Samarkand’s First Private University Begins its Second Year

Two years since a Presidential decree laid the basis for its establishment, Samarkand International University of Technology (SIUT) is leading the way in Uzbekistan’s education revolution and only months away from settling into its new campus on the banks of the scenic Zarafshan River. 

With 200 first-year students heading into their spring term, the new institution has already passed several key milestones, including a first, among 30 top Uzbekistan universities, in a competition organized by the Ministry of Higher Education, the British Council and the UK charity Advance-HE.

The university is expected to move into a campus designed for 1,200 students starting in September 2024.

Intended to equip students with an education of an international standard, all programs at SIUT are developed in cooperation with the world’s leading scientific centres. More than 30 foreign professors with experience in leading educational, scientific and technical centres from more than 15 countries, including the USA, Canada, China, India, Iran, South Korea, Tunisia, Algeria, South Africa, as well as local academics with extensive experience are involved in the educational process.

In 2023, the university established the China Power Engineering Institute, which trains specialists in the field of thermal power engineering based on China’s post-secondary educational program, as well as the Korea Institute of Technology and Culture, which offers education in renewable energy, design, and the digital economy.

Currently, education at the university is conducted in English in eleven areas, including engineering, geology, mining, chemical and oil and gas engineering, information technology, as well as entrepreneurship and management.

Bakhtiyor Fazylov, Chairman of the SIUT Board of Trustees, said:

“From the first days of its activity, Samarkand International Technological University has been aimed at implementing the main task set by the President of Uzbekistan for higher education – training domestic specialists at the level of world educational standards. To this end, SIUT is constantly expanding international cooperation, studying and implementing the best innovative approaches in its programs. The engineering personnel of New Uzbekistan must possess the most advanced technologies so that the economy of our country always occupies its own rightful place in the world.”

Prof. Yusuf Abdullayev, the university’s rector, said:

“Innovations based on advanced knowledge are the key to sustainable development in today’s dynamically changing world. It is science that underlies the accelerated modernization of all spheres of the economy of any state. In order to train a new generation of process engineers in Uzbekistan, our university was founded two years ago.”

Strategic partnerships have been established with the world’s leading universities and research centers. Among them are the Chinese Northeast Electric Power University and Tianjin University of Science and Technology, the University of Donja Gorica (Montenegro), Arizona State University (USA) and others. In addition, cooperation has been established with the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace, headed by noted Emirati diplomat Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Jarwan.

Another unique element of SIUT’s program is its emphasis on practice and research, as well as classroom learning. As well as SIUT founder Fazilov’s companies in Uzbekistan, the university has established internship partnerships with the American logistics company Sultan Trans Inc. and others. In total, over the past year, SIUT has signed more than 30 agreements and memoranda with foreign educational and scientific centers and companies. In March 2023, A first visit to a production facility, the construction site for the Baysun Gas Processing Plant, took place in March 2023, becoming a landmark event for SIUT’s engineering students.