MBA Student Wins Uzbekistan Business Leaders Grant

Indira Abdullaeva, a Master of Business Administration student at Webster University in Tashkent, has become a finalist in the Uzbekistan Business Leaders (UBL) program. During UBL Abdullaeva will spend three weeks in a tailored and professionally relevant organization or business in the United States. The aim of the program is to promote collaboration between the people and organizations of Uzbekistan and the United States.

Abdullaeva is an English teacher and entrepreneur. She has founded two learning centers. The first is Motive, a language learning center. The second is a school where children can learn about robotics and programming called IT Kids. At the same time, she teaches at AKFA University while pursuing her MBA at Webster.

The contribution of MBA is immense … [it] helped me look at the business from new perspectives.”

The gradudate student shared her excitement of learning more about education and business in the US, “I would like to establish tighter cultural and business relations between the USA and Uzbekistan, taking the best and innovative practices in order to implement [them] in Uzbekistan. I think this is a great opportunity to uplift the education system [of Uzbekistan] to another higher level.”

The UBL program is competitive and merit-based. Abdullaeva cites The George Herbert Walker School of Business & Technology's MBA program as the foundation which helped her get in. She said that as she takes classes, she is able to apply that in-depth knowledge to her businesses immediately. “The contribution of MBA is immense … [it] helped me look at the business from new perspectives.”

Abdullaeva aims to continue her studies even after completing the UBL fellowship and obtaining her MBA degree: “I have a burning desire to pursue my PhD,” she says. “I do believe that further efforts to acquire meticulous knowledge will assist me to contribute to the development of Uzbekistan significantly.”

Fellow UBL program finalists from previous years include businesswomen Maria Portnova, Khilola Khalmurzaeva, and Malika Sharipova, who were speakers at the Women’s Entrepreneurship Festival, organized at Webster Tashkent in November 2021.

The program brings professionals in business, social entrepreneurship, and innovation from Uzbekistan to the US for internships “at a variety of for-profit and non-profit organizations, university business departments, accelerators, and relevant government offices,” according to the program website. Finalists also have the chance to invite US colleagues interested in investigating joint ventures or other opportunities in Uzbekistan. UBL is funded by the U.S. Embassy in Uzbekistan and administered by the American Councils for International Education.

 

Learn more about Webster's MBA program here.