Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — A delegation from the University of Utah visited Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Digital Technologies, where it learned about the development of the IT industry and digital government and discussed prospects for cooperation in workforce training and technology projects.
As part of the visit, university representatives were given a presentation on the activities of IT Park.
The delegation was briefed on measures to develop Uzbekistan’s IT industry, opportunities for local and foreign technology companies, the development of the startup ecosystem and the expansion of IT services exports.
The delegation also learned about the activities of UZINFOCOM. University representatives were presented with projects aimed at developing digital government infrastructure, digitizing public services, and introducing modern information systems and digital platforms.
This was followed by a meeting between Minister of Digital Technologies Sherzod Shermatov and the University of Utah delegation.
The sides discussed the development of Uzbekistan’s digital economy, training highly qualified specialists in IT and artificial intelligence, and expanding cooperation between universities and technology companies.
The meeting noted that the growing number of companies operating in the IT sector is accompanied by rising demand for qualified specialists. In this regard, joint efforts were proposed to establish and develop university-based startups, support technology projects by faculty and students, and expand opportunities for mentorship and investment from the idea stage through to the minimum viable product (MVP) stage.
One potential area of cooperation could be integrating the University of Utah’s expertise with the educational capabilities of Uzbek universities that train IT specialists.
Particular attention was paid to training personnel for the gaming industry and developing a startup ecosystem in this field.
The participants discussed opportunities to use the University of Utah’s educational and research potential in gaming, computer science and artificial intelligence to develop these areas in Uzbekistan.
The sides also considered prospects for joint research in artificial intelligence, studying the impact of AI technologies on the labor market, and developing responsible and safe solutions.
University of Utah representatives noted the significant attention the university pays to research in responsible artificial intelligence and expressed interest in implementing joint research projects with the Uzbek side.
The dialogue also highlighted the need to train qualified cybersecurity specialists alongside the development of digital public services. The sides considered opportunities to improve faculty qualifications, implement joint programs and train specialists with modern cybersecurity skills.
Following the meeting, the participants noted the importance of developing cooperation mechanisms in the digital economy, BPO and KPO services, remote job creation, computer science, artificial intelligence, the gaming industry and education.
