IT community from Central Asia: ML Community Uzbekistan

We continue to introduce you to the IT communities of Central Asia. ML Community Uzbekistan is developing artificial intelligence in the region, training specialists, and helping with employment. Read more in our article.

Shakhriyor Khudoyberdiev, city — Tashkent, Executive Director of the Central Asian AI Association, AICA, project manager at Person Hunters, head of ML Community Uzbekistan, Instagram

About the Community

Our community started as a small club at Inha University in September 2021, even before the AI hype and the release of ChatGPT 3. At that time, we held closed meetings with about 10 participants. We discussed AI-related topics, conducted P2P lectures, and tried to explain complex subjects to each other.

Since February 2022, we have positioned ourselves as a full-fledged community, organizing open masterclasses and events. Our main goal is to develop AI in Uzbekistan through three key areas: community, education, and development.

The main tasks of our community:

— increase the number of young specialists interested in AI
— provide them with basic education on what AI is, where and how it is applied, and then guide them toward professional training and subsequent employment
— help dozens of participants find jobs at companies such as Alif Tech, Uzum, TBC, Iman Invest, Tahrichi, and others.

Community Members

The majority of participants are young specialists and students of IT universities. Entry into the community is free, and anyone can attend events.

Events for Community Members

We organize various events that help participants develop in the field of AI:

— ML Gap and AI meetups — meetings with experts from different companies, where they talk about the application of AI, share their experience, and answer questions
— AI Rewind and AI Hackathon — large-scale events that bring together hundreds of participants and provide an opportunity to showcase themselves in the development of AI projects
— ML Party at Impact — an annual event that brings the community together in an informal setting with live music, interactive games, startup discussions, and AI lectures.

How the Community Helps with Development

We constantly publish current job vacancies in the AI field, organize training courses, masterclasses, and other educational initiatives.

Successful Projects

We collaborate with Alif Tech, TBC, Iman Invest, Global Move, Uzbekvoice, and other companies, providing participants with internships and employment opportunities.

Plans

In the future, the community plans to scale up. Branches will be established in each region, which will host events at the local level. Additionally, the launch of ML Clubs in each IT university is planned, allowing students to participate in AI-related activities directly at their educational institutions.

One of the key steps is the creation of a database of verified experts who can be invited by regional branches and university clubs. Furthermore, the community intends to implement a membership system. Currently, anyone can subscribe to the channel and participate in events, but in the future, registration will be organized where participants can provide information about their activities. Upon acceptance into the community, they will receive MLC merchandise and be added to an internal group. This will help better understand the demographics of participants, strengthen connections within the community, and create a sense of belonging to something larger.