EDUCATION ABROAD

The popularity of education abroad is increasing in Azerbaijan. Not so long ago, European and American institutions seemed inaccessible. Today, many people in our country can afford to study abroad, whether it is language courses, higher or secondary education, graduate school, internships, etc.

Each year, tens of Azerbaijani students go abroad in search of new knowledge and horizons. The contingent of students also changes owing to graduates and applicants. According to indicators of recent years, each year about 200 people obtain the right to education through state scholarships. For example, in the 2012-2013 academic year, 1,170 Azerbaijani students received education in 26 countries abroad as part of the state programme on the education of Azerbaijani youth abroad in 2007-2015.

At present, Azerbaijan has four forms of education abroad: education abroad at one's own expense; education abroad at the expense of scholarships from organizations and other donor institutions engaged in various educational exchange programmes; education abroad carried out by the Ministry of Education through the state, i.e. through the allocation of scholarships to citizens of Azerbaijan on the basis of bilateral agreements on cooperation in the field of education; education abroad as part of the state programme on the education of Azerbaijani youth in 2007-2015 approved by the Azerbaijani president on 16 April 2007.

Personal initiative

Selection committees in many Western countries, including in the United States, evaluate applicants based on several criteria: entrance exams, essays, recommendations, extracurricular activities and interviews. These components are equally important, so you should not only seriously prepare for the exams, but to start planning as early as possible, and no later than the beginning of the tenth grade. Much attention is paid to the scientific and social activity of the entrant. For foreign students the adaptation process overseas takes place not so easily. The language barriers and cultural differences - all this makes them work harder to achieve success.

Aysel Rahimli is a graduate of the Reepham High School and College in the UK has become the first Azerbaijani student to have received high marks for mastery of the English language. Before Reepham, Aysel successfully studied in Taverham High School and in St. Margaret's School for Girls in Aberdeen, UK, the International School of London in Qatar and in the Caucasian Baku- Turkish School.

Now the 18 -year-old Aysel is to be educated in one of the most prestigious universities in the UK - the University of Essex in biomedicine and will have to raise the flag of our country at the entrance to the university. As a result of exams, essays and interviews, Aysel Rahimli was also admitted to five other British universities and was also asked to continue her education in the Faculty of Linguistics at Cambridge University. But Aysel chose Essex. In addition to her native Azerbaijani language, Aysel also speaks English, French, Russian and Turkish. She scored the highest points in her exams of the English language and literature, French language, geography and science.

In an interview with R+, Aysel said she was constantly involved in various school competitions and contests, conducted extracurricular activities, was elected a member of the college council, won many academic competitions and was awarded diplomas and certificates for her achievements. All this is very much appreciated by the admission commissions of foreign universities. On the other hand, Aysel stands out for her active position in life and has been active in charity events organized throughout Britain. She was elected a "representative" of the United Nations to participate in the "activities" of the organization created on the model of the UN in Doha as one of the top 10 students in the International School of London in Qatar. She regards her entry into Essex as a turning point in her life. "I have set myself the goal to gain maximum knowledge because experience is based on knowledge and knowledge is obtained in universities, especially in such as a university as Essex. I am pleased to represent Azerbaijan abroad. I have already had a chance to make a presentation about Azerbaijan in front of my classmates and to tell about the history, culture, economy and geography of our country," Rahimli continued.

Aysel does not know how her career will develop, but she hopes to get a degree, to do research activities and make new discoveries in biomedicine.

Programme education

Another form of education abroad is educational programmes abroad on the basis of competitions held by various organizations. The rows of such organizations operating in Azerbaijan for the exchange of education and their programmes are very broad. Exchange programmes are announced by the missions of such organizations as ACCELS (USA), IREX, World Learning, British Council (United Kingdom), DAAD (Germany) in Baku, as well as the embassies of France, Italy, Japan, Greece, Egypt, Poland and other countries. In this case, all the education expenses of the winning students, including transportation, are paid within the framework of their respective programmes.

Our next interviewee is Amina Salamova. In 2002, she graduated from Indiana University (Bloomington, USA) in Master's of Science in Environmental Science in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. This programme is the top in the field of ecology in the United States and is recognized as one of the best in the world. Amina's education was sponsored by the US State Department programme ES Muskie Freedom Support Act Graduate Fellowship, which is very difficult to achieve. As you know, education by this programme is free only for the best students. In an interview with R+, Amina said that she became interested in research in the field of ecological chemistry or rather problems of air pollution with toxic man-made substances on the MA course and decided to apply for a doctor's degree.

"I entered the doctoral programme of the same School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University immediately after the MA course with full sponsorship of education by the university." In 2011, after defending her thesis Amina received a PhD (the highest educational degree in most programmes in the United States) and became the first Azerbaijani woman to be given this degree in environmental science in an American university.

Currently, Amina is director of the atmospheric monitoring programme in the laboratory of environmental chemistry at Indiana University. She conducts research within the framework of this programme and is interested in environmental pollution in the global context.

Recently, Amina began cooperating with the Ministry of Health of Portugal on the study of air in kindergartens and old people's homes in major cities of the country. The results of this research were published in scientific articles and presented at numerous international conferences. The achievements of our compatriot in the study of problems related to environmental pollution were mentioned by the influential US media.

State programme

With the approval of the state programme on the education of Azerbaijani youth in 2007-2015 by President Ilham Aliyev, education at public expense is becoming more and more popular. All expenses on education in this programme are paid by the state.

Prior to admission to a prestigious British university Vusal Mammadov had 10 years of experience in the oil company BP.

"I decided that a master's degree abroad would be another impetus for my career growth and entered the Imperial College London," Vusal says. "This is one of the most famous universities not only in Britain but also in the world. It is on the list of prestigious universities such as Oxford and Cambridge. For technical subjects it is even ahead of the above two universities and is among the top five universities in the world almost every year," he explains.

The selection process for admission to this university has several staged. Competition is always tight -8-10 people per seat. Therefore entry was not so easy.

The speciality chosen by Vusal is consistent with the job he did prior to entering the Imperial College - environmental protection.

Education abroad opens up new horizons, says Vusal. He advised everyone to apply for a master's degree abroad at least after 3 to 5 years of work experience at home. "It is better to get a bachelor's degree in Azerbaijan. At 16-17, a young man has not yet formed his character and worldview and has an unstable attitude to national cultural values. And getting into a society with different cultural values is risky," he said.

Education abroad is a highly effective investment in the future of both the student himself and his people and state. Azerbaijan is interested in the training of highly qualified specialists in the most prestigious universities of the world, as well as in preventing the outflow of national brains. This is why jobs are being created for students educated in other countries. According to the contract signed between students studying abroad within the framework of the state programme and the Ministry of Education, the Azerbaijani graduates of foreign universities must return home and work 5 years in the private or public sector of Azerbaijan. However, as the president said, in this regard we cannot drive people into any frames because Azerbaijan itself should create conditions for young people to come back. At the same time, the president acknowledged that for the time being, Azerbaijan needs to get its citizens educated abroad. "We have to create in the education sector of Azerbaijan such a situation that will make it unnecessary to go abroad. The initiative to send young people to foreign countries was put forward by me as a necessity... The reforms conducted in the field of education, I believe, will raise the level of higher education in Azerbaijan in the near future. In this case, there will be no significant need to travel abroad. But this, of course, is not a question of today," Ilham Aliyev said in one of his conversations with Azerbaijani students.