The Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation met with Plug and Play Tech Center's regional director to discuss startup ecosystem development, university innovation programmes, and the commercialisation of research.

Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation Kongratbay Sharipov met with Alfredo Gomes Soria, Regional Director of Plug and Play Tech Center. The meeting was also attended by Asror Norov, Acting Director of the Agency for Innovative Development, and Akbarxon Sobirxonov, Director of the Office for Supporting Youth Innovative Initiatives.

Plug and Play is an international innovation platform and venture accelerator founded in Silicon Valley, USA. The organisation operates more than 65 offices worldwide, partners with over 600 corporations, and engages a community of more than 100,000 startups.

The discussions explored several key areas of cooperation:

• Establishing specialised acceleration programmes with the involvement of higher education institutions;
• Organising national competitions for university-based startups;
• Technology transfer and bringing innovative projects to international markets;
• Integrating talented young people into the global startup ecosystem.

Both parties agreed to pursue practical initiatives aimed at strengthening ties between innovations, startups, and universities, as well as cultivating an environment conducive to innovative entrepreneurship across Uzbekistan.