Due to economic and demographic changes more countries are investing in higher education and research. Uzbekistan is of particular interest because of its rapidly growing economy, large young population, and strategic location in Central Asia. The country has the largest population of the region with over 38 million inhabitants, of which more than 60% are under the age of thirty.
During recent years Uzbekistan has implemented reforms promoting trade, investment, and international cooperation. The country’s central position in Central Asia strengthens its role in regional trade as well as a transport corridor and link between Europe and Asia, thus also making it an interesting geopolitical intersection.
To support Swedish higher education institutions in developing knowledge and contacts in Central Asia, STINT now includes the American University of Technology (AUT) in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, as a partner university in its Teaching Sabbatical programme. This partnership extends the programme’s international network and presents new opportunities for academic exchange with a rapidly developing region.
AUT in Tashkent is “powered by Arizona State University (ASU)”, which means that education is developed in close collaboration with ASU – one of STINT’s American partner universities, often ranked as the most innovative university in the USA. Through their partnership AUT gains access to international academic resources, educational models, and experience gained from ASU’s global higher education efforts.
The inclusion of AUT in the Teaching Sabbatical programme gives Swedish lecturers and their home universities the opportunity to participate in a new, dynamic environment, while contributing their skills to the development of a new international university in Central Asia. It also provides a deeper understanding of how ASU operates internationally by establishing institutional partnerships in dynamic regions across the globe. ASU, through Cintana Education, collaborates with around thirty universities worldwide in this manner.
We are delighted to offer AUT as a new choice in this year’s call for Teaching Sabbatical applications.
The other partner universities in the programme are:
• Arizona State University, USA
• The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China
• Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
• National University of Singapore, Singapore
• Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Japan
• University of Botswana, Botswana
• University of California, Berkeley, USA
• University of California Los Angeles, USA
• University of Texas at Austin, USA
• University of Tokyo, Japan