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Based in the capital of Uzbekistan, the Tashkent Institute of Textile and Light Industry was founded in 1935 to develop the skills of textile workers.

It started providing evening classes in 1950 and by 1973 had expanded to the point where it needed a new six-storey building to supplement the purpose-built four-storey facility with which it had started life. Both facilities remain in use.

Classes are taught in Uzbek. Faculties include cotton, textiles, light industry and printing.

As the only industry with its precise remit in Central Asia, it has a strong international dimension with students coming from as far afield as South America. In 2018 it was among the founding institutions of the World Textile Universities Alliance, which now has 35 members including 15 in China.

It has more than 20 international partners including London College of Fashion, Lancashire University and Moscow Polytechnic. In 2021 it opened a TechnoPark funded by $15m of South Korean capital.