On February 1, 2023, the Education Development Fund held a working meeting within the framework of the project “Encouraging academic staff of universities and students to take the IELTS exam”.
The meeting was attended by representatives of partner institutions, the Education Quality Assurance Agency, Baku State University, Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University, Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University, Azerbaijan Technical University, Azerbaijan Architecture and Construction University, and Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts.
Elnur Nasibov, the Chairman of the Board of the Education Development Fund, who started the meeting with his opening speech, informed the participants about the purposes, strategic goals, directions of action, and projects in the state of implementation.
Ramin Jafarov, Head of the Administrative Management department of the Fund, explained in detail the implementation of the program, applications, quotas, required documents, and fee payment procedures and answered the questions of the participants.
It should be noted that within the framework of the mentioned project, the fees for this exam of up to 300 academic staff members and students who participated in the IELTS exam and received high scores are covered by the Education Development Fund.
Elnur Nasibov, Chairman of the Board of Education Development Fund, was a guest of the Center for Career and Job Preparation.
E. Nasibov got acquainted with the activities of the Center and made an educational presentation on “Career planning” for the staff and interns.
Within the framework of the meeting, the prospects of cooperation between the Education Development Fund and the Center for Career and Job Preparation were also discussed.
It should be noted that the Center organizes practical trainings for students in accounting, human resources management, pedagogy, ICT, and other fields, and help students by providing job.
On January 25, The ceremony of certificate presentation was held at Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University. The certificates were presented to a group of teachers and students of the university who participated in the IELTS exams organized in partnership with the Education Development Fund (EDF), the Education Quality Assurance Agency (ENQA), and the British Council. The ceremony was attended by ASPU management, structural leaders of the faculty of Philology, employees of relevant institutions, and candidate teachers and students.
Speaking at the opening speech, ASPU Rector Professor Jafar Jafarov said: “Based on the cooperation agreement signed between the Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University, the Education Quality Assurance Agency, and the Education Development Fund, an IELTS exam was organized for a group of teachers and students of our university to strengthen the formation of human capital and master the English language of talented students. 9 teachers and 10 students selected based on an intra-university competition took part in the exam organized by the British Council, and each of them received an international language certificate with a high result. During the current year, more students are expected to participate in the exams.”
Elnur Nasibov, Chairman of the Board of the Education Development Fund, Ulkar Sattarova, Chairperson of the Education Quality Assurance Agency, and Nargiz Akbarova, Exams Services Manager for the South Caucasus of the British Council noted that the purpose of organizing these exams is to promote international language certificates in universities, to stimulate students who have an accredited international language certificate such as the IELTS certificate to be exempted from relevant programs in the future. It was especially emphasized that in the first year of the project, which was implemented jointly with 6 state higher education institutions at the end of last year, all teachers and students who were nominated from the Pedagogical University succeeded in obtaining IELTS certificates with high results, and the project will be continued in the following years.
Later, certificates were presented to teachers and students.
After the presentation of the certificates, the guests were closely acquainted with the course of the winter exam session, the process of checking and appealing the results of the exams at the ASPU, and expressed their satisfaction with the organization of the exams at a high level.
Gunel Safarova, Chairwoman of the Public Council under the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan, members of the Council Ilgar Orujov, Etibar Aliyev, Parvana Mammadova and Rufat Asadzade were welcomed in and met with the representatives of the Education Development Fund.
The main topics of discussion at the meeting were the planned action plan for 2023 and the projects to be implemented. According to the plan, during the year, the Public Council will carry out work in creating school-family-community associations, strengthening the public control mechanism, and public hearings and meetings in the regions, and other areas.
At the end of the event, discussions were held among the members of the Public Council under the Ministry of Science and Education, and proposals were made regarding the action plan.
Rashad Majid, the Chairman of the Press Council of Azerbaijan, Elshad Eyvazli, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Journalists Union, and Jasarat Valehov, the Head of the Public Relations sector of the Ministry of Science and Education visited the Education Development Fund.
Elnur Nasibov, the Chairman of the Board of Education Development Fund, informed the guests about the main goals, strategy, directions of action and plans of the Fund.
It was reported that the Education Development Fund was established by the decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev dated July 14, 2021. The main task of the fund is to participate in the formation of the state policy related to the development of education, to strengthen the integration of education and the economy, to finance public and socially important programs and projects aimed at the development of the education system, to support the adaptation of the material and technical base of educational institutions to modern requirements, as well as to prepare mechanisms that promote the development of education and to participate in its implementation.
During the meeting, discussions were held on future cooperation prospects and implementation of joint projects between the Ministry of Science and Education, the Education Development Fund and the Press Council of Azerbaijan.
With the support of the Education Development Fund, within the framework of the Erasmus Plus programme the international delegation of the Information Coordination Center of Galician Youth visited our country for familiarization.
During the visit, representatives of several organizations from Spain, Italy, Portugal, Moldova, and Georgia got acquainted with the activities of various youth resource and career centers, vocational training institutions and other related organizations.
