Uzbekistan will establish the Tashkent International Fashion Academy, a state higher education institution that will train specialists for the textile, garment, knitwear, leather and footwear industries, under a presidential decree signed on October 16.
The decree stipulates that the academy will operate under the Agency for the Development of Light Industry and be established on the basis of a joint educational programme run by the Tashkent Institute of Textile and Light Industry and the Paris International Fashion Academy.
Students currently enrolled in the joint programme will continue their studies at the new academy and receive diplomas issued by the institution upon graduation. The academy is scheduled to begin classes in the 2026/2027 academic year, with admissions conducted under the general procedure established by law.
In addition to joint programmes, the academy will be authorised to offer its own bachelor's and master's degree programmes.
Starting from the 2027/2028 academic year, the institution will introduce a dual education system to train specialists in response to orders from enterprises in the textile, garment, knitwear, leather and footwear sectors.
Graduates of light industry technical schools who meet the academy's grade requirements will also be eligible to enter the third year of bachelor's programs on a tuition-paying basis.
The academy will develop clothing designs for various organisations and services under state orders and work to establish national fashion brands.
The decree also provides for multiple-entry visas for foreign specialists, administrative staff, their family members and international students recruited to the academy.
A 400-bed student dormitory is planned for construction and commissioning by the end of 2028 under a public-private partnership. Until then, students transferring from the Tashkent Institute of Textile and Light Industry will be able to use the institute's existing dormitory under the established procedures.
The Paris International Fashion Academy, known as (AICP stands for Académie Internationale de Coupe de Paris), operates in France. In 2018, Uzbek fashion designers and clothing constructors received training at the institution, the same year a branch of the academy was established in Uzbekistan.