Cooperation with Germany enhances
Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation Kongratbay Sharipov met with representatives from the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology (Fraunhofer IPK).
At the meeting, Uzbekistan highlighted that it finds Fraunhofer IPK’s expertise in applied research, technology transfer, and collaboration among government, academia, research institutions, and industry especially valuable.
Participants explored opportunities for collaboration between Uzbekistan and Germany across higher education, science, innovation, and industry. They emphasized the importance of applying research findings in practice, increasing technology transfer, and progressing the digital transformation of manufacturing processes.
Several specific initiatives were suggested to develop bilateral cooperation. Notably, a Fraunhofer – Uzbekistan youth mobility program was proposed, leveraging Fraunhofer’s international mobility and Fraunhofer Attract grant programs. The initiative aims to enable young Uzbek scientists to undertake research placements at Fraunhofer laboratories for three to six months. Afterward, they can take part in projects focused on commercializing scientific innovations within local enterprises.
Proposals included creating a Fraunhofer Innovation Platform at Tashkent State Technical University and setting up a digital robotics and artificial intelligence laboratory at Tashkent University of Architecture and Civil Engineering.
The parties also discussed the potential for collaboratively submitting a pilot project focused on resource recovery from industrial and wastewater. This project would be proposed under a Central Asia grant program funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
Special focus was given to incorporating scientific advancements into industry via international platforms and leveraging Fraunhofer’s expertise in commercialization.
Muhayyo Toshqorayeva, UzA
