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source:-TDIU

Uzbekistan hosted the first QS Eurasia Forum 2025, which made Tashkent a center of attention in Eurasia's quickly changing academic world. The meeting was a turning point for Central Asia, showing that the region not only wants to be a part of global higher education reform, but also wants to shape its course.

The event was put on by QS Quacquarelli Symonds, which runs one of the most well-known university ranking systems in the world. It brought together more than 300 leaders from universities, governments, and businesses in Central Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. There was one main theme that ran through all of the forum's discussions. Central Asia is moving from the edges of the global academic world to a place where its policies, reforms, and institutions get a lot of attention from people all over the world.

A big part of the forum was about how Uzbekistan's education system has changed. Sardor Radjabov, the first deputy minister of higher education, science, and innovations, gave a detailed account of the major changes that have changed the academic environment in the country over the past ten years.

Radjabov says that Uzbekistan has become more involved with the rest of the world by forming partnerships with universities in the UK, US, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Turkey, and the EU. International rankings already show how this global outreach is working. There are now seven Uzbek universities in the most recent QS World University Rankings, and three of them are in the top 1,000 in the world.

The changes have also made the quality of education better. More than eighty-six internationally recognized academic programs are now offered at more than twenty universities in the country. Uzbekistan's higher education system has also grown a lot. The number of universities has grown from 69 ten years ago to 204 today. Radjabov said that this growth is an important part of the country's goal to train a new generation of graduates who can compete on a global scale.

The forum also talked about how important it is for regions to work together. Sayasat Nurbek, Kazakhstan's Minister of Science and Higher Education, praised Uzbekistan's progress and said it showed how determined policy changes can change the way a country's education system works.

Nurbek said that Eurasia has a "historic window of opportunity" right now to make the academic space more connected. He said that Uzbekistan's many partnerships with about twenty British universities could be a model for other countries in the area to follow. He said that things like innovation, student mobility, and research competitiveness that are important to everyone need to be worked on together instead of through separate national plans.

He also said that working together would help the region's representation in global rankings and research networks, which is something that Central Asia has not been very good at in the past.

A Change in Central Asia's Academic Identity

For a lot of people, the forum was more than just a regional conference. It showed that the world saw Central Asia in a different way. Central Asia was once seen as a region trying to catch up, but now it is becoming more well-known for its quick reforms, increasing academic investment, and growing institutional visibility.

Speakers from Europe and the Middle East said that Central Asia's growing population, diverse economy, and strategic location make it a good partner for international universities looking for new research partnerships and student markets. People saw Tashkent's selection as the host city as proof that Uzbekistan is becoming more important in the global higher education community.

Making the Future of Higher Education in QS Eurasia Forum  

At the end of the event, people were hopeful that the forum would become a regular way for people in Eurasia to work together in new ways. People talked about new regional research clusters, better programs for moving people across borders, and more partnerships between universities and businesses.

The first QS Eurasia Forum showed that the region is ready to have a bigger say in how academic trends develop around the world. Tashkent's rise as a regional education hub seems to be gaining speed, thanks in part to Uzbekistan's leadership in many of these changes.

 Also Read Education Excellence Magazine for more information