August 12, 2014
Government approves new rules of agreeing perspective investment proposals. 2
Uzbek film wins grand-prix of international festival6
investments
Government approves new rules of agreeing perspective investment proposals
The Government of Uzbekistan issued a resolution “On measures on improving mechanisms of agreeing perspective proposals and process of attracting foreign investments and loans”.
The document was adopted for further improving effectiveness and efficiency of process of attracting foreign investments and loans via introduction of modern information-communication technologies, assisting ministries and departments, local governments and businesses to search and attract potential investors and creditors.
According to the resolution, from 1 October 2014, the investment proposals and their passports should be submitted to the Single Electronic Database of Investment Proposals of the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, Investment and Trade of Uzbekistan to agree them with the state bodies.
The ministries and departments, local state bodies and companies should ensure that applications and passports of the projects are accurate and fully filled.
The government approved a scheme on agreeing investment proposals and their passports with attraction of foreign investments and loans at the state bodies via the Single Electronic Database of Investment Proposals.
According to scheme, the initiators of the project should fill form of investment proposals and passport of the project at the single electronic database. The projects will be directed to the state bodies to agreeing it. After approval, the project will be published at the website of Uzinfoinvest Agency.
(Source: UzDaily.com)
ENERGETICS
Demand Generates Supply
Uzbekistan continues to carry out projects that modernize the electric energy sector. Asian Development Bank acts as the main investment partner providing significant financial means into various initiatives. This enables the supply of a stable flow of energy in Uzbekistan and other countries of the region.
Experts from the Asian Bank suggest that although the global economy is unstable, the demand for electric energy on our continent is growing rapidly. This increase in demand means that some countries are struggling to begin exploiting newly available power capacities. Estimates show that towards 2035, Asia will account for 56% of raw energy consumption, whereas in 2010 it only reached 34%. The increasing use of renewable energy and efficient energy sources using the latest machinery are forecasted to fulfill the growing needs.
In the coming years Uzbekistan is planning to carry out a number of landmark projects, taking on board some of the leading financial institutions and companies. The 2014 investment program alone will carry out 28 of the largest projects, which will update, restore and create production. Within six months of this year the projects have acquired $247.8m and an estimated 48.5% growth rate in comparison to the year before.
Today the state joint stock company Uzbekenergo is practicing a number of potential investment projects in order to draw in additional quantities of FDI (Foreign Direct Investment), best expertise and high tech machinery. Forecasts suggest that this will secure sustainable and reliable energy sources for consumers and subsequently increase the export potential of the Republic.
One such project began a few days ago. Asian Development Bank has provided Uzbekistan with $300m in credit in order to update the ‘Tahiatash TES’ electric power plant in Karakalpakstan.
“Latest estimates suggest that demand for electricity in Karakalpakstan and Horazm province will double. That is why a stable and reliable source of energy is very important for the regions developing manufacture. This provision of finance will help in building the latest energy blocks that will raise the quality of energy supply and reduce pollution,” notes Rune Stroyem, the energy department director of ABD in Central and Western Asia.
The project will put up two 280 megawatt gas-vapor chambers. Three of the currently operating ones will be decommissioned whilst two will remain in reserve. This will equally be financed by the Fund for Development and Reconstruction of Uzbekistan, channeling $270m, and ‘SJSC Uzbekenergo’ providing an additional $130m. The project is planned to be completed at the end of 2020 and will project a total cost of $700m.
(Source: «Uzbekistan Today» newspaper)
TECHNOLOGIES
Uzbekistan Online
Players of the national telecommunications sector are setting new records. The use of global information sources in the first half of the year reached 11.8 Gigabits/s., which is an increase by 15% in comparison to the indicator of early 2014.
Today there is not a single country, evolving its own info-political model that can cope without the use of tele-communicational technology and universal mechanisms such as the Internet. This is why many countries are rapidly putting into use the virtual means of connecting governing bodies with citizens, thereby creating a system of electronic governments (e-governments).
Uzbekistan has managed to reach the maximum possible success in the least amount of time. The country is seeing an increase in the number of Internet users and a widening of the national web network thanks to new sites generating more content in Uzbek. Figures from the first half of 2014 show that there have been 613 thousand new hubs installed that allow for a wide range network access. The quantity of hubs being used has increased by 154.6%.
It also helps that, in the early years of developing the national IT-segment, Uzbekistan has placed emphasis on creating its own database. The companies that specialize in equipping the nation with software have been provided with various tax allowances and preferences, placing their growth rate in the heat of today’s discussions. Currently there are 3,000 software products, 220 developers and 120 companies registered in the national programming and developer services catalogue, ‘Software.uz’. They have provided the market with programming solutions in the fields of accounting, legislative databases, control of the flow in documentation and many more. National programming solutions are easy to use compared to foreign means of access. This is because they support Uzbek language, are adapted to the local environment and are significantly cheaper in terms of standards and legislation. Another equally important advantage of such products is the ability to quickly adapt to market demands.
