Page 55 - Azerbaijan State University of Economics

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

Information and Communication Technologies for Development of Azerbaijan
Republic between 2003-2012 was one of the preliminary state programmes on this
issue. The development of educational infrastructure based on the latest information
and communication technologies was one of the objectives of State Strategy for
Development of Education in the Republic of Azerbaijan dated to 2013 (Rzayev and
Suleymanov, 2019). These and other government programmes and strategies have
provided a ground for the application of ICT in teaching, learning and administration
by universities. As a result, most of the universities have started to shift totally or
partially some components of teaching, learning and administrative management to
digital platforms. ADA University was the first state university and national university
that purchased “Blackboard Learn” system software and moved all the relevant
activities to this platform. In 2020, ADA University shifted totally to online due to the
Covid-19 pandemic. UNEC has been using and developing its own version of
software systems that allow it to conduct the entire teaching, learning and
administrative management activities digitally. ASOIU has developed its in-house
software to facilitate transformation of most of the component of university
administration and teaching processes. In the recent years, ASPU and Technical
University have also expressed their intention of moving to ICT application in both
teaching and learning. The Covid-19 pandemic has posed a tremendous challenge to
all the universities in Azerbaijan, so this process has been accelerated. So far, ADA
University and UNEC have managed to move both education and administration to
online.
INCREASING ROLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS ON
DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES

Universities in Azerbaijan have also contributed to the development of education in the
country (Muradov et al., 2019). This contribution has been in the form of initiates, new
practices, and strategies implemented by them. For instance, ADA University, ASOIU,
and UNEC started to offer joint degree programs even before state programs in this
direction were adopted. Universities such as ADA University, Khazar University,
UNEC, and BSU have been working with international rating agencies before the
government policies and programs underlined the importance of activities in this
direction. A review of universities' webpages and their activities supports the argument
of the increasing role of some universities as an initiator in the development of higher
education policies and programs in the country. Some of the direction of university
policies and programs are already included in the state programs and policies. However,
some others are yet to be covered by government policies. For instance, ADA
University Foundation, and the extension of ADA University is the first-ever such
foundation under the state universities in Azerbaijan.

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