Uzbekistan Ministry of Agriculture team visits the Royal Agricultural University

A delegation from the Ministry of Agriculture in Uzbekistan visited the Royal Agricultural University (@RoyalAgUni) today (18 Nov) with a view to collaborating with the RAU to develop the curriculum for a new International Agriculture University (IAU) in Uzbekistan.

Professor Munira Aminova, Project Leader for IAU, and Alan France, adviser to the Uzbekistan Minister of Agriculture, met with senior staff at the RAU including Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Neil Ravenscroft; Steve Finch, Head of International Programmes; and Finance Director Simon Costa.

Professor Ravenscroft said: “We are delighted to welcome the team from Uzbekistan to Cirencester today. Following initial discussions earlier in the year, they are visiting today to have a look around and see if we fit the bill to be their partner in Uzbekistan’s new agricultural university.

“For much of its history, the RAU has sought to collaborate with agricultural experts globally to ensure that students receive a world-class education that is both international in outlook and local in relevance and applicability.

“Our developing relationship with the Ministry of Agriculture in Uzbekistan continues this tradition – ensuring that students at the new International Agriculture University will receive the best of both worlds.”

As well as meeting both lecturers and students, the visitors were given a tour of the campus and shown the University’s agri-tech incubator Farm491. There was also a demonstration of the RAU’s new Virtual Learning Environment and blended approach to module delivery which has already been used successfully in teaching RAU students at partner universities in China.

Professor Aminova said: “We are glad to collaborate with such a renowned higher education agricultural institution as the RAU and to be able to integrate British educational standards into the area of agriculture in Uzbekistan. We hope to work with our colleagues at the RAU to further advance research, best practice, and education and training. We have already had excellent discussions and we are convinced that the partnership will bring mutual benefit and new opportunities.

“The Uzbek Government has committed to embark on an ambitious process to transform its agriculture sector into a competitive, market and export-oriented sector. The Government has also committed to introducing measures to enhance food security and ensure sustainability of agri-food ecosystem from farm-to-fork, within a general umbrella of Agriculture Support and Knowledge facility.

“The development of capacity and human capital for agriculture is a cornerstone for implementing these initiatives and the establishment of new International Agriculture University (IAU), as well the partnership with the RAU, has a full support of the Government of Uzbekistan and the Ministry of Agriculture.”