(Source: «Uzbekistan Today» newspaper)
EDUCATION
On the 1 of August, applicants for studentship of the higher education institutions underwent their entrance tests in Uzbekistan.
As the saying goes, all the trades are important. It is certainly so, and so is the fact that educational facilities serve as the first career steps.
The purpose of an educational system is to satisfy the needs for qualified specialists in the labor markets. That is why young school graduates can be sure that the majors they have chosen in the educational institutions will guarantee that they will gain the necessary qualifications and get employed later when it comes to Uzbekistan’s educational system. Another important feature of the domestic educational model is the provision of certain qualifications irrespective of the results of the entry tests – at a certain educational institution level.
ACCURACY PRINCIPLES
In contrast to the beginning of this summer, when the future entrance of nine-grade school graduates to the vocational colleges and lyceums, the graduates of the latter to the higher educational institutions, and bachelor degree graduates to master’s degree educational years were actively discussed in the society, the results of these activities are in the spotlight today.
The first to complete the entrance tests were the secondary vocational educational institutions. 501, 234 boys and girls became first-year students of 143 academic lyceums, 1,412 vocational colleges and 28 college branches. Most of the applicants followed the recommendations of their school professional choice specialists who used the information on these applicants’ health and abilities. This practice resulted in the fact that most secondary vocational institutions enrolled their new students without entrance tests, with the exception of 22 academic lyceums and 104 vocational colleges – 101,940 applicants for studentship in these educational institutions underwent entrance tests conducted by the State Testing Center. Those who did not pass these tests will continue their studies in other educational institutions of the same chosen trades.
On the 1 of August, applicants for studentship in the bachelor degree years of the higher education institutions underwent their entrance tests. The lists of those who passed will be issued one of these days. So far, it is clear: every tenth applicant is going to be a higher education institution student this year. The higher education institutions of the country are to enroll 57,907 – a record number. It must be noted that the number of applications this year – over 543,000 – was also a record – 50,000 more as against last year. These facts indicate that the need for professionals with higher education qualifications increases in Uzbekistan. According to the State Testing Center of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Termiz State University received the largest number of applications – 27,552, and the most fierce entrance competition took place in the Farghona branch of Tashkent Medical Academy with over 20 applicants per study place.
Traditionally, the admission exams at the secondary vocational and higher education institutions had the form of tests. Uzbekistan had been one of the first in the CIS to introduce this knowledge assessment system, which allows for accurate and objective results.
This year, the State Testing Center has carried out large-scale preparations for conducting the entrance tests, especially at the higher education institutions. It has revised the subjects to be tested for and the content of the tests. The new tests for major subjects allowed to select the best graduates with the vocation for certain qualifications.
The master’s degree years entrance tests are to complete on August 15, not on August 10. They were extended because the number of entrance tests has increased. The new testing section is to determine the ability of an applicant to conduct research and teach classes. The applicants will have to undergo the exams in writing and orally. Their scientific publications as well as documents certifying their copyrights will also be counted. In this case, however, the applicants will have to answer additional questions on their research work and copyrights. The rule of entrance score is going to be used only for the main major subject: the applicants will not be allowed to undergo further exams if they have got less than 55 points in the major subjects. This new practice is aimed at the improvement in the quality of training of researchers.
AVAILABLE FOR EVERYONE
According to the national training program, Uzbekistan has built unique educational system that allows every child to get education and, later, a qualification. The country is developing such a labor market that needs highly qualified employees able to solve complex professional tasks. Today, every graduate in Uzbekistan start their independent lives with a qualification for employment, which is thanks to a free twelve-year education scheme ‘9+3’: nine years at school and three years at a secondary vocational college to get a certain qualification or prepare for further studies at a higher education institution.
The main merit of the domestic educational system is its availability for everyone, which is possible through a network of schools and secondary vocational colleges. Uzbekistan’s educational facilities are located so as to allow most of young people to get education near their place of residence. Another important feature is that all the vocational colleges are oriented to training specialists needed in their locations. In the remote and hard-to-access areas this task is performed by branches of the vocational colleges.
The higher education system of the country is also training specialists as to location by providing enough study places in its regional facilities and expanded network of branches of the higher education institutions. The universities and institutes in the regions have become much more popular. For example, last year, Qunghirot branch of Tashkent Chemical and Technological Institute started to train specialists on a daily basis for Ustyurt Gas and Chemical Complex, which is currently under construction, with 97 applicants per 100 study places. This year, the competition at this branch is four persons per study place, which indicated that young people are attracted to it thanks to the country’s consistent educational policy.
