The Change Academy

The Aim of the Change Academy is to enable a group of Uzbek HEIs to move with confidence and relevant (leadership, governance, management) capabilities toward organisational, financial and academic sustainability through a focused initiative around quality in learning & teaching towards improved graduate outcomes:

• to catalyse ongoing improvements in quality of learning and in order to achieve improved graduate provision, choice and outcomes for employability and entrepreneurship 
• to facilitate shared learning and growth between state, private and international (UK) institutions in order to improve leadership, governance and organisational development

We will ensure gender equity is considered as a critical objective throughout the Change Academy.

The Change Academy programme additionally aims to build:

• stronger relationships, better trust between government agencies and HEIs; between HEIs and industry stakeholders
• stronger connectivity with the UK HE sector, its agencies and institutions

As a university / HEI you should expect to emerge from the Change Academy:

1. with a good enough working knowledge of strategic processes to create and operationalise a robust, fit-for-purpose and dynamic strategic action plan to develop internal systems, capacity and competency around quality in Learning and Teaching for enhancing Graduate Outcomes 
2. having embraced a transparent, ethical approach to leading with integrity throughout the organisation
3. having a confident and capable team of core Change Agents who are leading and developing a minimum of 100 other staff and students in the evolution of the HEI towards your high quality, sustainable, ethical goals
4. as a Beacon HEI, leading change across the national HE sector, supporting and enabling other HEIs to enact the change they need towards high quality, autonomous education provision
5. as part of several national and international networks of academic leadership and Communities of Practice (CoP) around different aspects of quality in HE
6. have gender equality at the core of all practice, strategy and development

Each Change Academy year includes:

• Learning, Exchange and Planning Sessions
• Change project implementation support
• Self-evaluation and reporting
• Network and Community of Practice (CoP) establishment
• Virtual Change Academy

Change Academy Project themes in 2022:

• University governance 
• Graduate outcome
• Quality assurance

Each HEI must commit, and remain committed, to:

• providing sufficient resources including time for Change Teams to develop, test and deliver their Change Projects
• authorising all activities within the Change Project. Teams must be able to act with autonomy and, equally, they must also be accountable for their choices and actions
• creating and sustaining a risk-friendly culture. Individuals must be allowed to try and fail; some change will deliver expected and unexpected positive impacts; some change actions may have little impact; some may fail. Teams should mitigate risk where possible and take a proactive approach to learning from each action, whatever its impact.
• giving back. HEIs are expected to provide return on the investment in their Change Project and Team by firstly documenting and disseminating their change journeys and impacts and, secondly, supporting other HEI Teams (and other Teams within their own HEI) during and after the Change Academy Cycle to implement their own Change Projects. 

Change Teams will be required to capture the story of the Change Project to:

• learn from the successes and failures of the journey
• be able to support future Change Teams in different HEIs to make their change projects happen
• to create resources for wider dissemination and publicity

Change Teams progressing through the Change Academy will be assessed at multiple points. Change Teams deemed to be failing, either through lack of commitment, lack of action, lack of learning or lack of monitoring and documentation of the Change Project, will be asked to leave the programme.

Full details of assessments and criteria will be available on confirmation of your place.

1. Seek out other curious, ambitious and creative people from across your university
2. Together explore, discuss, debate – listen brilliantly, gather ideas and opinions
3. Decide on an initial Change Project – draft a short outline (Why (the goal), Who by (the Team), who for (the primary audience), what and how (what you expect to do – how it will run).
4. Share your Change Project outline with lots of people in your university, including your senior leadership (Rector). Get feedback. Adapt the outline. Re-draft.
5. Get commitment from all your Change Team members and supporters. Are you free to do this work? Are you determined? Finalise your Change Team members (6 to 8 people) and nominate your Change Team coordinator.
6. Now apply via this short online application form.

Application deadline is 15 July 2022, 23.59 Uzbekistan time. 

If you have additional questions, please approach Indira Ikhlasova on indira.ikhlasova@britishcouncil.org 

1. A team from UK and British Council independently review, assess and score all applications.
2. The assessors scores are added together. 
3. The reviewers double-check the applications with the highest scores. 12 highest scoring applicants are invited to join the 2022 Change Academy (CA3).
4. Learning Exchange and Planning Modules dates will be announced in September 2022.

1. The Change Team: please indicate who you are; what ideas and experience you bring; your level of commitment and motivation. Please read the ‘scoring’ notes in the Application Form for details.
2. The Change Project. Please describe how: 

• practical / realistic and achievable it is 
• aligned your goals are with that of the Change Academy programme (to what degree you are contributing to the overall programme’s success) and to the goals of your university
• relevant to other HEIs / the sector (is it something that could and should be repeated by other HEIs)
• much impact your project will have in your HEI (what will change as a result of this project; how much will change; how deep will change be etc.)
• sustainable your project is (how it will continue after the Change Academy year)
• inclusive and diverse your project is (how many other people from different backgrounds and with different abilities it will engage and impact)

3. Your commitment to sharing learning and leading change across your university and the sector.

• Andijan Machine-Building Institute 
• Namangan Engineering Construction institute
• Jizzakh branch of National University of Uzbekistan 
• Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Agricultural Mechanization Engineers
• Navoi State Pedagogical Institute
• Karshi Engineering Economic Institute
• Jizzakh State Pedagogical Institute
• University of World Economy and Diplomacy
• Uzbekistan State World Languages University 

• Fergana State University
• Nukus State Pedagogical Institute
• Academy of the General Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Uzbekistan
• Kokand University
• Silk Road International University of Tourism
• Uzbekistan State World Languages University
• Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies
• The Uzbek state university of physical education and sport
• Samarkand State Institute of Foreign Languages
• International Islamic Academy of Uzbekistan
• Tashkent International University of Education
• YeoJu Technical Institute, Tashkent