17.4.1. EDUCATION FOR SDGS COMMITMENT TO MEANINGFUL EDUCATION

Commitment to Meaningful Education around the SDGs

TSUOS is firmly committed to delivering an education that is meaningful, relevant, and applicable to all students in the context of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We recognise that fostering graduates who can engage with global sustainability challenges is integral to our mission, and we have therefore embedded the SDG agenda across our institutional curriculum and co-curricular activities.

At TSUOS, our commitment to sustainability education focuses on three core pillars:

• Curriculum Integration

Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies (TSUOS) ensures that education for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is embedded across the full curriculum. All academic programs are reviewed annually to integrate sustainability themes into both general and specialized courses. This approach guarantees that every student—regardless of their study major—develops a solid understanding of the SDGs and their relevance to social, economic, and environmental issues.

• Institutional Support and Research Development

To strengthen sustainability learning, TSUOS has established dedicated structures. They coordinate university-wide activities promoting sustainable economic growth, innovation, and SDG-oriented research. They also facilitate workshops, conferences, and collaborative projects that connect students and academics with real-world sustainability challenges.

• Awareness and Engagement

Beyond classroom learning, TSUOS fosters a vibrant culture of dialogue and participation through webinars, open discussions, and training sessions focused on sustainability. These events raise awareness of pressing global issues—such as climate change, gender equality, and cultural preservation—and encourage students to develop practical solutions. Through these experiences, TSUOS empowers students to become active contributors to sustainable development locally and globally.

1. Institutional Commitment

We have formally adopted a university-wide pledge to integrate the SDGs into teaching, learning, research and campus life. This commitment covers all faculties and all programmes, ensuring that students, regardless of discipline, encounter the sustainability agenda in a way that is coherent and purposeful. For example, our curriculum review cycle ensures that each year, courses are reorganised and updated to make them relevant to the SDGs and to reflect emerging sustainable development issues (see our annual course catalogue and dedicated sustainability-related courses webpages).

2. Curriculum Integration

To ensure that the SDGs are meaningful to all students, TSUOS has taken the following approaches:

• Mandatory exposure: All students take core/general courses which embed SDG-relevant content—thus ensuring universal access to sustainability literacy.
• Discipline-specific integration: In addition, each degree programme has been reviewed and restructured so that its mandatory and elective offerings explicitly reference and engage with themes such as environmental sustainability, social equity, global justice, innovation for sustainable development, and cultural heritage in the SDG context.
• Annual review: We undertake an annual process of curriculum review and renewal to ensure the relevance of courses in relation to the SDGs, thereby maintaining dynamic alignment rather than static inclusion.
• Supplementary sustainability-related electives: Beyond core requirements, we offer a robust range of electives and modules explicitly listed as “sustainability-related courses”.

3. Webinars, Open Discussions, and Student Engagement

Beyond formal coursework, TSUOS actively promotes sustainability dialogue through a series of webinars, open discussions, and round tables that encourage critical reflection and participation from students and faculty alike.

Examples include:

• University-wide SDG Webinars led by academic staff and invited international experts, focusing on:
• Goal 1: No poverty
• Goal 2: Zero hunger
• Goal 3: Good health and well-being
• Goal 4: Quality education
• Goal 5: Gender equality
• Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation
• Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy
• Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth
• Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
• Goal 10: Reduced inequalities
• Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities
• Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production
• Goal 13: Climate Action
• Goal 14: Life below water
• Goal 15: Life on land
• Goal 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions
• Goal 17: Partnerships for the goals

Open student discussions and debates on “Sustainability in Higher Education” and “The Role of Youth in Achieving the SDGs”, held in cooperation with the university’s SDG Center and student organizations.

Workshops and training sessions on integrating sustainability into research and academic writing.

Public lectures and hybrid seminars conducted jointly with international partners within the framework of Erasmus+ and other collaboration projects, enhancing cross-cultural exchange on sustainability issues.

These interactive learning formats ensure that sustainability is not confined to classroom theory but translated into practical knowledge, leadership, and social responsibility.

4. Centers and Institutional Structures Supporting SDG Education

To promote sustainability education and research, TSUOS has established specialized centers that actively support the integration of the SDGs into academic and social life.

Among them is the Sustainable Development Centre — https://tsuos.uz/en/barqaror-iqtisodiy-rivojlanish-markazi/

— which coordinates activities aimed at advancing sustainable economic development and enhancing knowledge of the UN 2030 Agenda among students and faculty.

The Centre organizes regular workshops, lectures, and collaborative initiatives that connect theory with practice, helping students apply SDG concepts in research, project development, and community engagement.

In addition, TSUOS hosts several other centers and units that indirectly support the SDG agenda through research and awareness-raising, including centers for Global Studies, Gender Research, Psychological Services, and Central Asian Research. Together, these structures contribute to the university’s whole-institution approach to sustainability education. For reference: https://tsuos.uz/en/ilmiy-tadqiqot-markazlari/

5. Meaningfulness and Applicability

Integration of the SDGs is not merely a superficial inclusion. At TSUOS we emphasise:

• Real-world linkages: Courses incorporate case studies, project work, research tasks and community engagement that relate directly to local, regional and global sustainability challenges.
• Interdisciplinary perspectives: Students from different faculties engage with common sustainability themes from their own disciplinary lens—so that meaningful cross-cutting understanding is developed.
• Skills for change: The learning outcomes emphasise not only knowledge of SDGs but also the skills and values needed to act — critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, ethical leadership, and global citizenship.
• Continuous improvement: Curriculum renewal is informed by student feedback, faculty reflection and emerging sustainability issues, so that what we teach remains relevant, timely and impactful.

6. 6. Documentation and Transparency

• The full course catalogue for 2024-2025 shows the breadth of mandatory and elective offerings across all programmes.
• The dedicated webpage listing sustainability-related courses provides transparency and accessibility for students and external stakeholders.
• TSUOS publicly affirms its alignment with the SDG agenda and demonstrates how curriculum adjustments are made annually to maintain relevance to the SDGs.

01.11.2025, 15:57 102 Print version