Khazar University

Khazar University

Xəzər Universitəsi
Motto	“Always leading the way”
Type	Private
Chairman	Professor Hamlet Isakhanli
President	Dr. Irada Khalilova (appointed 2019)
Academic staff	250
Students	2500
Location	Baku , Azerbaijan
Language	English

Khazar University (Azerbaijani: Xəzər Universiteti, which directly translates as Caspian University) is a private university located in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Campuses

Khazar University owns four campuses in the city of Baku and two campuses in regions of Azerbaijan.

• 
  Neftchilar Campus
• 
  Neftchilar Campus
• 
  Downtown Campus

• Neftchilar Campus
• Downtown Campus
• Baku Dunya School Campus – Education complex for “Dunya” School, also Khazar University School of Education`s Internship Center, Sports Center, Dormitory and Technopark
• Sumgayit Dunya School Campus
• Ganja Dunya School Campus
• Buzovna Conference and Leisure Center

Background information

Founder of Khazar University, Hamlet Isakhanli

Khazar University was founded in March 1991 by Hamlet Isakhanli , the university became one of the first private universities in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia and the first in Azerbaijan to introduce Western-style, research-oriented higher education. Isakhanli formed Khazar in the interest of reforming the previous system of higher education under Soviet rule.

Academic information

In Azerbaijan, Khazar University is providing Western-style education on all levels: undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral. Khazar University also welcomes exchange students from foreign countries. It creates an opportunity to let students of Khazar University become exchange students in foreign countries too. It also runs a lab.

	There are five schools (colleges) operating within Khazar University:
1	School of Science and Engineering
2	School of Economics and Management
3	School of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences
4	Graduate School of Science, Art and Technology
5	Graduate School of Economics and Business

Departments

English Language and Literature

The English language and Literature Department administers the Khazar University English Language Requirements program which prepares students to perform with excellence in the English language academic environment of the university.

The English language and Literature Department’s graduate programs provide advanced study in the disciplines of Translation, General and Applied Linguistics, and Literary Studies.

History and Archaeology

The Department of History and Archaeology was established in June 1993 and was formerly known as the Department of History. It falls within the School of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences.

Political Sciences and Philosophy

The Department of Political Science and Philosophy offers degree programs at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The undergraduate degree programs include Political Science, International Relations, and European Studies. The postgraduate programs include Masters and PhD degrees in international relations.

Institute of Politics

The Institute of Politics is an independent, nonpartisan institution committed to public policy research, analysis and education. The Institute (formerly the Center for International and Strategic Studies) has a primary objective of contributing to improving the performance of public institutions in Azerbaijan and the quality of public policy through cultivating regular interaction between policymakers and scholars to analyze issues and offer practical approaches for addressing those issues. The Institute holds conferences, seminars, workshops and panel discussions with various public officials, diplomats and scholars as well as various student-oriented workshops, such as annual crisis simulation exercises and annual moot courts. It has offered resources including speakers, visiting and resident fellows, study groups and internships. Example activities:

• In May 2010, an OSCE Model Conference was organized by Khazar University and OSCE Office in Baku, bringing together students from about 15 Azerbaijan universities.
• A group of students of Khazar University won the competition conducted among Azerbaijani universities for participation at OSCE Simulation Model Conference. Students of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences attended the OSCE Model Conference in Vienna in 2008.
• In 2006-2007 organized a series of crisis simulation exercises, conferences and workshops on various issues of contemporary international relations as well as on different topics in political science.
• Two-day Modeling Azerbaijan's Future: Examining Trends, Exploring Opportunities conference took place on June 18–19, 2005. The conference attracted around 60 scholars, practitioners and students of public policy, government executives and civil society leaders. Concrete policy recommendations were offered to various institutions and agencies. The program consisted of several panels and roundtables on political development, economic development, foreign policy and public diplomacy, identity and nationalism. Workshops developed policy recommendations and shared with the larger audience.

• The second annual Crisis Simulation Exercise was held on April 30, 2005, involving 70 students from four universities in Baku. Teams of students from Khazar University, Baku State University, Azerbaijan State Economic University, and Baku Slavic University mock-representing National Security Councils (NSC) of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Russia, Turkey and the United States in a role-play game to solve an imaginary crisis in the South Caucasus. Each "NSC" consisted of a President, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of National Security, Minister of Defense, and Adviser to the President on Economic Affairs. Several other states as well as major international organizations were "represented" by one person. "Mass media" highlighted the developments during the exercise. The working language was English.
• From November 22–26, 2004, Khazar University Institute of Politics held its First Annual Executive Education Workshop Doing Policy Analysis: How to Tackle Policy Problems in Azerbaijan. This workshop was conducted under the auspices of the Eurasia Foundation/ Azerbaijan and the US Embassy to equip government and public sector executives and analysts as well as faculty and students with tools to handle problem identification, policy formulation and decision-making issues. 25 government executives and policy analysts, NGO managers, junior faculty and advanced students from Azerbaijan and Georgia participated. Participants applied various methods in policy analysis through analyzing case studies and developing their own policy analysis project.

Dictionary and Encyclopedia Center

The Khazar University Dictionary and Encyclopedia Center, located on the campus of Khazar University in Baku, Azerbaijan, has been in operation since April 1996. The center is directed by Professor Tofik Abaskuliyev. The center’s main functions are to perform linguistic and lexicological research and to prepare, evaluate and publish bilingual, multilingual and encyclopedic dictionaries.

The center is currently devoting most of its time to the production of a six-volume “Khazar English-Azerbaijani Comprehensive Dictionary” (edited by Prof. Hamlet Isakhanli and Prof. Tofik Abaskuliyev) which aims to be a significant aid to language learners, translators and scholars. The first three volumes of the dictionary were published by Khazar University Press in 2004 and 2008, and the remaining volumes are in the process of compilation by the Dictionary and Encyclopedia Center.

Notable alumni

• Adnan Hajizadeh, blogger and youth activist
• Nargiz Birk-Petersen, television commentator
• Nigar Jamal, winner of Eurovision 2011

Affiliations

The university is a member of the Caucasus University Association.