Korea Aerospace University to Train Uzbek Pilots Directly as Aviation Education Export Gains Momentum

[Financial News] Korea Aerospace University (KAU) is joining hands with the Uzbek government to begin training pilots who will lead the country’s aviation industry. The initiative marks a step toward exporting the flight-training system developed by a Korean university to a Central Asian country.
According to KAU on the 14th, a delegation led by Ilhom Makhkamov, minister of the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Uzbekistan, visited KAU in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, on the 12th to discuss specific cooperation plans in aviation education and pilot training. The visit was arranged to move forward with a cooperation plan proposed in April, when KAU President Hee-young Heo visited Uzbekistan.
The two sides agreed to significantly expand their joint pilot-training program with Tashkent State Transport University in Uzbekistan. KAU plans to use the Jeongseok Flight Training Center to launch private pilot license courses and flight simulator training programs.
They will also pursue institutional improvements to enhance the effectiveness of the training. The Uzbek government agreed to support trainees’ flight training and establish administrative measures to officially convert and recognize flight hours completed by students in Korea as local qualifications.
Uzbekistan has already become a key source of international students for KAU. Of the 467 international students enrolled at KAU as of the fall 2026 semester, 146 are from Uzbekistan, accounting for 32% of the total and representing the largest group. Cooperation is accelerating as demand from local students aligns with government policy.
KAU plans to provide the training expertise it has accumulated over nearly 40 years since launching Korea’s first flight-training institution in 1986. In addition to its current training bases in Jeju Province, Uljin County, and Sanford in the United States, the university plans to substantially expand its flight-training facilities in Jeju starting in 2027 and develop the area into a world-class training hub.
KAU President Hee-young Heo said, "Uzbekistan is KAU’s most important international education partner." He added, "We will make our cooperation more concrete so that the university’s experience and infrastructure in training pilots can make a practical contribution to developing aviation professionals in Uzbekistan."   

[email protected] Man-ki Kim Reporter