LABOR DEMAND
Every year there are around 900 thousand new jobs created in the country. As a result the student quotas are refined from the current and forecasted labor market demands. One can suggest that the latest changes in education can determine which experts are needed in order to further develop the economy.
Restructuring changes in lower and higher educational institutions suggest that the country is rapidly demanding engineers and specialists in the services sector. This means that the priorities are placed on the development of high-tech industry in the fields of vehicle manufacturing, oil and gas refining, electric energy and the chemical sector. There is an increase in the volume of sales of consumer products. An active development in terms of domestic, finance and tele-communicational services is noticed.
Specialists in IT-communications are particularly demanded. The Tashkent University of Information Technologies and its five franchises have been reviewed in terms of international standards. In turn preparations of specialists have begun in these fields in similar educational institutions. The recently opened University of Inha in Tashkent is to also train specialists in the field of information technologies.
Not a single course of life has been left unattended. For instance, universities and colleges have renewed their preparation of specialists for archives. Questions of updating the preoperational field of dentistry have been solved. The Dentistry Faculty of the Tashkent Medical Academy has established franchises in Andijon, Buhoro, Samarqand and Nukus.
Economic developments constantly demand the induction of new courses of learning and expertise. This year there have been fairly fewer systematic inductions. In particular Tashkent Construction – Municipal College has introduced a course called ‘Value Engineering’. Tashkent State Agrarian University has added a course in ‘Means of Growing Medical Plants’. Uzbekistan State University of World Languages has begun teaching ‘Linguistics and Japanese’
More changes have been done with smaller details. For example, universities teaching agriculture previously had a course in ‘Taking Care with the Matters of Farming’, whereas the same course is now called ‘Agricultural Management Expertise’.
There have been significant changes in the list of postgraduate courses. Subject titles have been adjusted to reflect the preparation of specialists at the Senior Researchers Lyceum, which were set by the ‘State Testing Center under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan’. These changes have been carried out in accordance with the latest changes in legislation.
SKETCHING A PORTRAIT
Improvement of quality in the preparation of specialists is centrally debated. The graduates need foreign languages in order to freely communicate with colleagues from other countries. Experts suggest that this will speed up the process of introducing the latest technologies and will allow the studying foreign expertise. An equally important aspect of knowledge in developing tomorrow’s professionals is the requirement of IT-communications.
Tremendous efforts are undertaken to make sure that specialists meet these requirements. Teaching facilities at all levels, starting with schools, are being outfitted with necessary equipment, stocked with latest textbooks and reviewed in terms of subject courses. Improving the qualifications of teachers is also part of the program. In order to motivate young people to take up languages, university entry tests that include such relevant questions have gone up from 35 to 59. Exams in mathematics include questions relating information technology. As a result there are now 30 mathematical questions and six IT questions in exam papers. New aspects are being applied in all directions, which test mathematical skills.
Lately, the study of entrepreneurship has been allocated more attention. Today every student is reviewed as a potential entrepreneur. This is why business and economic disciplines have been improved. In turn there is a wide range of aspects in credit financing, tax allowances and general advice jointly-provided by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan, commercial banks and the Ministry of Higher and Secondary Special Education of Uzbekistan in order to assist those willing to start a business. The quantity of recipients of such help has been constantly growing.
(Source: «Uzbekistan Today» newspaper)
cinema
Uzbek film wins grand-prix of international festival
A film “Uncle” of director Rashid Malikov from Uzbekistan won a grand-prix of international theatre and cinema festival “V krugu semyi” (In the bosom of family”).
The film received the grand-prix in the contest among full-length films. The jury gave an award for the best actor to Bobur Yuldashev for his role in the film “Uncle”.
The film tells a story about 8 year old boy Sanjar, who visits his uncle Jumash during holidays. Uncle, being childless, doted on his nephew. They spent a lot of time together. Sanjar observes life of his uncle and makes corresponding conclusions.
The film was shot on order of Uzbekkino. Rashid Malikov directed the film. Bobur Yuldashev, Boris Gafurov, Nigora Karimboyeva, Abbos Nigmanov, Feruza Sobitova, Ali Choriev, Rano Shodieva and other featured in the film.
The ninth international theatre and cinema festival “V krugu semyi” was held in Irkutsks, Russia, on 2-8 August 2014. The closing ceremony was held at Irkutsk Academic Dramatic Theatre named after Okhlopkov.
Films from Russia, Ukraine, United States, China, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, the Netherlands and Singapore competed for the main prize of the festival in full-length films direction.
(Source: UzDaily.com)