United States of America (Bozeman)
62An official business trip organized from 18 to 28 October 2025 with the purpose of discussing opportunities for bilateral cooperation in the field of education between representatives of higher education institutions of Turkmenistan, including a representative of the Turkmen State Institute of Finance, and higher education institutions of the states of Wyoming and Montana of the United States of America.
Bozeman Montana State University
(Bozeman, Montana, USA)
23 October 2025
Purpose of the visit to Bozeman Montana State University during the official business trip:
1. To become acquainted with Bozeman Montana State University of the State of Montana, United States of America.
2. To present the main directions of the national education policy of independent, permanently Neutral Turkmenistan, including an overview of the higher education institutions of Turkmenistan.
3. To discuss issues of cooperation in the fields of higher and secondary vocational education.
During the visit, the following promising areas of cooperation were discussed:
- Educational exchanges: exchange of students and faculty members, organization of joint online classes, and use of shared electronic information resources. Representatives of Bozeman Montana State University expressed their support for implementing activities aimed at mutual exchange of experience in the introduction of modern teaching methods.
- Scientific research cooperation: implementation of joint projects in priority areas of mutual interest. The Turkmen side expressed interest in cooperation in the fields of digital transformation of education, information security, the use of artificial intelligence in teaching, STEM education methodology, natural and exact sciences, ecology and environmental protection, economics, pedagogy, and English language studies, as well as in conducting joint scientific research, preparing academic articles, and organizing various student competitions, including hackathons.
- Cultural and academic initiatives: organization of scientific conferences, seminars, and summer schools, as well as financing joint projects through grant programs.
Members of the Turkmen delegation were introduced by Patrick Mooney, Assistant to the Head of the International Cooperation Department of Bozeman Montana State University, to the conditions created in the buildings dedicated to students’ independent learning activities, student dormitories, as well as to the activities of the student council and student clubs.
Subsequently, members of the Turkmen delegation became familiar with the academic buildings in which specialists are trained in various fields—exact sciences, natural sciences, and humanities—as well as with the facilities and organization of the educational process in buildings dedicated to agriculture and environmental protection programs. In addition, the Dean of the College of Engineering provided information about academic buildings constructed with financial support from well-known university alumni who have made significant contributions to the development of the country’s economy and public policy, as well as about their technical equipment. Furthermore, the delegation was given an opportunity to briefly familiarize itself with the activities of the faculty responsible for training teachers of modern foreign languages, particularly Spanish, German, French, Chinese, and Japanese.
The Dean of the College of Engineering at Bozeman Montana State University, Professor Jeff Hayes, a professor specializing in scientific research in the fields of chemistry and biology, thoroughly acquainted the members of the Turkmen delegation with the organization of educational and practical training processes. The head of the faculty explained the conditions created in classrooms and laboratories for training engineering students for various sectors of the economy, as well as the execution of students’ independent practical work using laboratory equipment. He also spoke about the applied significance of the practical research projects carried out by exceptionally talented engineering students and their introduction into production, as well as the professional roles these graduates occupy in industry.
A meeting on establishing bilateral cooperation was held with the participation of members of the Turkmen delegation and the leadership of the College of Engineering of Bozeman Montana State University. During the meeting, presentations were delivered by the heads of the College of Engineering and the Turkmen delegation. In his speech, the head of the College of Engineering focused primarily on the integration of educational activities with practice-oriented project work, while the head of the Turkmen delegation provided a detailed overview of the modern development of Turkmenistan’s education system and the opportunities for establishing and expanding bilateral cooperation.
Members of the Turkmen delegation discussed specific proposals with foreign counterparts on the use of innovative technologies to improve the teaching of natural and exact science disciplines, mutual exchange of experience among faculty members in the training of highly qualified specialists, and the organization of online educational seminars for students via video communication platforms. At the same time, the Turkmen side proposed initiatives to establish academic and scientific cooperation between the higher education institutions of Turkmenistan and Bozeman Montana State University.
Representatives of the higher education institutions included in the Turkmen delegation presented the following proposals as the main areas of bilateral cooperation:
- in-depth study and integration into the educational process of the academic programs of the Department of Earth Sciences (Geography & GIS), Department of Ecology, Land Resources & Environmental Sciences (LRES), and Department of Education, with the aim of enriching students’ knowledge with international experience through bilateral academic programs;
- collection, analysis, and mapping of data in the field of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), their integration into various systems, and the creation of databases related to natural resources, water management, and land management;
- in-depth scientific study of paleontological remains and geological sections;
- development and implementation of joint educational programs in the field of artificial intelligence;
- increasing youth engagement in artificial intelligence through hackathons, international competitions, and innovative projects;
- development of roadmaps for specific cooperation activities and joint selection of programs for financing these activities;
- organization of an online meeting in the near future to discuss the above-mentioned proposals;
- study of paleontological remains found in sedimentary deposits extracted through deep drilling;
- determination of the age of geological sections based on paleontological research, study of microorganism remains in thin sections, identification of their biostratigraphic significance to further refine stratigraphic units, and reconstruction of paleogeographic conditions;
- organization of online educational seminars for students in the fields of finance and economics;
- development of cooperation in the fields of information security and cybersecurity.
Within the framework of the meeting, the Dean of the College of Engineering of Bozeman Montana State University, Professor Jeff Hayes, in his remarks, also highly evaluated the opportunities for establishing joint academic programs, scientific research projects, and student exchange programs in the fields of economics, management, and international business.
