The Uzbek-Japanese Youth Innovation Center was established in accordance with the Memorandum of Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Government of Japan signed on October 25, 2015, and started its activities in 2016. The Center has four laboratories, including the laboratory of chemistry and petrochemistry, the laboratory of mining and deep mineral processing, the laboratory of energy, renewable energy and energy saving, and the laboratory of mechanical engineering and materials science. UJICY works closely with researchers from universities in Japan, such as Nagoya University, Tsukuba University, Teikyo University, Akita University, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Kyushu University, and Yokohama National University. Between 2016 and 2023, the center's staff wrote more than 350 research papers, some of which were published with Japanese scientists in the world's leading journals.
UJICY makes every effort to create a favorable environment for young scientists to conduct various research, to ensure close interaction between science and industry, and to intensify cooperation with leading universities, research and innovation centers in Japan to conduct joint scientific and applied research. The Center is headed by a Director and a Board of Trustees including representatives of Japanese universities and organizations. The Center is equipped with advanced research facilities to conduct world-class research and commercialize scientific developments.
UJICY participates in the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) project "Project on Strengthening the Research Capacity of the Uzbek-Japanese Youth Innovation Center" (2019-2024), under which a number of short-term (3-6 months) and long-term internship and training programs for the Center's staff (doctoral and master students - 17 students in total) were organized.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) also established a special fund for the Center - the "Mirai Fund" - annually providing grants to the staff for joint research with Japanese research centers and universities. To date, the Centre and Japanese universities have launched research activities in areas such as environmental protection, mechanization and automation of mining engineering, chemical synthesis and production of new materials, metrology and standardization.
UJICY conducts research on the joint Uzbek-Japanese SATREPS project in the field of hydrogen energy, JSPS projects on mining and resource processing, and environmental protection. UJICY has established a Satellite Laboratory with Akita University for the study of natural fossil resources.