On November 1, an official opening ceremony of Webster University will take place in Tashkent, where more than 470 students began their studies. The rector Elizabeth Stroble and President of the American University Julian Schuster are expected to attend the ceremony, the MFA press service reports.
This is not only the first American university in Uzbekistan, but also the largest branch abroad. Agreements on the establishment of a permanent branch of Webster University in Uzbekistan were signed in February this year at the Embassy of Uzbekistan in the United States.
The initiative to open the American university was first announced in September 2017 during the Uzbek-American business forum in New York, in which President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev took part.
As a result of a series of meetings and negotiations with the leadership of Webster University in St. Louis, as well as within the framework of subsequent agreements reached by the American University in September 2018, the TESL master’s program (teaching English as a second foreign language) was launched on the basis of the Uzbekistan State University of World Languages (USUWL).
As representatives of the Webster University stated, initially no more than 50-60 students were expected to study under this program. However, in conditions of special demand for qualified teachers of English, contrary to calculations, 120 students of Uzbekistan began to study under the TESL program.
Webster University has significantly expanded its curriculum over the past year. The university provides a full range of academic programs for both undergraduate and graduate programs, in particular in the field of business administration, marketing and entrepreneurship, computer science, journalism and the media industry, STEM education and innovation, and other priority areas of study for Uzbekistan.
Currently, the American University is also implementing separate programs at the USUWL, Tashkent State University of Economics, as well as the Samarkand State Institute of Foreign Languages.
“Our programs were introduced in order to strengthen the educational potential of the Republic of Uzbekistan and provide innovative learning opportunities for a new generation of students, as well as for business leaders and the community in the region,” Julian Schuster notes.
