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Turan Suleymanov: Transformation of Higher Education in Azerbaijan: Reforms, Policies and Current Trends

establishment of new systems for assessing educational achievements, as well as the
creation of an inclusive training methodology for those with special needs.
- The third strategic direction aimed to create a transparent, accountable and
effective management mechanism in education

- The fourth strategic direction was the creation of an educational infrastructure that
met modern requirements and provides lifelong learning. This area also covers
important areas such as the creation of an appropriate infrastructure for the
application of information and communication technology-based learning
methodologies and distance education.

- The fifth direction was aimed at building an economically sustainable model of
financing the education system in the country in accordance with the standards of
the world's leading education systems. This included the use of various sources to
improve the mechanism of financing education, the introduction of per capita
funding in the education system, support for the provision of paid educational
services, etc (Ibid.).
The Strategic Roadmap adopted in 2016 stated that Azerbaijan ranked 78th in 2016
in terms of the quality of higher education and training and 94th in terms of
involvement in higher education in the Global Competitiveness Report of the World
Economic Forum. This state document envisages further improvement of quality in
the process of human capital development, which is the most important factor for the
transition to a productivity-based development model (Strategic Roadmap, 2016). It
was also reflected that a more efficient and innovative economic system will be
achieved by improving the quality of education. It is emphasised that increasing the
share of higher education in the country, the teaching of IT skills from primary to
higher education will be a major part of modern curricula after 2025 and will be
integrated into the international education system. The document also states that the
level of coverage of higher education will be increased in order to protect young
people entering the labour market from the risk of unemployment (Ibid).
The strategic roadmap (point 3.1.4) envisages the promotion of development in higher
education institutions in the format of "education-research-innovation", which in turn
will have an impact on the formation and development of human capital (Strategic
Roadmap, 2016). This item mentions the creation of clusters in universities to increase
the effectiveness of the "education-research-innovation" chain. The establishment of
such clusters will be encouraged, first of all, in specialised universities, and as a result,
along with the increase in labour productivity, the formation of higher quality human
capital and intellectual potential will be achieved. These clusters will be important for

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