The analysis, carried out in collaboration with local universities (LU) and national authorities, stakeholders during special meetings, revealed the need to develop new higher education curricula in the field of ICT. In Uzbekistan, there is an urgent need for highly qualified engineering personnel in the field of optical communication.The lack of personnel in this area hinders the development of telecommunication services in the regions of the country and the full use of ICT opportunities in industry, agriculture and the daily life of the population.INMACOM strives to transfer to Uzbekistan the latest knowledge and best practices developed in European countries in the field of photonics and optical communication. LU play a key role in starting and sustaining this process.Although currently LU's - TUIT, NUU, SSU and UBTUIT have undergraduate programs in ICT - the lack of experienced teachers and a training laboratory does not allow them to develop master's programs in the field of photonics and optical compatibility on their own and respond to the huge demand for highly qualified personnel in this area of the labor market.Thus, the main objectives of the project are:1. Development of a new curriculum for the master's program in photonics and optical communication by June 2024,2. Implementation of the new Master's degree program from October 2024,3. Establishment of photonics and optical communication laboratories by August 2024,4. Establish links between universities and industry for the development of the labor market in the field of telecommunications in Uzbekistan.Thus, INMACOM will create an educational basis for training a new generation of ICT engineers with a specialization in photonics and optical communication, who can contribute to the development of telecommunications in the capital and in the regions of the country.

The demand for medical services in Uzbekistan, is growing rapidly, so the healthcare system has turned to new and innovative technologies to improve diagnosis, monitoring and treatment. In doing so, healthcare providers must rely on medical devices and implants that work properly and are managed in a cost-effective and efficient manner by qualified Biomedical Engineers.A report on the use of the recently purchased medical equipment carried out in some hospitals, highlighted the high rate of unused devices due to the lack of proper maintenance and repair. Consequently, the Ministry urged the need to prepare professionals in this field.The main objective of I2-PLEDGE is to establish an innovative Bachelor Degree Program able to provide bioengineers endowed with those technical and professional (and soft) skills necessary to meet the today’s technological challenges in a multidisciplinary environment.The activities include• Developing a pilot professional Bachelor Degree in Biomedical Engineering, adopting new teaching methods, materials and tools and integrating work experience and internships.• Teachers training on teaching methods and curriculum design at EU universities.Three universities will introduce the new professional curriculum and 4 will updates the existing ones.In each UZ university, at least 10 teachers will be trained and at least 20 students will start the new or updated degree.Beneficiaries of the project activities are the companies providing the medical devices, the hospitals and the healthcare system in general, besides the students and the society. The main results and outputs are• Reduction of the shortage of Biomedical Engineering professionals,• Correct use and maintenance of the medical devices, • Enhanced cooperation between UZ and EU in the field of Biomedical Engineering,• Training centre for teachers and specialists also for LLL,• Establishment of the Biomedical Engineers Register,• Web platform for cooperation.