Uzbekistan hosted its inaugural International Quantum Week.

– "Quantum Technologies" and the Russian Quantum Center. The project was designed by the organizers to expand its geographic reach, marking the beginning of its international journey in Uzbekistan.

The events took place at Samarkand State University, Jizzakh Polytechnic Institute, Almalyk Branch of NITU MISiS, and the National University of Uzbekistan named after Mirzo Ulughbek, as well as at academic lyceums and schools, bringing together representatives of the scientific community, youth, and teachers of physics and mathematics disciplines.

Participants of Quantum Week attended lectures, engaged in quantum workshops and quizzes, and visited scientific and educational laboratories. Discussions were held with employees of the Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Combine regarding the prospects of applying quantum technologies in the industry.

Scientists from the Russian Quantum Center also presented at the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Maxim Ostrasy, General Director of the Russian Quantum Center, emphasized in his speech at the Academy: "Quantum technologies are a field that is currently experiencing significant development.

A new technological paradigm is being formed, which will influence how society, in terms of technology, will exist in the coming decades.

During Quantum Week, we are focused on demonstrating to young people how they can develop in this field, what career paths to build, and showing that science is indeed in demand. The foundations laid within education today could determine the future. We also aim to discuss with scientists the modern trends and contemporary scientific directions in technology to collaboratively shape this future."

Valeria Kasamara, Deputy General Director of the Russian Quantum Center for Educational Projects, elaborated on the initiative: "This is a large educational outreach project intended to inform a broad audience about the most advanced developments in quantum physics. When something new appears in life, it is crucial to communicate it as clearly as possible. When we saw that the 'Quantum Weeks' project was very successful in the Russian Federation, we thought it would be beneficial to collaborate with our friendly partner countries on this project.

Why did we choose Uzbekistan? Because just a year ago, our scientist Dmitry Chermasentsev, along with Professor Anvar Zakhidov, established the Samarkand Quantum Center at Samarkand State University. This collaboration is already a year old. First and foremost, we want to undertake joint projects with our partners that we can rely on."

Professor Anvar Zakhidov from the University of Texas, who participated in the event online, stated that Uzbekistan has all the chances to become one of the leading countries in quantum technologies: "Uzbekistan was the cradle of science a thousand years ago; it was here that algorithms were created, and today we talk about quantum algorithms. Today's young researchers are actively engaged in complex tasks, which opens up great prospects." He also noted that collaboration between scientists from both countries is key to future success and expressed confidence that our scientists are capable of developing their own quantum devices that can compete on a global level.

The "Quantum Week" project is an important component of the strategic cooperation between Uzbekistan and Russia in the field of new technologies.