As part of the development of international cooperation in the field of higher education, Turkmenistan participated in the Education World Forum on May 18-21, 2025 in London. This is an annual gathering of ministers, deputy ministers and other high-level education officials from more than 100 countries.

According to the Turkmen Ministry of Education, a Turkmen delegation, led by Deputy Minister of Education Azat Atayev, took part in the forum’s plenary sessions and bilateral meetings aimed at expanding international educational cooperation and exchanging best practices amid the digital transformation of education.

The Turkmen delegation met with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) representatives to discuss prospects for cooperation in education-quality assessment. The Turkmen side confirmed that PISA goals have been incorporated into the Concept for Improving Teaching Methodology for General-Education Programmes in Turkmenistan until 2028. The parties agreed to explore ways for Turkmenistan to study PISA methodology with OECD methodological support.
A working meeting was also held with representatives of Times Higher Education (THE), the international university-ranking agency. The discussion focused on developing the global academic profile of Turkmen universities. THE experts shared analytical materials on universities impact on economic and human-capital development and proposed an online workshop for Turkmen institutions on improving their positions in international rankings.

Turkmenistan has taken significant steps to bolster educational collaboration with Great Britain. In March 2025, the British Embassy in Turkmenistan celebrated the successful completion of the British Council’s Accelerating English Language Learning in Central Asia (AELLCA) project at the Dovletmammet Azadi Turkmen National Institute of World Languages. The project was funded by the UK Government and implemented by Nottingham Trent University.

At the closing ceremony, the British Ambassador, Stephen Conlon noted that educational cooperation between the United Kingdom and Turkmenistan has been steadily progressing, with significant achievements since last year. According to the British Embassy, the event showcased the remarkable strides made in English Language Teaching (ELT) at the Dovletmammet Azadi Turkmen National Institute of World Languages. The Ambassador presented teachers with well-deserved certificates from Nottingham Trent University, recognizing their dedication and hard work.

As part of the project, the British Council also arranged study visits to the UK for members of the Dovletmammet Azadi Turkmen National Institute of World Languages and the International University for Humanities and Development, to enhance their understanding of school-based continuing professional development practices.

An important part of educational cooperation between Great Britain and Turkmenistan is the Chevening Scholarship Program, which supports Turkmen students pursuing graduate studies in the UK. For the 2024/25 academic year, twelve Turkmen citizens were awarded Chevening scholarships.
Turkmenistan has also established cooperation with universities from other European countries. From June 1-12, a delegation of the Oguz Khan University of Engineering and Technology of Turkmenistan visited the Technical University of Graz, one of Austria’s leading higher education institutions in the fields of engineering and technology, natural sciences, precision and biomedical sciences, the electronic newspaper Golden Age reported.

The purpose of the visit was to evaluate joint research activities and discuss further plans for cooperation between the two universities. During the visit, teachers and students of the Oguz Khan University and the Institute of Electronics at the University of Graz conducted scientific research in areas related to measuring electric and magnetic fields at close range, measuring electromagnetic radiation emitted by electronic devices of various geometric shapes, as well as antenna design and measurements in this field. In May, a meeting with representatives of the University of Le Havre (France) — Vice President Jean-Nicolas Castorion and Director of International Relations P. Barthelemy — was held at the Magtymguly Turkmen State University in Ashgabat.

According to the Turkmen Ministry of Education, the parties discussed priority areas of cooperation, noting that in different years, along with other foreign languages, the Turkmen State University trained highly qualified specialists in French language and literature.

by Sergey Khvan