Fostering the next generation of global IT leaders in Uzbekistan

The Global Business IT Department, a joint initiative of Kookmin University (President JEONG, SEUNG RYUL), the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) (President Jang Won-sam), and Tashkent University of Information Technologies (TUIT) (President Bakhtiyar Makamov) in Uzbekistan, held an opening ceremony for the new Department of Global Business IT at Tashkent University of Information Technologies (TUIT) on July 7th.

The new Department of Global Business IT is based on a convergence IT education model designed by Kookmin University and KOICA at the request of Tashkent University of Information and Communication, with the aim of fostering global innovative talents who will lead Uzbekistan's digital economy.

To this end, on April 30, Kookmin University signed a mutual agreement with TUIT, the country's leading IT higher education institution, to conduct a dual degree program, under which students can simultaneously earn degrees awarded by both universities if they complete the curriculum run independently by both universities in accordance with the regulations and meet the graduation requirements of each university.

The department is the first management informatics education institution in Korea, based on the Department of Information Management established in 1984, with a differentiated curriculum based on industry-academia cooperation and a focus on field-oriented practical education such as data science, business analytics, and customer experience design by benchmarking the Graduate School of Business IT at Kookmin University, which is fostering convergent R&D talents through the BK21 project in the fourth phase.

To this end, Kookmin University will contribute to the development of Uzbekistan's digital economy through activities such as establishing an industry-linked startup support program and fostering local business IT faculty members, in addition to establishing new departments with KOICA support worth US$5 million through 2027.

“KOICA is supporting higher education projects that focus on curriculum innovation and industry-academia cooperation to strengthen Uzbekistan's digital capabilities,” said Myung-seop Shin, Head of KOICA Uzbekistan Office, who attended the opening ceremony. ”The opening of the Global Business IT Department will be an important turning point for Uzbekistan to promote sustainable development by systematically fostering human resources needed for digital economy innovation.”

“Based on Korea's know-how in convergent IT education, we will focus on fostering the next generation of professionals who will lead Uzbekistan's digital economy,” said Dr. Byoung Joon Kim, Dean of Kookmin University's Global Business School and Director of the Institute for Global Development Cooperation. ”We believe that the continued expansion of cooperation between Korea and Uzbekistan will create positive synergies across economies and industries.”