The second educational forum "Innovative Cooperation: Uzbekistan and Belarus on Higher and Professional Education" was held in Ferghana on October 7-9, 2025. The initiators were the relevant ministries of the two countries, which emphasized the intergovernmental level of the agenda: development of human resources, updating training programs and exchange of practices for digital transformation of the education system. The Yakub Kolas Auditorium, a symbolic gesture of cultural and educational integration linking academic contacts with the humanitarian tradition, was inaugurated at Ferghana State University.
The practical part of the forum was expressed in a number of targeted agreements. A memorandum of cooperation was signed between Smilovichi State Agricultural College and Gijduvan Agrotechnological College of the Republic of Uzbekistan, which creates the basis for the exchange of methods, training of teachers and joint modules in agricultural and technological disciplines. Agreements have been signed between the Department of Higher Education, Science and Innovation of the Ferghana region and the Main Department for Education of the Minsk region, as well as between the educational institution "Polytechnic No. 2 of Zarbdar district" and "Smilovichi State College". These links form a horizontal network of interaction between regional departments and colleges, increasing managerial sustainability and the speed of scaling successful practices.
The report of the First Deputy Head of the Main Department for Education of the Minsk Regional Executive Committee Sofya Filistovich on the directions and prospects of digitalization set a meaningful focus on the digital transformation of vocational education. We are not talking about point-to-point implementations, but about a systemic restructuring: digital contours of curricula, standardization of electronic resources, unified approaches to assessing competencies, and the expansion of dual formats, where digital tools simplify coordination between colleges and production.
Within the framework of the forum, the heads of Smilovichi State Agrarian College and Smilovichi State College V. Y. Maslak and A. Y. Krivopust studied the work of vocational education institutions in Uzbekistan. A special interest was aroused by a visit to the garment factory in Urgench "Yusuf Bazzoz", where children from the Polytechnic School No. 2 of the Khankinsky district study according to the dual model. This provides a practical illustration of how curricula and production processes can be synchronized in the real sector, as well as what role local businesses play in building employment trajectories.
The economic logic of such events is obvious: the harmonization of educational standards and training routes reduces transaction costs for businesses, accelerates the introduction of technologies and increases labor productivity. For the agricultural sector, this means training specialists who know modern practices in crop production, logistics and processing. For the industrial and light industry, it means that our personnel are ready for digital pipelines, quality control, and data processing. For the regions — growth of youth employment and retention of human capital. The transfer of best practices along the college-enterprise line allows you to quickly build an ecosystem of dual education, where training modules are tied to real equipment and business processes, and training tasks are converted into productive value.
At the strategic level, the forum captures the transition of bilateral cooperation from protocol declarations to operational models. The signed documents set roadmaps for joint programs, academic mobility, and teacher exchange, while digitalization highlights the compatibility of platforms, content, and quality metrics. Together, this forms the basis for a long-term convergence of the educational systems of Uzbekistan and Belarus, where cultural ties are complemented by technological and organizational compatibility.
