June 24｜2024 High-Level Regional Policy Dialogue in Central Asia
Meeting Details
Meeting Background
The breadth and depth of AI applications in education are currently expanding, with GenAI, such as ChatGPT, gaining widespread adoption in the global education sector. This phenomenon warrants consideration by all educators, as it holds significant implications for the future of education. In June 2023, Stefania Giannini, Assistant Director-General for Education at UNESCO, stated in Generative AI and the Future of Education "Generative AI opens new horizons and challenges for education. But we urgently need to take action to ensure that new AI technologies are integrated into education on our terms." In this context, leaders and teachers of the higher education system in Central Asia face an urgent need to effectively leverage this technology to enhance teaching, management, and governance.
In December 2023, after extensive consultations with global experts and their enterprise partners, the International Centre for Higher Education Innovation under the auspices of UNESCO (UNESCO-ICHEI) officially released the White Paper on Higher Education in the Era of Artificial Intelligence during the 2023 International Institute of Online Education (IIOE) Global Partners Summit 'Transforming Higher Education in the Age of AI'. The White Paper attempts to explore the current approaches and future directions for the effective use of AI technologies in higher education and to support the good use of technology and the formulation of relevant policies by relevant stakeholders for achieving quality and equitable higher education. Building on the White Paper, while also aiming to respond to the urgent need for higher education institution (HEI) leadership to be equipped to advance in the responsible implementation of AI, UNESCO-ICHEI, together with its global partner organizations and institutions, will jointly organize a series of high-level policy dialogues across regions throughout 2024.
Meeting Agenda
Co-organizers
Co-organized by:
UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (UNESCO IITE)
UNESCO Almaty Regional Office (UNESCO Almaty)
International Centre for Higher Education Innovation under the auspices of UNESCO (UNESCO-ICHEI)
Supported by:
ELINE Press Ltd.Proinfo Ltd.
Participants
· Senior officials from the ministries of education in Central Asia and beyond· Local HEI leadership
· Representatives of UNESCO field offices
· Scholars, industry professionals
· Corporate entities, etc.
Meeting Outcomes
· Establish a policy dialogue and exchange mechanism for multi-stakeholders in Central Asia and beyond· Discuss policy and initiatives on the application of GenAI in higher education in Central Asia, showcase promising practices, and analyze local needs and challenges
· Launch Phase II of the ICHEI-IITE Joint Project 'Facilitating effective application of GenAI in higher education teaching learning, as well as management in Central Asia'
· Release IIOE GenAI-related training series
· Showcase enterprises’ GenAI-related solutions
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 | Dr. Sharipov Kongratbay Avezimbetovich Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Innovation of Uzbekistan |
Sharipov Kongratbay Avezimbetovich, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor. He served as the Rector of Turin Polytechnic University in Tashkent during 2009-2010 and 2017-2019. In 2019, he was appointed First Deputy Minister of Higher and Secondary Special Education. From 2019 to 2023, he served as the Rector of Tashkent State University of Economics. In 2024, he was appointed the Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Innovation of Uzbekistan. He has authored over 450 academic works, published 8 textbooks, including 14 individual and collective monographs, and has gained wide public recognition. | |
 | Dr. Nazhimov Elmurod Deputy Secretary-General of National Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan for UNESCO |
Nazhimov Elmurod worked in the Republican Center for Methodology and Information, the Center for Information and Computer Technologies under the Ministry of Culture, and other organizations in 2016-2020. Since 2020, he has been working as Press Secretary of the Executive Director of the Fund for the Development of Culture and Art under the Cabinet of Ministers. On 13 September 2023, he was appointed Deputy Secretary-General of the National Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan for UNESCO. | |
 | Dr. Sultanov Djamshid Vice Rector for Academic Affairs at Tashkent University of Information Technologies |
| Sultanov Djamshid, PhD in Engineering, Associate Professor. From 2014 to 2016, he served as Deputy Dean of Telecommunication technologies faculty of Tashkent University of Information Technologies. From 2016 to 2019, he went to Seoul National University to study for a doctoral degree. From September 2022 to present, he serves as Vice Rector for Academic Affairs of Tashkent University of Information Technologies. He conducts research in the fields of technology management, economics and policy. | |
