TAM Report / Uzbekistan - Internationalisation

GENERAL INFORMATION

TAM title: Inclusive Internationalisation in Higher Education

Type of Event: Seminar

Modality: Hybrid

Location: Tashkent

Country: Uzbekistan

Dates: 4–5 December 2025

Participants: A total of 140 participants registered, with 50 participants attending both days of the seminar. Participants represented 15 universities and attended either in physical presence, online, or in a hybrid format.

THEMES COVERED

• Inclusive internationalisation in higher education
• Equity and inclusion in the EHEA and Uzbek contexts
• EHEA policies, frameworks, and best practices related to internationalisation
• Institutional strategies for inclusive internationalisation
• Monitoring and evaluation of inclusive internationalisation policies
• Sustainable cooperation models and international partnerships

KEY OUTCOMES

During the workshop, participants:

• Gained increased familiarity with EHEA policies, frameworks, and best practices supporting inclusive internationalisation.
• Identified key challenges and priority areas for inclusive internationalisation at national and institutional levels.
• Contributed to laying the foundation for a future roadmap addressing inclusive internationalisation in Uzbekistan.

OVERVIEW

The two-day hybrid TAM focused on strengthening understanding of inclusive internationalisation as a key dimension of higher education reform in Uzbekistan. The experts prepared and delivered structured presentations aligned with the agreed agenda, combining conceptual input with European policy perspectives and best practices from the EHEA. Activities included plenary presentations, moderated panel discussions, and carefully designed group work sessions to facilitate in-depth reflection and peer exchange.

Group activities played a central role in enabling participants to contextualise inclusive internationalisation within their own institutions and the national system. The experts moderated discussions, supported group work, and concluded the seminar with a synthesis of lessons learned. Participants highlighted the high quality of the presentations and the effectiveness of the interactive methodology, noting that many of the concepts introduced were new to them and provided a valuable foundation for future policy and institutional development.

FOLLOW-UP EVENT

Title: Erasmus+ TAM Follow-up Activity: Inclusive Internationalization: Expanding Access and Equity in Global Higher Education Programs

Date: 27 December 2025

Audience: The follow-up activity reached over 170 stakeholders in total, including more than 100 higher education professionals who participated directly in the seminar and follow-up dissemination, and over 70 additional stakeholders reached through online dissemination. The audience comprised vice-rectors, deans, professors, international relations officers, Erasmus+ coordinators, inclusion and accessibility officers, policymakers from national ministries, and members of the NEO and HERE networks from Uzbekistan and neighbouring Central Asian countries.

Overview of the follow-up event: The follow-up activity was organised as a seminar and stakeholder meeting aimed at consolidating and operationalising the outcomes of the Technical Assistance Mission on inclusive internationalisation. It focused on translating policy recommendations and good practices into concrete institutional and system-level actions aligned with EHEA principles and national higher education reform priorities. Through policy dialogue, capacity-building sessions, and expert-led discussions, participants addressed inclusive mobility, internationalisation at home, equity-driven partnership models, and student support mechanisms. The event also supported the development of policy recommendations, institutional guidelines, and strategy inputs, fostering cooperation among higher education institutions, national authorities, and international partners, and laying the groundwork for pilot initiatives and long-term monitoring of inclusive internationalisation in Uzbekistan.

ENHANCING IMPACT: PROPOSED NEXT STEPS

• Develop a systemic national approach to inclusive internationalisation, including a coherent national action plan aligned with institutional strategies.
• Establish a national monitoring system to track implementation of equity, inclusion, and internationalisation measures at institutional level.
• Strengthen data collection mechanisms to identify underrepresented, disadvantaged, and vulnerable student and staff groups.
• Integrate inclusive internationalisation policies more explicitly into institutional strategies and governance frameworks.
• Encourage the use of Erasmus+ funding for capacity-building projects focused on inclusive internationalisation.

RESOURCES AND BACKGROUND MATERIAL

• European Higher Education Area (2024). Tirana Communiqué. Ministerial Conference of the European Higher Education Area, Tirana, 29-30 May 2024. Available at: https://ehea.info/Immagini/Tirana-Communique.pdf
• European Higher Education Area (2020). Rome Ministerial Communiqué. Ministerial Conference of the European Higher Education Area, Rome, 19 Nov. 2020. Available at: https://ehea.info/Upload/Rome_Ministerial_Communique.pdf
• European University Association (n.d.). The assessment of the social dimension of Higher Education: A global or a local process. Conference paper, European University Association. Available at: https://www.eua.eu/publications/conference-papers/the-assessment-of-the-social-dimension-of-higher-education-a-global-or-a-local-process.html