Tashkent Metropolitan University and Universiti Putra Malaysia Discuss Joint Degree Programmes and Academic Mobility
Tashkent Metropolitan University (TMU) and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) are taking their partnership further, with talks on joint undergraduate and graduate programmes and academic mobility between the two institutions.
Associate Professor Dr Wan Marzuki Wan Jaafar, Dean of the Faculty of Educational Studies at UPM, visited TMU. He was welcomed by Aziz Islamkhodjaev, Vice President for Academic Affairs at TMU, and Munisa Muhtarova, Founding Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities and Foundation Programmes at TMU.
The visit follows the Memorandum of Understanding signed by TMU and UPM on 15 September 2026. The memorandum sets out a framework for academic and research cooperation, including cooperation in doctoral (PhD) training.
During the meeting, the guest was briefed on TMU’s academic programmes and activities, and the TMU team learned about UPM and its programmes.
The two sides discussed next steps for cooperation in education, including:
- launching joint undergraduate and graduate programmes;
- developing student and faculty mobility;
- organizing summer schools;
- expanding cooperation in PhD training under the signed memorandum.
"Our memorandum with Universiti Putra Malaysia was the first step. Now we are working on concrete formats that students will feel directly, from joint degree programmes to semesters abroad and doctoral study. For young people in Uzbekistan, this means access to the academic standards of one of Asia’s leading research universities without leaving their home university," said Aziz Islamkhodjaev, Vice President for Academic Affairs at TMU.
The partnership will give students in Uzbekistan new ways to get an internationally recognised education in partnership with one of the world’s top-ranked universities.
Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) is a public research university in Serdang, Selangor, established under Malaysia’s Universities and University Colleges Act 1971. It was founded as Universiti Pertanian Malaysia with a focus on agricultural sciences and has since become a comprehensive research university. UPM is ranked 134th in the QS World University Rankings 2026, up from 148th the previous year. Its Faculty of Educational Studies has been operating for 48 years. 98% of UPM’s academic staff hold doctoral degrees, and the university has academic partnerships on six continents.
