From student exporter to regional education hub: analyzing the strategic internationalization of higher education in Uzbekistan

Purpose This study examines Uzbekistan's strategic transformation into a regional higher education hub. It investigates the institutional strategies, structural challenges and geopolitical dynamics that characterize the country's rapid transition from a student-exporting nation to an emerging host destination. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative, interpretivist design was employed. Thirty-two expert interviews were conducted with senior university leadership and academics across state, private and foreign-branch HEIs in 27 institutions spanning nine regions of Uzbekistan. The analysis of the data was conducted according to a six-phase thematic analysis framework. Triangulation was accomplished through the application of documentary sources. Findings Thematic analysis yielded five core dimensions: strategic recruitment and institutional market positioning; geopolitical influences on student flows (notably the Russia–Ukraine conflict); pedagogical challenges and the language admission paradox; underdeveloped student support infrastructure and socio-cultural integration dynamics shaped by cultural distance. Government policy instruments, including the “Study in Uzbekistan” platform and the “New Uzbekistan Scholarship,” have driven a 30.5-fold increase in international enrollment between 2017 and 2025, reaching 39,700 students. However, persistent quality gaps in language policy, support systems and research capacity constrain the sustainability of this growth. Research limitations/implications The study is geographically limited to Uzbekistan and cross-sectional in design, precluding longitudinal analysis of hub development trajectories. Future studies should focus on student experiences and use comparative designs across Central Asian hub contexts. Practical implications The findings provide actionable guidance for policymakers and institutional leaders in Uzbekistan and analogous emerging hub contexts: recalibrating language admission policies to balance accessibility with academic quality, investing in holistic student support infrastructure and diversifying international partnership networks beyond the post-Soviet sphere to support research-capacity development. Originality/value This is among the first studies to examine Uzbekistan's hub trajectory through the lens of a hub development framework and pragmatic internationalization framework using primary expert interview data. The study makes an original contribution by documenting the geopolitical “transfer effect” of the Russia–Ukraine conflict on Central Asian student mobility and by identifying the structural tension between enrollment-first policy design and quality-first institutional ambition.