Uzbekistan Completes MIT Tech Leaders Lab Program Focused on AI and Startup Development

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — In October 2025, Uzbekistan took an important step in advancing its digital economy and strengthening international cooperation in artificial intelligence and startup ecosystem development by participating in the MIT Tech Leaders Lab program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

The delegation included representatives from the Ministry of Digital Technologies, IT Park Uzbekistan, the state unitary enterprises O‘zbekiston telekommunikatsiya tarmoqlarini boshqarish respublika markazi and Elektromagnit moslashuv markazi, as well as the Research Institute for the Development of Digital Technologies and Artificial Intelligence.

Held from 21 to 27 October at the MIT Kuo Sharper Center for Prosperity and Entrepreneurship — one of the world’s leading hubs for innovation leadership and entrepreneurship — the MIT Tech Leaders Lab was designed to foster strategic thinking, adaptive leadership, and a systems-based approach to building a national innovation ecosystem. Participants took part in both academic and practical sessions on artificial intelligence, sustainable development, systems innovation, and venture ecosystems. They also developed roadmaps for advancing Uzbekistan’s innovation landscape, tailored to the country’s local resources, human capital, and global trends.

Uzbekistan’s Minister of Digital Technologies, Sherzod Shermatov, highlighted the strategic importance of preparing a new generation of leaders for the digital age — individuals capable of driving the country’s innovation economy. MIT experts noted that Uzbekistan’s emphasis on human capital investment represents a rare and valuable approach, enabling long-term opportunities for sustainable growth and a shift from an outsourcing-based model to a self-sustaining innovation ecosystem.

The program was led by prominent MIT experts and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, including Dina H. Sherif, Executive Director of the MIT Kuo Sharper Center; Kathleen Kennedy from the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence; venture investor Nadia Shalabi; innovation economy consultant Andrea Kates; systems innovation researcher Valeria Budinich; MIT researcher on Central Asian innovation ecosystems Shamil Ibragimov; and Ana Bakshi, Director of the MIT Martin Trust Center.

Structured as a progressive learning journey, the program guided participants from understanding innovation ecosystem design to developing strategic and adaptive leadership skills. The delegation studied economic mechanisms for fostering innovation, models of venture financing, investment attraction tools for tech projects, the application of AI in management processes, and adaptive leadership methods in a rapidly changing technological environment.

The practical component of the program included visits to leading research and innovation centers at MIT and Harvard, such as the MIT Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship, MIT/IBM Watson AI Lab, MIT Robotics and AI Institute, and Harvard Innovation Labs. These visits provided first-hand insights into transforming research into market-ready products, developing robotics solutions, and scaling startups.

Following the program, discussions were initiated on long-term cooperation, including the potential localization of the MIT Sandbox platform, the establishment of joint R&D centers focusing on artificial intelligence, unmanned systems, and industrial automation, as well as academic mobility and participation of Uzbek professionals in MIT’s Open Learning programs.

Abdulakhad Kuchkarov, CEO of IT Park Uzbekistan, emphasized that collaboration with MIT creates opportunities for introducing best practices, strengthening the country’s entrepreneurial culture, and enhancing the global competitiveness of Uzbek startup founders.

The MIT Tech Leaders Lab program has become a key milestone in Uzbekistan’s digital transformation, aimed at developing human capital, shaping a new data- and innovation-driven management culture, and nurturing a generation of leaders capable of turning technological ideas into sustainable solutions — thereby reinforcing Uzbekistan’s position on the global innovation map.