From Biomedicine to Pharmacology: St Petersburg University Opens a Branch in Uzbekistan

Sergey Andryushin, Deputy Rector for International Affairs at St Petersburg University, spoke about how the academic areas that will be studied were selected, and why cooperation with colleagues from Uzbekistan will make it possible for the University to develop research in the field of biomedicine and pharmacology.

Could you please tell us what prompted the opening of a branch of St Petersburg University in Uzbekistan?

The decision was made following an appeal from the Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialised Education of the Republic of Uzbekistan. In 2020, a delegation from the Ministry, headed by Deputy Minister Uzokboy Begimkulov, visited St Petersburg University. During the visit, a proposal by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to open a branch of St Petersburg University in the Republic was conveyed. Having assessed the potential of this market for educational services and the needs of applicants for higher education, the University decided to open a relevant branch with the full support of the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

This year, the branch will be accepting its first students for the two-year master's programme 'International Relations in the Post-Soviet Space'. Why was it decided to open it first?

The Uzbek side has approved the list of fields in which training will be conducted, and this list includes international relations. This academic programme is relevant to both countries: the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan is interested in training specialists in international relations in the post-Soviet space, which needs relevant personnel. Also, the programme has already been 'tested', as we have been carrying it out jointly with Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies for a year. The implementation of this double-degree programme on the basis of the branch will make it possible to train specialists through joint efforts and to distribute resources equally between St Petersburg University and Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies. As a result, students will receive not one but two diplomas.

The main fields of study will be oriental languages, biomedicine, regional studies, and economics of foreign countries. What other academic fields are in demand among applicants? Will the list of academic programmes be expanded in the future?

These will, of course, be academic programmes in the field of economics, and of Oriental countries, since the Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialised Education of the Republic of Uzbekistan is interested in training such personnel. We will also train specialists in Oriental languages and the history of Central Asian countries. In the future we are considering opening programmes in biomedicine in cooperation with the largest pharmaceutical cluster, which is currently under construction in the suburbs of Tashkent.

From 2023, other programmes, including the History of Central Asia, will be open for enrolment. However, our view of this course is partly an external observer's view, we do not understand how interesting it could be for citizens of Uzbekistan?

The history of the Faculty of Asian and African Countries at St Petersburg University goes back almost 170 years, having been established in 1854. The University's orientalists have always been highly qualified specialists. They have worked on expeditions to the states of Central Asia since the times of the Russian Empire and actively continued these efforts during the Soviet era. Over these years, enormous amounts of knowledge have been accumulated and huge intellectual potential for the implementation of such academic programmes has been accumulated.

We should bear in mind that Uzbekistan is not the only country in Central Asia; it is one of the leaders in the region, with which we have had close links since the Soviet period. Our active cooperation with universities and academics in Central Asia enables us to say with certainty that the quality of our academic programmes in the history of the study of this region is very high.

The branch will conduct biomedical research in cooperation with the Uzbek Ministry of Health and the Tashkent Pharma Park pharmaceutical cluster. Medicine is one of the priority areas of St Petersburg University's development. How well is this industry developed in Uzbekistan?

The development of this area in Uzbekistan is just beginning. The government of the Republic is therefore interested in attracting highly qualified specialists from leading Russian universities where biomedical research is being developed so that they can support this endeavour. Through this collaboration, the University will gain access to one of the major pharmaceutical clusters in Central Asia, which is currently under construction near Tashkent, and the clinical facilities in Uzbekistan, where our specialists will be able to work with patients. This will facilitate the development of new biomedical research projects and clinical trials. Our experts, medics, biologists, and chemists, will be able to use this research base for new scientific discoveries in the fields of biomedicine and pharmacology.

How will the new branch affect the development of partnerships with universities in Uzbekistan?

We are confident that this will expand the list of our partners in the Republic of Uzbekistan and attract the best professors from that country to work at the branch. At the same time, opening it directly in Tashkent, at the heart of the Central Asian region, will help to expand contacts with other universities in other states in the region, including Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan.

It is expected that teaching at the branch of St Petersburg University will be conducted in Russian. Do you think there is a need for teaching and testing Russian as a foreign language there?

All of these projects have already started in one way or another in Uzbekistan. We are holding test sessions, as well as implementing the 'St Petersburg University Online School' project. The branch will combine them all into a unified system and thus form the educational ecosystem of St Petersburg University in the Republic of Uzbekistan.