Cluster Meeting on impact of Erasmus + CBHE projects
National Erasmus+ Office (NEO) in partnership with International Agriculture University was held a Cluster Meeting on “Impact of Erasmus + CBHE projects on higher education in the agriculture, water resources management and environment” dedicated to 35 years of Erasmus+ on 26 December 2022. As the most successful and long-term programme of the European Union, the Erasmus+ programme aims to support projects, cooperation, activities and mobility in the fields of education, training, sports and youth support.
Framework of the Cluster Meeting:
Cluster Meeting aims to:
● Exchange experience in terms of improving the quality of higher education in the agricultural, veterinary, water resources management, and environmental sector and establishing cooperation with leading foreign institutions with a focus on implementation and efficiency of Curriculum Development
● Discuss the role of local Erasmus+ Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE) projects in modernisation and intensive development of the agricultural sector in recent years
● Promote and disseminate results, outcomes, and achievements of ongoing and completed projects to interested parties
Cluster Meeting Partners: EU Delegation in Uzbekistan, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialised Education of the Republic of Uzbekistan (MHSSE), International Agriculture University
Participants: EU Delegation in Uzbekistan, Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan, State Inspectorate for Supervision of Quality in Education under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan (SISQE), Ministry of Water Resources of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Center for the Development of Higher Education and the Introduction of Advanced Technologies, local Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE) project coordinators and team members, the representatives of International Relations Office (IRO), initiators of local joint projects, representatives of private and public sector, members of territorial administrative units, research institutes, state unitary enterprises and state centres, and general public.
Erasmus+ in Uzbekistan
The Erasmus+ programme is one of the main directions of cooperation with national European universities, universities in the CIS and Central Asian countries, and other organizations. Erasmus+ programme’s diverse activities and long-term support are coordinated and aimed at the development of the higher education system of the Republic of Uzbekistan by 2030. For the higher education system of Uzbekistan, 2017-2021 became a period of fundamental transformations and the adoption of important decisions to improve the quality of higher education, which greatly increased the relevance and important role of intensively developing international cooperation. One of its important branches is the Erasmus + program, which currently involves a total of 65 universities from all regions of the republic.
The role of Erasmus+ CBHE projects in higher education:
Within 6 Calls (2015-2020) in total 43 Erasmus + CBHE projects were financed for Uzbekistan, including 12 national projects, involving European and Uzbek universities, 11 cross-regional projects, and 20 regional projects -with the participation of HEIs both from Uzbekistan and a number of other Central Asian countries. The total project budget allocated for 43 Erasmus + CBHE projects was €36.6 million euro, including about €11.5 million (31.4%) particularly for HEIs in Uzbekistan.
In total 65 HEIs (including 28 HEIs from Tashkent and 37 HEIs from all country regions and Karakalpakstan) benefited from cooperation with 136 universities from 30 countries of Europe, 117 universities of Central Asia, CIS and other regions of the world. The MHSSE has been involved in 13 out of 43 projects. 23% of projects concerned agriculture, veterinary, water resources management and environment.
Currently, 12 СВНЕ ongoing projects are being carried out with the participation of 26 universities: 12 HEIs from Tashkent and 14 HEIs from 10 regions.
7 new “Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE)”projects involving Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) of Uzbekistan have been selected for funding for 2022.
Within newly selected projects 19 universities of Uzbekistan, including 9 Tashkent HEIs and 10 HEIs from 5 country regions will cooperate with 18 universities from 13 countries of the European Union, 19 universities from Central Asian countries, and 3 universities of Ukraine. 3 projects fall within the scope of agriculture, veterinary, water resources management and environment.