On December 9, the delegation was welcomed in by the Education Development Fund. Elnur Nasibov, Chairman of the Board of the EDF gave detailed information about the main goals and activities of the Fund.
During the meeting, issues of sustainable cooperation and partnership establishment were discussed with the representatives of the participating organizations.
The purpose of the visit was to get acquainted with the work done to ensure the employment of our youth.
A delegation of various state and private organizations from Spain, Italy, Portugal, Moldova, and Georgia visited our country with the support of the Education Development Fund within the framework of the Erasmus+ Programme and got acquainted with the activities of the ASAN service center.
The guests were given detailed information about the activities of ASAN service centers. Also, information about other activities of the State Agency, the works carried out in the field of social innovations, and the achievements of the public legal entity ABAD were brought to attention.
The delegation got acquainted with the activities of the “INNOLAND” Incubation and Acceleration Center and ABAD on the spot.
Elnur Nasibov, adviser to the Minister of Science and Education, Chairman of the Board of Education Development Fund, met with Professor Hasan Mandal, President of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TUBITAK), within the framework of his visit to Ankara.
On December 6, the prospects of cooperation were discussed, ideas were exchanged on the integration of science and education, the implementation of academic mobility programs, the development of university-industry cooperation and cooperation in other directions, and the preparation of a joint action plan was decided at a meeting held at the TUBITAK headquarters.
Elnur Nasibov also met with Mehmet Temel, Chairman of the Board of the National Education Fund of Türkiye, and Funda Kahraman, the CEO of the same institution. Cooperation issues between both funds were reviewed at the meeting.
On December 5, Elnur Nasibov, Advisor to the Minister of Science and Education, Chairman of the Board of the Education Development Fund, met with Selcuk Pahlivanoghlu, the General President of the Turkish Education Association (TED) in Ankara, the capital of Türkiye.
At the meeting, prospects of future cooperation between both institutions were discussed, and opinions were exchanged on issues of cooperation in the professional development of teachers and education administrators, experience exchange programs, social responsibility projects, and other areas.
Elnur Nasibov, Chairman of the Board of the EDF gave information about the activities and goals of the Fund, including the educational reforms carried out in Azerbaijan, the goals set for education by the requirements of the 21st century, which are reflected in the document “Azerbaijan 2030: National Priorities for Socio-Economic Development”. He said that the Education Development Fund under the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan, a public legal entity, was established according to the decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Elnur Nasibov pointed to the “Changes in higher education: new trends and applications” seminar held in Baku recently with the broad presentation of Professor Ihsan Sabuncuglu, the Rector of TED University as an example of the EDF and TED cooperation, and expressed his belief that effective cooperation will continue.
At the same time, Selcuk Pahlivanoglu, a member of the Council of Education and Training Policies of the Presidential Administration of Türkiye, the founder of the TED Higher Education Foundation, the chairman of the Board of Directors and the Board of Trustees of TED University, expressed his satisfaction with the meeting and thanked the Chairman of the Board of the EDF for the visit. Selcuk Pahlivanoglu said that he is always ready to support the work to be done regarding the development of education.
The meeting was attended by Bulent Bagdatli, one of the founders of the TED Ankara school, Ayshe Nalan Kaskan, the Deputy General Director of the TED Ankara school, Tamer Atacan, the Director of the school, and Berkay Orhaner, the Advisor of TED University.
Elnur Nasibov got acquainted with the experience of TED Ankara school.
It should be noted that the Turkish Education Association was founded in 1928 by the initiative of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founding father of the Republic of Türkiye. Currently, TED operates with 41 schools and the university of the same name, the Higher Education Foundation, TEDMEM think tank, the symphony orchestra, and other organizations.
The International Student Forum on “Youth, Peace, and Security” dedicated to the “Year of Shusha”, organized by “One Volunteer” Students Cooperation Public Union with the support of the Education Development Fund and the Azerbaijan Youth Foundation has ended.
The forum consisted of 5 panel discussions and covered specific topics. The forum included presentations and discussions on “Post-Conflict Recovery: Reconstruction, Reconciliation, and Peace-building”, “Post-Conflict Statistics: Safe and Dignified Return and Reintegration of Internally Displaced Persons”, “Post-War situation: Peace, Security, and Stability in the South Caucasus and other regions”, “Sustainable Peace, Sustainable Development, and Cooperation”, and “Reporting from Conflict Areas: The Role of Media in Establishing Peace”.
As part of the forum, students paid a one-day visit to Shusha on November 26. During the visit, students became acquainted with the severe consequences of the occupation, the destroyed settlements, and cultural and historical specimens in the territories liberated from occupation.
It should be noted that the forum was attended by 40 foreign and 10 local students studying at the leading universities in the world from 30 countries in the specialties such as International relations, International law, Diplomacy, and other related specialties selected by the special commission.
