Dear colleagues and partners,

It is our pleasure to welcome you in the third issue of ADA Quarterly Newsletter covering main developments that happened in the University over the summer time. Feel free to share it further among your network.

We wish happy upcoming Qurban Bayrami and many blessings.

Kind regards,

Department for Marketing and Communications team,

ADA University

ADA University admitted a record number of undergraduate and graduate students for the 2014/2015 academic year, welcoming 425 bachelor and 129 master students across three schools: the School of Public and International Affairs, the School of Business and the School of Information Technologies and Engineering. It now enrolls 61 international students from 32 countries around the world. The 2014/2015 academic year added a new degree program at the School of Business, admitting its first students to the full MBA program.

On  September 15th, about 600 ADA students and new members of the faculty were officially inducted into the ADA community. From the colorful processional of faculty and students to the eloquent words of advice from the senior management, the ceremony was a quite memorable and exciting start for the students.

The Honor Code Induction Ceremony has been a tradition at ADA since 2010. It is an annual academic event where the students are charged to uphold ADA’s Honor Code and have an opportunity to sign the Honor Pledge. The Honor Pledge articulates the university’s expectations of students and faculty in establishing and maintaining the highest standards in academic work. Read more...

From Vienna to Buenos Aires, from Brussels to Rome and from Washington D.C. to Moscow, students of ADA University develop a hands-on working experience in their respective areas. Interns not only gain practical skills in a field in which they intend to pursue, but also are able to build experience and have the opportunity to network.

Our students have been welcomed as interns and participants in numerous high-level meetings at the White House, the European Commission, the European Parliament, NATO and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. During summer break 22 MADIA 2015 Students and 6 MPP 2015 Students took part in different multilateral and bilateral meetings, platforms, and briefings at international organizations, embassies and research centers along with being involved in daily diplomatic issues. Our interns have worked also at foreign embassies in Baku and Azerbaijani diplomatic missions like in Prague, Berlin, Paris, Teheran, Rome, Washington DC and New York.

Experience of ADA University students goes beyond scales of public sector, as they also successfully intern with major local and multinational corporations and business entities both in Baku and abroad.

The Caspian Center for Energy and Environment of ADA University, in partnership with the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), organized the eighth annual Baku Summer Energy School on July 5-18, 2014.

The two-week certificate program brought together world-renowned scholars, academicians and policy makers to examine and gain a better understanding of global and Caspian energy and environment issues. Besides the regional pipeline and energy security developments, participants will become acquainted with a wide range of issues such as the fundamentals of energy, energy law and economics, environmental impacts, management in oil and gas industry, and the strategic outlook of SOCAR. Read more...

The Executive Education department of ADA University launched one of the biggest programs for the Baku 2015 European Games Operation Committee (BEGOC) in line with the preparation for the 1st Baku European Games. The program is aimed at training BEGOC staff with needed skills in three topics: “Planning and Organizing”, “Design and Deliver Effective Presentations” and “Conducting Effective Meetings”. This long-term program is aimed at helping participants in effectively organizing the highly important event and assisting them in their routine work. The program is expected to last until April, 2015 and cover around 1,545 participants in total. Trainers of the program include ADA University faculty and administrators, adjunct faculty and the experts invited from the UK.

Apart from that, Executive Education is organizing other exciting programs during July-September. One of the traditional programs of Executive Education, the 6th Caspian Basin Studies Program (CBS), was held on September 7-16, 2014. Caspian Basin Studies is a certificate program that offers a unique opportunity for foreign diplomats and civil servants to explore and study the Caspian Basin region in depth. Read more....

The 16th annual international conference “Managing in an Interconnected World: Pioneering Business and Technology Excellence” took place at ADA University.

The rector of ADA University, Hafiz Pashayev, provided an insight into the activities of the university. He also highlighted Azerbaijan`s achievements over the last years. Ambassador Pashayev stressed the importance of successes gained in the fields of business and technology and experience exchange.

