SHIRINSHOH SHOTEMUR TAJIK AGRARIAN UNIVERSITY
The Shirinshhoh Shotemur Tajik Agrarian University is one of the leading universities in the Republic of Tajikistan, training highly qualified personnel for the country's agro-industrial complex. The goal of aligning personnel with industry, given the zonal distribution of agricultural sectors in the Central Asian republics, necessitated the creation of specialized universities training specialists in more specific fields. This led to the establishment of the Central Asian Fruit and Vegetable Institute in Khujand in 1931, based on the Faculty of Agriculture of Central Asian State University. The decision to locate the institute in Khujand was based on the fact that the Khujand district was the republic's main horticultural region and a promising base for Tajikistan's developing canning industry. Based on this, the institute was commissioned to expand its operations in 1931, consisting of five departments: fruit, vegetable, viticulture, garden plant protection, and the organization of large-scale fruit and vegetable farming. At that time, the institute comprised 13 specialized departments, whose faculty taught 205 students and 336 workers' faculty students. The institute was later located in Dushanbe. In 1934, the institute was reorganized and renamed the Tajik Agricultural Institute, taking into account its scientific, pedagogical, and research achievements, as well as the training of qualified specialists in the agricultural sector. In 1992, by decision of the Khukumat of the Republic of Tajikistan, the institute received university status and became known as the Tajik Agrarian University (Decision of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Tajikistan dated August 10, 1992, No. 311, Dushanbe). In 2009, in honor of the Hero of Tajikistan, TAU was renamed the Shirinshho Shotemur Tajik Agrarian University. Over its 88 years of operation, the university has trained 53,510 highly qualified specialists, 70 percent of whom graduated during the years of Tajikistan's independence, working not only within the country but also abroad. Currently, the university enrolls 10,080 students in 46 specialties. The university's 13 academic buildings house 10 faculties, 50 departments, 210 classrooms, 67 teaching and research laboratories, 15 computer centers, three internet centers, a biotechnology research institute, a center for advanced training of agricultural workers, and two training and production farms: in the Gissar and Yavan districts. More than 454 faculty members, including part-time teachers, teach at the university, including six Academicians of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan, six Corresponding Members, 46 Doctors of Science, 52 Professors, 145 Candidates of Science, and Associate Professors, as well as 260 instructors. Currently, Tajik Agrarian University is a center of research for the training of highly qualified personnel in the agro-industrial complex, whose history is closely linked to the development of agriculture in the republic. Consequently, the university has earned recognition not only within the CIS but also beyond. In 2003, Tajik Agrarian University named after Sh. Shotemur was awarded the international "Era of Quality" award for outstanding contribution to quality and excellence. TAU named after Sh. Shotemur is a member of the Eurasian-Atlantic Universities network and is also a member of the Alliance of Specialized Universities of China and Central Asia. In March 2017, at the suggestion of the International Nominee Committee SOCRATES, the Oxford Academy of England awarded TAU Sh. Shotemur the honorary title of "BEST UNIVERSITY OF THE YEAR" for the fruitful development of international relations. On April 26, 2017, for its valuable contribution to inventions and innovation, the university was awarded the honorary emblem of the State Institution "National Center for Patents and Information" of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of the Republic of Tajikistan. The university's leadership places great emphasis on research and its effective application in production. Research topics address important and pressing issues in the agro-industrial complex. The university is proud that the results of its scientists' work include copyright certificates, patents, inventions, and more. Over the past 10 years, their number has reached almost 80. The university has five dissertation councils in 10 specialties for the defense of candidate and doctoral dissertations, four of which are national councils. It is worth noting that in 2019, 34 scientific papers were defended before dissertation councils, 11 of which were from the Agrarian University. One of the key areas of the university's strategy is close cooperation and the active involvement of specialists from international partner universities, with the aim of improving the qualifications of the university's faculty, exchanging scientific and pedagogical experience and scientific achievements, and aligning curricula with international educational standards. Thus, our university has close ties with 130 universities from 26 countries and 19 international organizations. Students also receive education at our university.