The Internationalisation of Higher Education in Uzbekistan: Staff Perspectives on a Top-Down Process

With the rise of globalisation, internationalisation has become a key trend in higher education systems worldwide. After the change of leadership in 2016, Uzbekistan began to internationalise its higher education (HE) system. While this change in HE policy has brought some liberalisation to the sector, there is no clear developmental strategy, and the needs of academic staff are not represented. In the case of Uzbekistan, this article argues that HE internationalisation is a cosmetic measure enforced by the government, and that universities lack independent internationalisation strategies. The argument is supported by a content analysis of policy documents and interviews with 22 university lecturers during fieldwork in Tashkent in 2020. The research findings contribute to knowledge about HE internationalisation in a non-Western, developing country.