The Azerbaijani Minister of Communications and High Technologies, Ali Abbasov, spoke of the importance of the implementation of state-of-the-art technologies in modern world. Read more....

ADA University Foundation continues to enhance its partnership with businesses in Azerbaijan. One of its main goals is to ensure that students have enough opportunities for financial support through merit-based scholarships.

ADA University Foundation established partnership with ‘Nikoil Bank’ in Azerbaijan, which in turn made a generous contribution to enhance the Scholarship Fund of the ADA University School of Business in July 2014.

Also, ‘Gok-Nur Baki LTD’ made a charitable donation to enhance the Scholarship Fund of ADA University’s School of Information Technologies and Engineering.

Moreover, for the second quarter of 2014, ‘Baku Stock Exchange JSC’ has made a donation to the ADA University Foundation. Funds will be used to enhance the student scholarship fund of the university. The scholarship will be awarded to a School of Business student for their high academic performance.

The ADA University Foundation expresses its gratitude to its recent partners and looks forward to future collaboration.

On 22 September, ADA University jointly with the United Nations office for the Resident Coordinator and UNDP Azerbaijan organised Social Good Summit Baku meet-up: Connected for Good. Connected for all with a theme how innovations and technologies empower our lives. Local meet-up was attended by the students and academicians of ADA University, development experts, civil society, government officials, NGOs, technology leaders, and entrepreneurs, as well as other UN agencies which added  diverse range of perspectives to the discussion. Read more....

On September 19 Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Dukanovic visited ADA University. His official visit to Azerbaijan started on September 18.

Mr. Dukanovic met with the Rector of ADA University, Ambassador Hafiz Pashayev. He also got acquainted with the ADA campus, Library and Student center and met with students from Montenegro: Milica Starcevic (MPP 2016) and Andrej Pajovic (MBA 2015) studying at ADA University.

Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Dukanovic started his official visit to Azerbaijan on September 18.

Cooperation between Azerbaijan and Montenegro started to develop faster recently.
Earlier in April 2014, Baku hosted a business meeting of Azerbaijan and Montenegro, which brought together businessmen from industry, agriculture, food industry, tourism and construction sectors to discuss the prospects of bilateral cooperation between the countries.

Azerbaijan's state energy company SOCAR is going to build a modern resort and hotel complex in place of an abandoned navy base in the Bay of Kotor. For this purpose, Azerbaijan started the $500 million investment project in Montenegro in 2013, which is scheduled to be finished by 2016.

ADA University welcomed 33 new international students from 18 countries, including first time ever Serbia, Montenegro, Zambia, Bangladesh, Syria, Ecuador, Bahamas and Norway on its campus on August 29. Now International student body of the University brings together 61 students from 32 countries.

“Having a multicultural, and diversified environment was our dream from the very first day. We are glad to see new countries adding up to our international student body and hoping for the continuation of this tendency,” said Rector of ADA University Ambassador Hafiz Pashayev in his welcoming remarks.

This year 27 new international students were admitted to ADA University undergraduate programs, while 6 students were admitted to graduate programs.

ADA University successfully held a roundtable discussion with Dr. Svante Cornell, Director of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at Johns Hopkins University (USA) and co-director of the Institute for Security and Development Policy (Sweden). Attended by different ambassadors and representatives of international organizations, members of parliament and students the discussion focused on the topic of crisis in Ukraine and its impact on regional security, as well as how it will affect political developments in Caucasus.

It is worth to note that, Dr. Cornell's main areas of expertise are security issues, state-building, and transnational crime in Southwest and Central Asia, with a specific focus on the Caucasus and Turkey. He is the Editor of the Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst, the Joint Center's bi-weekly publication, and of the Joint Center's Silk Road Papers series of occasional papers.

Dr. Svante Cornell is also an author of the book “Azerbaijan since Independence”.