Fergana Medical Institute Lands University of Michigan Partnership

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The Fergana Institute of Public Health signed a strategic memorandum of partnership with the University of Michigan during a delegation visit to the United States from May 23 to June 3, 2026, the institute announced.

The agreement is structured around three pillars: medical personnel training, joint scientific research, and the adoption of modern educational technologies. Its most immediately tangible benefit is access to fully funded two- and three-month research fellowships in the United States for faculty, physicians, early-career researchers, and students — with airfare, accommodation, health insurance, and stipends covered entirely by University of Michigan grant funding.

On the clinical side, specialists Khaled Samir Hafez and Brent Benson Ward will travel to Fergana to conduct masterclasses, clinical training sessions, and complex surgical procedures in two high-demand specializations: urological oncology and maxillofacial surgery.

The curriculum reform dimension of the partnership is equally significant. The two institutions agreed to progressively integrate elements of the United States Medical Licensing Examination system into Fergana's educational process — a move designed to build students' clinical reasoning, diagnostic skills, and medical decision-making in line with international benchmarks.

Looking further ahead, the partnership will also deliver professional development programs in three emerging areas: artificial intelligence in medicine, big data analytics, and healthcare system management, all to be funded through international grant mechanisms.

The Fergana Institute framed the agreement in explicitly regional terms, noting that collaboration with leading global universities expands access to international educational and scientific resources and creates new pathways for integrating the Fergana region into the global academic ecosystem.