The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA, Chairman Chang Won Sam) and the Global Development Cooperation Institute (GDCI) of Kookmin University (President Jeong Seung Ryul) held the opening ceremony for the ‘KOICA-TUIT-KMU Living Lab’ at the main building of Tashkent University of Information and Communications Technology (TUIT) in Uzbekistan on the morning of Wednesday, September 24, marking the start of its full-scale operation.

This event was one of the main programs of TUIT's 70th anniversary celebration. Attendees included Sherzod Shermatov, Minister of Digital Technologies of Uzbekistan; Shin Myung Seop, KOICA Country Director for Uzbekistan; Kim Byeong Joon, Director of International Exchange at Kookmin University, and Bakhtiyor Makhkamov, President of TUIT. The event added significance by showcasing the achievements of industry-academia collaboration derived from the Living Lab preparatory school and hackathons operated over the past three years as KOICA projects, alongside the Living Lab opening.

The ‘KOICA-TUIT-KMU Living Lab’ was established to foster global innovation talent leading Uzbekistan's digital economy. It aims to build an educational environment realizing the convergent IT education model designed by KOICA and Kookmin University's Graduate School of Business IT, in response to the Uzbek government's request.

To this end, KOICA, in collaboration with Kookmin University, is implementing the ‘Uzbekistan Tashkent University of Information Technologies (TUIT) Entrepreneurship-Linked Business IT Education Capacity Building Project’. From 2022 to 2027, with a budget of $5 million, the project is establishing a new Global Business IT Department at TUIT, as well as: △ Building an industry-academia linked startup support program △ Training local business IT faculty members Furthermore, Kookmin University, in conjunction with the KOICA project, has been operating a Dual Degree program with TUIT since 2024, offering practical Korean-style business IT education in areas such as data science, business analytics, and customer experience design.

To support this convergent IT education, a Living Lab has been established in the basement of the TUIT main building. It features seven state-of-the-art laboratories totaling 1,010 square meters: a Coding Lab, Design Lab, Creative Studio, CNC Lab, UAS Lab, and AI·Robotics Lab. As the first university in Uzbekistan to possess high-end equipment like AI servers, industrial 3D printers, CNC routers, and laser cutters, along with a shared office space, an environment has been created where students and researchers can freely experiment with innovative ideas and connect them to entrepreneurship.

In his congratulatory remarks, Shin Myung Seop, KOICA Uzbekistan Office Director, emphasized, “We are well aware that the Uzbek government has made IT talent development and building an innovation ecosystem a top national priority,” adding, “We hope this Living Lab opening becomes an important milestone for Uzbekistan's IT higher education and research innovation.”

TUIT President Bakhtiyor Makamov stated, “I deeply thank KOICA and Kookmin University for their efforts in establishing this Living Lab,” adding, “I expect today's occasion to lead to future cooperation and new achievements between Korea and Uzbekistan.”

Kim Byeong Joon, Director of International Affairs at Kookmin University (also Director of the Global Development Cooperation Research Institute), stated, “The Living Lab is a platform that goes beyond simply improving the educational environment; it drives industry-academia collaboration and revitalizes the startup ecosystem.” He added, “Through cooperation between our two countries, it will become a key hub for nurturing Uzbekistan's next-generation IT leaders.”

Meanwhile, KOICA and Kookmin University plan to strengthen employment and entrepreneurship training in Uzbekistan by applying innovative Korean educational methods such as Project-Based Learning (PBL) and Flipped Learning through the opening of this KOICA-TUIT-KMU Living Lab.