The delegation included FinEst Bay Area and AngryBirds Co-Founder Peter Vesterbacka, Finest Future Co-Founder Tuomas Tiilikainen, Edunation Finland Co-Founder Harri Suominen, Skillgower Co-Founder Pasi Savola, and PK Safety and Rescue Managing Director Pertti Kortejärvi.
Uzbekistan delegation was represented by the Head of the Inspectorate for Education Ulugbek Tashkenbayev, Rector of Tashkent State University of Economics Kongratbay Sharipov, Rector of Tashkent International University of Education Ulugbek Kasimkhodjayev.
The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan has defined a number of tasks to study and introduce advanced foreign experience, in particular the Finnish education system, in the development of the education system.
The Inspectorate for Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Finland in Uzbekistan, and several organizations held talks with leading experts, scientists, and investors from Finland and launched a number of projects to implement these tasks.
The visit of the delegation to Uzbekistan became a logical continuation of work in this direction. During the discussions, the sides exchanged views on the education system of Uzbekistan and Finland, as well as ongoing cooperation projects and plans.
In his opening speech, the Head of the Inspectorate for Education Ulugbek Tashkenbayev expressed gratitude to the guests for the projects implemented in cooperation to improve the quality of education in Uzbekistan. He noted that the work in this direction will continue consistently.
Although the Inspectorate for Education was created quite recently, systematic work is being carried in the sphere to ensure that young people become qualified personnel, in addition to studying international experience to improve quality indicators. In particular, much attention is paid to the reform of the education system through the introduction of the Finnish experience.
“As a result of our cooperation, which began in November last year, we reached an agreement on the exchange of students between the cities of Navoi and Lappeenranta, setting up student exchange programs with Tashkent State University of Economics, using Finnish curricula by translating them into Uzbek. This is definitely the beginning of the tremendous results to be achieved. There is no doubt that in the future these ties will become stronger and serve as an important bridge between our countries and cultures”, said Ulugbek Tashkenbayev.
Co-Founder of Edunation Finland Harri Suominen supported the words of the head of the Inspectorate for Education:
“First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to the Inspectorate of Education and partner organizations for the warm hospitality. In the course of my activity on the implementation of student exchange, I have visited many countries. However, I was surprised by the eagerness of Uzbekistan to reform the education system and foster the comprehensive development of the younger generation. At this important time, we are proud to contribute a noble project being implemented in Uzbekistan”, said the representative of Edunation Finland.
At the meeting, the work carried out within the framework of student exchange projects, joint educational programs, teaching mathematics and the Finnish language, signing memorandums were discussed in detail, plans were outlined.
Honorary Consul of Finland to Uzbekistan Alisher Juraev, emphasizing the prospects for cooperation, noted that the introduction of the Finnish educational experience in Uzbekistan will be a starting step for new projects in this direction.
“In the early days of cooperation to study the Finnish experience, the restrictions associated with the coronavirus pandemic were not lifted worldwide. Despite this, a number of meetings and workshops were organized online, with the cooperation of the Inspectorate for Education and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Furthermore, in addition to the central cities of Finland, cooperation has been established with a number of regions. At the same time, work was carried out on the principle of the “bottom-up approach”.
In particular, in March, Finnish teachers arrived in the city of Zarafshan, the Navoi region. They are conducting Finnish language lessons for students, as well as contributing to the introduction of the experience of Finnish schools in Uzbekistan. This is, of course, not the only example of cooperation between the countries. I think, following the negotiations, the results will become even more significant”, noted Alisher Juraev.
Following the meeting, plans for further activities with the participation of the delegation were identified.
It should be noted that the Head of the state cited the Finnish experience of improving the quality and effectiveness of education as an example since students of this country showed the highest results in international studies on literacy rates.
The Inspectorate for Education, in cooperation with the relevant ministries, is conducting systematic work to study the advanced aspects of the country’s education system. In particular, together with the Finnish National Agency for Education, a roadmap was developed, which reflects the tasks and areas of cooperation aimed at studying the Finnish educational experience and its effective implementation.
As a result of these events, a system for the exchange of experience in teaching educational programs, general education, teacher training, and professional development with the participation of experts from the Finnish National Agency for Education and professors from the University of Helsinki, was established.
The members of the delegation will stay in Uzbekistan until April 14 and will hold talks at Navoi, Bukhara, and Samarkand regional khokimiyats and meet with officials of the education system on student exchange projects, joint educational programs, teaching mathematics and the Finnish language, as well as sign memorandums.
The agenda of the visit also includes meetings with young people, acquaintance with the activities of secondary schools and a number of higher educational institutions, and the organization of an International Scientific and Practical Forum on “Prospects for Uzbek-Finnish cooperation”.
