The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation University (SCO University, SCO) is a network university. At a meeting of SCO education ministers in Astana in 2008, a series of documents were signed that defined the overall content of the SCO University concept.

The  main mission of the University is to provide joint training of highly qualified personnel on the basis of agreed innovative educational programmes in specialities of priority interest to the economic and social development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation member states: regional studies, energy, nanotechnology, IT technology, ecology, economics, pedagogy.

The main languages of instruction within SCO University are the official languages of the SCO, Russian and Chinese, as well as the national language of the country of study.

There are 75 universities from five countries represented at SCO: Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. There is also interaction with observer countries - Mongolia, India, Iran and Pakistan.

Today, each participating country has its own national coordinating council of rectors, whose universities are part of the SCO. Proposals are initially prepared at the national level, after which the SCO University Coordination Council members will meet to adopt certain norms of education within the framework of the agreement.

This project is aimed at mutual knowledge exchange and academic mobility of students from different countries and at improving the level of education in the fields of study chosen by the participating countries.

The universities were selected through an open competition organised by the ministries of education of the participating countries.

Taraz State University named after M.H. Dulati has been among the leading universities of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Network University since 2012 in the fields of IT technology and ecology.

Filippov, Rector of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, was elected Rector of the SCO University and Chairman of the Coordinating Council of Rectors of SCO Universities.

Peoples' Friendship University of Russia led by V. Filippov, acts as a harmonising, legislative and organisational body for all participating countries, as a coordinator of the implementation, approval of the various procedures at the level of the Ministries of Education.

For more information go to: http://uni-sco.com/