Education and innovation at the core of the institutional mission to Uzbekistan
Landed last Saturday in Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan and an important hub connecting Europe and Asia, the Turin delegation of the institutional mission organized by the City of Turin and consisting of Politecnico Rector Stefano Corgnati, together with Mayor Stefano Lo Russo, President of the Turin Chamber of Commerce Dario Gallina, President of the Industrial Union Marco Gay and Iren Group President Luca Dal Fabbro, to confirm and relaunch Turin's commitment to start new collaborations in the academic and economic fields in the Asian country.
In the wake of a collaboration that the Politecnico started more than 15 years ago with the creation of the TTPU Campus, one of the country's most prestigious universities, the Turin delegation wishes to start new commercial and industrial collaborations in addition to those now established in the academic field.
“With this mission led by the City of Turin, a new phase begins for our Campus, which, in accordance with the rectoral mandate program, interprets a role not only in education but also as a hub for the ecosystem of our territory on which to pivot in order to activate and develop the internationalization actions of our regional and national system. A hub capable of intercepting Uzbekistan’s needs and materializing them through education and research activities into opportunities for cooperation between Italy and Uzbekistan, both for institutions and the business sector. In more than 15 years of activity, Turin Polytechnic University in Tashkent has consolidated its educational programs and is now evolving as a modern University in research and technology transfer trajectories, together with companies and in coordination with governmental, local, regional and national institutions,” – stated PoliTO Rector Stefano Corgnati, recalling how the University has in its mission to increasingly interpret that role of science diplomacy that is essential to facilitate cooperative relations at the international level.
Among the appointments on the agenda, the delegation met the Italian Ambassador to Tashkent Piergabriele Papadia de Bottini, along with a delegation of athletes arriving in Turin in March to participate in the Special Olympics Winter Games, and the mayor of the Uzbek capital Shavkat Umurzakov.
This morning, however, a meeting was held with Turin Polytechnic University Tashkent Rector Olimjon Tuychiev along with a visit to the TTPU campus. During the visit to the Uzbek University, two new key agreements for Italian-Uzbek cooperation were signed. These are the Action plan for collaboration between the Italian Embassy in Tashkent (Ambassador Piergabriele Papadia de Bottini), Politecnico (Rector Stefano Corgnati) and Turin Polytechnic University Tashkent (Rector Olimjon Tuychiev) and the collaboration agreement between Politecnico, TTPU and Tashkent University of Architecture and Civil Engineering.
The Uzbek university was established in 2009 through a collaboration between the Politecnico, the Uzbek state automotive group UZAVTOSANOAT, General Motors and the Uzbek Ministry of University with the aim of training qualified engineers to the same standards as the PoliTO, creating an institution capable of delivering education and research at an international level, as well as supporting Uzbek industrial development through the creation of a new leadership.
The Uzbek University currently has about 1,500 students, and among the goals of the collaboration between the two universities in this rector's term, research and technology transfer activities will be developed, with the launch of research laboratories on the Uzbek campus in different areas and the involvement of European companies and start-ups.
The delegation then moved on to visit the Technopark, an incubator with more than 25 projects for development and innovation, and the Juventus Academy, a soccer school established in 2019, where they met with Deputy Director of Marketing and Project Coordinator Toirkhuja Makhamadkhujayev and the boys who train here. The delegation visited the TTPU Campus laboratories to meet with First Vice Chancellor Alisher Ashurov, International Department Head Khojakbar Karimov, Science Department Head Javlon Karimov, and students. At the TTPU Campus a meeting was held between the Turin Chamber of Commerce and the Italy-Uzbekistan Chamber of Commerce while, in the afternoon, the delegation participated as guests of the Italian Embassy in Tashkent in a panel discussion entitled: “Uzbekistan and Italy: economic diplomacy, investment and academic partnership as a key to stability in Central Asia.”
“Turin,” explained Mayor Stefano Lo Russo,” is a city that can still grow thanks to an international, university and industrial vocation. This is why we wanted to be here, guests of the Italian Embassy in Uzbekistan, with the system of business and industrial representation in Turin, with Iren and with the Polytechnic. The objective of our visit is to fit into the strategic partnership that Italy has signed with Uzbekistan, which is a key country in Central Asia and represents an important area of development for collaboration opportunities for Italian companies, in the sectors of industry and raw materials. And we do this Collaboration and sharing of ideas, projects and experiences both within a city system and with institutions in different countries are key to addressing and shaping the future for all of us.”