Yuri ARONSKY, Chairman of the Union of Economists of Turkmenistan
Sustainable socio-economic growth, natural resources, and our country’s work in conditions of peace and stability make it possible to optimistically assess further steps in the development of the national economy. This is also confirmed by the independent authoritative international rating agency Fitch Ratings, which in August 2024 upgraded Turkmenistan’s long-term rating to “BB-stable”.
In modern conditions, it is not so much natural resources as science and innovation that determine the progress of any country. In this direction, the key factors are the use of the intellectual potential of society and the introduction of scientific achievements into the economic sphere. This process is based on the use of advanced technologies, fundamental and applied research.
It can be noted that the level of development of the innovative economy today is one of the main indicators of the country’s economy and its competitiveness in the world market. Leading countries and developing countries are making great efforts to create startups in various fields of activity. And for Turkmenistan, this goal was set by the National Leader of the Turkmen people Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and President Serdar Berdimuhamedov.
Science and education are a tool for increasing economic potential, a driving force for state development. In order to increase the competitiveness of the national economy, in 2018 the government developed and approved the Concept for the Development of the Digital Economy until 2025, in which the creation of new innovative IT products also plays an important role.
Thus, digitalization of education is one of the most important priorities for the development of our society. Already now, from the new academic year, it is planned to fully introduce the “emekdep” system, which will allow for effective management of the educational process and provide access to high-quality electronic educational resources. Artificial intelligence (AI) plays an important role in this process, facilitating the creation of personalized educational materials and interactive lessons. It should be noted that when implementing AI, it is important to take into account ethical aspects, which requires additional training of teachers to work with these technologies.
One of the major achievements of recent years in education has been the introduction of an analytical system for assessing the quality of work of higher education institutions (HEIs) and secondary vocational education institutions (SVEs). This system was developed by the Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan and allows for automatic data collection, analysis of the results of educational programs and provision of detailed reports with individual indicators for each institution on a quarterly basis. Such reports help to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the educational process and make the necessary adjustments. The implemented rating system allows for ranking educational institutions based on a number of indicators, including the academic achievements of students, the results of scientific activity and participation in international projects. The rating is available online, which makes it a transparent and convenient tool for work planning.
Now we can also observe a significant increase in publications of Turkmen university employees, scientists and teachers in international scientific journals indexed in Scopus and Web of Science. If in 2020 the number of articles in peer-reviewed scientific publications with a high impact factor was 167, then in 2023 this figure increased to 5876, which indicates a 35-fold increase. Such progress underlines the importance of scientific work and international cooperation in the field of higher education.
It should be noted that cooperation with international organizations allows us to improve the quality of professional education and prepare specialists who are able to work successfully in the global economy. An important step here was the introduction of digital systems in various fields of knowledge, which made it possible to create educational portals and electronic teaching aids, as well as equip modern laboratories.
In support of the implementation of state policy and adopted fundamental documents in the field of economics and education, as well as to develop innovative skills among young people, a program for the creation of startups – the Startup Ecosystem program – began to be implemented in Turkmenistan in 2020 – the search and development of new innovative ideas for the economy.
The overall goal of the national program “Startup Ecosystem” is to promote the development of youth innovative entrepreneurship. In addition, the program provides an opportunity to improve the conditions for business development and create more new high-tech jobs.
The first Startup Ecosystem program was conducted by the Union of Economists of Turkmenistan with the participation of a number of business companies in 2020. After the successful completion of this program, it was decided to continue it on an annual basis, involving new state, public and private organizations as stakeholders and potential sponsors.
In subsequent years, the program was supplemented and improved taking into account the analysis of the experience of the programs of previous years. The emphasis was on more active participation of national mentors and investors. The program included training in innovative methods and approaches for young people, taking into account the best international methods and practices for evaluating startups, identifying the potential for implementation in the market and the financial success of startups, etc. Over four years, 533 young people from Ashgabat, Ahal, Dashoguz, Lebap and Mary velayats participated in the program.
According to international experts, today every fourth startup in the world is created in the education system. Therefore, as part of the development of the program in 2024, an important area is increasing the effectiveness of startup programs in higher and secondary vocational educational institutions of Turkmenistan.
This work has been started today and is being implemented under the coordination of the Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan and the public association “Union of Economists of Turkmenistan”. A number of universities and companies of the country, public associations are participating in this work.
It is expected that the implementation of the Startup Ecosystem program in 2024–2025 will provide an opportunity to create permanent startup platforms in a number of educational institutions and sustainably develop innovative business projects among both young entrepreneurs and the student audience.
To sum up, the country’s educational system is on the right track to reaching new heights. The main tasks for the coming years include further digitalization of education, the introduction of innovative methods in acquiring the necessary skills by students, improving teaching methods, strengthening international cooperation and accreditation of educational programs according to international standards.
The specified directions will contribute not only to improving the quality of education, but also to the accelerated development of an innovative economy, strengthening the position of our country in the global orbit of education. This will be an important step in the implementation of strategic tasks for the development of Turkmenistan, aimed at improving a modern and competitive economy and education system. /// nCa, 2 October 2024 (cross post from Neutral Turkmenistan, picture credit CAnews)