Project

New Master's Degree Curricula for Sustainable Bioeconomy in Uzbekistan

Project sponsors

Abbreviation
BioEcUz
Project type
Development project
Focus area
Bioeconomy
Implementation time
15.1.2021 - 14.1.2024
Project unit
School of Technology
Financing program
Erasmus+ Key Action 2
Primary home page
http://bioecuz.tdau.uz
Project description

The New Master's Degree Curricula for Sustainable Bioeconomy in Uzbekistan (BIOEcUz) project will provide positive contribution to the development of sustainable and inclusive socio-economic growth in Uzbekistan. It will be promoted by development and implementation of new, innovative master level curricula, where knowledge from diverse fields of science is included, and multidisciplinary approach adopted are aimed at enabling graduates of the study programme to respond to the needs of the national economy, as well to support stakeholders, responsible for or dealing in areas, being part of the bioeconomy.


Besides, the project improves involved Uzbekistan HEIs (higher education institutes) competences and skills: training for academic staff, where teachers involved will acquire in-depth knowledge in subjects, such as bioproducts and biobased value chains, bioenergy production, bio-based RTD, sustainable logistics and other, as well will be trained to use contemporary teaching methods, to use distance teaching and learning facilities, and to work with internationally recognised scientific data base and other.

The selected thematic is chosen considering national development needs, where great attention is paid to such economic development strategies, which observe and care for nature, environmental and societal needs.

The selected approach responds two of capacity Building action's objectives:
  • Improve the level of competences and skills in HEIs by developing new and innovative education programmes.
  • Improve the quality of higher education and enhance its relevance for the labour market and society. 
The project is the joint action of four HEIs in Uzbekistan (Taskent State Agrian University, Taskent Institute of Irrigation and Agriculture Mechanization Engineering and Bukhara State University, Samarkand branch of Tashkent State Agrarian University, Samarkand Branch of Tashkent State Agrian University) supported by Ministry of Agriculture of Republic of Uzbekistan and three European universities Vytautas Magnus University (Liettua), JAMK University of Applied Sciences and Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies (Latvia) that also coordinates the Erasmus+ action funded by European Union. 

The contact person in Jamk is Project Manager Kirsi Knuuttila ([email protected]) from Institute of Bioeconomy.

The project coordinator is Irina Kulitane ([email protected]) from Vytautas Magnus University. 

The project official website is available: https://bioecuz.tdau.uz/ 

The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Project results

In the project, a new and innovative Master Programme in bioeconomy was developed for Uzbekistan. It is based on the capacity development needs of Uzbekistan. The Master Programme was implemented in collaboration with Uzbekistan's universities, the ministry of agriculture, and European universities specialized in bioeconomy. 


The English-language degree program was piloted by European university experts collaborating with the experts from local universities to create the curriculum and educational materials. The degree programme was then piloted with a Uzbekistani student group, consisting of approximately 6 students from each four Uzbekistani universities. European experts conducted about 80% of the pilot teaching in-person at Tashkent State Agrarian University, and the rest of the teaching was carried out fully remotely from Europe to the Uzbekistani students. Typically, all Tashkent State Agrarian University students participated in the in-person the teaching sessions, along with some students from the Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Agriculture Mechanization Engineering, while other students attended remotely. These pilot teaching sessions were often followed by the Uzbekistani teachers who would carry out future teaching under the Master Programme. 

The Bioeconomy Master Programme comprehensively addressed the capacity development needs of Uzbekistan's bioeconomy business. A comprehensive analysis about the needs was carried at the beginning of the project. The competence-based curriculum followed the European framework, and the teaching methods used by European specialists were not all yet mainstream in Uzbekistan. 

In addition to the Bioeconomy Master Programme, European higher education institutions collaborated with Uzbekistani university staff to enhance their pedagogical skills and expertise. Pedagogical readiness and competence were improved through training conducted by JAMK University of Applied Sciences.  

Furthermore, the Uzbekistani teachers participated in two approximately week-long study trips to Finland, Latvia, and Lithuania. During these trips, they familiarized themselves with European bioeconomy business, innovation and other business development as well as education. They also could experience culture over in a total of six weeks of study touring.

The project contributes to Uzbekistan's sustainable development in various ways and promotes inclusive socio-economic growth. 

Jamk University of Applied Sciences was responsible for the following study modules in collaboration with local stakeholders:
  • Biobased Products and Value Chains (5 ECTS credits)
  • Renewable Energy Production and Utilization (7 ECTS credits) – Jamk managed otherwise but 2 ECTS biogas module of Lithuanian partner
  • Circular Economy (7 ECTS credits)
  • Sustainable Logistics (5 ECTS credits) 
In addition, Jamk produced the following content for educational modules managed by other European universities:
  • Smart Agriculture (2 ECTS credits)
  • Innovation Practices (2 ECTS credits)
  • Carbon Footprint (2 ECTS credits) 
You can also explore the materials produced in the project on the project's own website https://bioecuz.tdau.uz/ 

Additionally, you can find a few blogs and news articles produced by Jamk University of Applied Sciences through the following links: