Young researchers and specialists are increasingly confronted with the same questions: why are publications in Scopus and Web of Science necessary, how does the international rankings system work, can a career be built without entering the global level, and what role do state institutions play in this process. We discussed all of this in today's interview.
Anastasiia Zuieva, an expert at the research and training centre of Scientific Publications, spoke with Ismailova Gulnoza about her academic path, the role of publications in a researcher's professional development, the logic of international rankings, and the talent development strategy of the El-yurt umidi Foundation.
Gulnoza Saydiganikhodjaevna Ismailova:
- doctor of law, professor
- executive director of the El-yurt umidi Foundation for the Development of Prospective Personnel under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan
- expert in constitutional law, public administration, decentralisation, and educational diplomacy
- author of academic publications, laureate of the European International Women's Leadership Awards
Uzbekistan is actively investing in the training of specialists abroad: the El-yurt umidi Foundation sends scholarship holders to universities in more than 30 countries, including institutions ranked in the global top 300. But behind these figures lies a more nuanced question: do young researchers return with genuine academic writing skills and readiness to publish in international journals? Where is the boundary between a degree from a foreign university and full participation in global science? And what is needed for Uzbekistan to become a visible presence in the world's academic system – not only in terms of the number of scholarship holders, but also in terms of cited research output?
In this interview you will find out:
- How did Gulnoza Ismailova come to legal science, and what was the starting point of her journey?
- Which stages – international placements, work at UWED, public service – proved decisive in her academic development?
- What makes contemporary Uzbek legal science distinctive, and why does the topic of decentralisation remain relevant?
- Is it possible today to build a serious academic or public-sector career without international publications?
- What matters more for a researcher at the start of their career – the number of publications or their international level and citation rate?
- What barriers do young researchers face when preparing articles – and where does the main gap occur?
- Why does a presence in international rankings require universities to maintain systematic publication activity?
- How does the El-yurt umidi Foundation select candidates, and to what extent is a candidate's potential as a future researcher taken into account?
- Does the Foundation have a mechanism to ensure that knowledge is applied within the country upon graduates' return?
- Gulnoza Ismailova's honest perspective on the future: what role will the Foundation play in Uzbekistan's development over the next ten years?
Enjoy watching!
This interview is less about legal science as a profession than about a system: how a young researcher can develop a publication strategy, why a state institution should care about the citation rates of its graduates, and what lies behind the decision to send thousands of people to study at the world's leading universities.
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