher education partnership. Future collaborations between Westminster and WIUT will continue across the spectrum of teaching, learning, research and KE, guided by a recognition in both institutions of the vital role TNE collaboration plays in bilateral UK-Uzbek relations at a time of unparalleled social and global change.
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