 | Ms. Sara Noshadi Director of UNESCO Office in Uzbekistan |
Sara Noshadi has served as Head of Office and UNESCO Representative in Uzbekistan since June 2022 to date. Before her assignment in Uzbekistan, Sara worked at the UNESCO Kabul Office and the UNESCO Baghdad Office. From 2018 to 2022, she served as the Senior Coordinator for the "Revive the Spirit of Mosul" initiative at the Office of the Director-General of UNESCO. From 2012 to 2018, she worked at the UNESCO Kabul Office, where she oversaw the development of the National Program for Culture and Creative Economy. Sara Noshadi is fluent in French, English, and Persian. She holds a Master's degree in Cultural Heritage Management from Jean Monnet University in Saint-Étienne and a Master's degree in Anthropology from the University of Tehran in Iran. | |
 | Prof. JIN Li Director of UNESCO-ICHEI |
| JIN Li, Director of UNESCO-ICHEI, Chair Professor of Finance, Vice President (Global Strategies), Acting Dean of the School of Business and Director of the SUSTech Academy of Finance and Economics at the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), and Vice Chairman of the SUSTech Education Foundation. Prof. JIN has previously held positions as Associate Professor of Finance at Harvard Business School; Professor of Finance at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School; Associate Head of the Division of Economics and Management, Associate Dean of Guanghua School of Management and head of Guanghua's Finance Department, and Director of the National Center for Financial Research at Peking University. | |
 | Mr. Atayev Azat Deputy Minister of Education of Turkmenistan |
Azat Ataev, Deputy Minister of Education of Turkmenistan. Previously, he was the Vice-Rector for Research at the Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications (IIT). | |
 | Mr. Abdullaev Sherzod Shavkatovich Chief Specialist of the Department of ICT Implementation and Digitalization of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation; Secretary of the Advisory Council on AI, Uzbekistan |
Abdullaev Sherzod Shavkatovich received his PhD in 2022. His field of research is digital technologies and artificial intelligence. From September 2022 to February 2023, he was the Chief Specialist of the Ministry of Innovation and Development of Uzbekistan, and from February 2023 to date, he is the Chief Specialist of the Department of ICT Implementation and Digitisation of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation of Uzbekistan. | |
 | Prof. Isak Frumin Head of the Observatory of Innovations in Higher Education at Constructor University |
Isak Frumin, Head of the Observatory of Innovations in Higher Education at Constructor University, Professor in the Department for Higher Education Research at the University for Continuing Education Krems, and the Founder and former Director of the Institute of Education at HSE University (National Research University Higher School of Economics) in Moscow. He is the author of more than two hundred publications and recently edited Building Research Capacity at Universities: Insights from Post-Soviet Countries (with Maia Chankseliani and Igor Fedyukin, 2022). | |
 | Dr. Borhene Chakroun Director of Policies and Lifelong Learning Systems Division of UNESCO Headquarters |
Borhene Chakroun is an engineer and has a PhD in Education Sciences from Bourgogne University in France. Borhene worked, during the 1990s, as a trainer, chief trainer, and project manager. He has also worked as short-term consultant for the EU, World Bank and other international organisations before coming to the European Training Foundation (ETF) in 2001. At the ETF, Borhene worked as Senior Human Capital Development specialist. He is now Director of Policies and Lifelong Learning Systems Division at UNESCO HQ. Borhene conducted a range of policy reviews and skills systems diagnosis in different contexts. He has authored and co-authored various articles and books in the field of skills development and lifelong learning. Much of his most recent work focuses on global trends in reforming education and training systems and global agenda for skills development in the context of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. He is also the coordinator of the Global Education Coalition launched by UNESCO to respond to the COVID-19 crisis. | |
 | Prof. Marat Rakhmatullaev Professor of TUIT;Team-leader of Higher Education Reform Experts in Uzbekistan |
Marat Rakhmatullaev, Professor at Department of Information and Library Systems Tashkent University of Information Technologies, Fulbright Scholar. He is the holder of “the Order of Friendship” of the President of Uzbekistan for his contribution to the science and education of the Republic, the author and coordinator of about 25 projects, including on Corporate information networks and systems for science and education and the author of the project, organizer and chairman of the "International Conference “Library-information resources in science, education, culture business”. | |
