It is presentation which was made at International Forum "Higher education in Islamic countries" in Islamabad, Pakistan, 2012.

1. Azerbaijan Model of Higher Education –
thinking globally
Prof.Dr. Rufat M. Kasumov
Azerbaijan State Economic University
rufkm@hotmail.com

2. Azerbaijan

3. Higher education in Azerbaijan
2000 2005 2010 2011
% % % %
Universities - total 47 100 47 100 53 100 51 100
Incl. - state 29 61.7 32 68.0 37 69.8 36 70.6
private 18 38.3 15 32.0 16 30.2 15 29.4
No. of students 119 100 129 100 139 100 140 100
total 683 948 194 241
Incl. – state 91 019 76.0 105 81.6 117 84.8 120 93.0
997 994 488
Private 28 664 24.0 23 951 18.4 21 360 15.2 19 753 7.0
No. of foreign 1 870 1.5 3 073 2.4 5 585 4.0 4 723 3.4
students
No. of full time 12 484 100 14 352 100 14 933 100 14 919 100
faculties
Incl. - women 5 033 40.3 6 200 43.2 6 988 46.8 6 886 46.2

4. New opportunities in ASEU
 Quality Assurance
 Distance Education
 E-learning
 Virtual labs
 Business-incubators
 Student fairs

5. Virtual labs
 As a bridge between businesses and ASEU
 Place for educational innovations
 Training centers for business staff
 Workshops and round tables
 Trial of new business softwares
 Simulation of future working place (job)

6. Structurally new system consists from the following
blocks
Virtual stock-exchange
Virtual Bank
Virtual business-incubator
Virtual insurance market
Virtual audit and accounting company
Virtual market research lab
Virtual e-commerce lab
“Microsoft Business Solutions” training center
Virtual custom point
Virtual Central Bank
Virtual Ministry of economic development
Virtual Ministry of Taxes
Virtual FOREX lab

7. Virtual labs in ASEU
first steps to creating bridge

8. Student fairs
 Marketplace for graduates and
undergraduates
 Instant interview
 Advertising of businesses
 Best choice both business and student
 Simultaneously presentation of similar jobs
 Self-evaluation of students
 Confidence in the future

9. Results of Student’s fairs in ASEU
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
The number of
proposed vacancies 143 300 500 700 820
Number of filled
vacancies 143 300 500 700 800
Number of applicants
1500 2000 2500 3000 3000
The number taken on
the waiting list 400 625 780 800 978
Ratio between demand
and supply in students
labor market
3.79 3.08 2.56 2.14 2.16
Percentage of filling
vacancies (%%) 100 100 100 100 97.5

10. OIC countries – current situation
 HE in Islamic countries varies much from
one another
 Humanitarian sciences prevailed
 Technological level is rather low
 No ties with labor market
 Level of knowledge below than in
european and american ones
 No global goals before HE, only business

11. Returning to the situation with the labor market
for university graduates in Islamic countries
there should note that it is fundamentally
different from country to country.
This is primarily due to the fact that higher
education has developed in many Islamic
countries in isolation from social and economic
development in these countries. Taking into
account the mentality of the majority of Islamic
countries and the initial basis for the
development, this situation is not surprising.

12. Back in 2005 at the World Summit on the
Information Society (WSIS) in Tunis we
had put forward the concept of a new
approach to higher education
development in Azerbaijan, especially at
the Universities.
What is the essence of the concept and how
it was implemented in ASEU?

13.  The essence of the concept lies in the idea of
approximation the process of staff training to
future jobs places.
 In other words, it is necessary to create
conditions for a continuous process of transition
from education to work. Given all these
nuances, ASEU had forth a new approach in
solving this problem. This approach is the
maximum approximation of the higher education
to the production (business), not just in terms of
providing jobs for graduates, but also the
technological requirements to the quality of the
new employee, to adapt him to a new kind of
activity.

14. Labor market for graduates in OIC
 The level of unemployment in most of OIC
countries is rather high
 Especially this level is bigger for specialists
 The requirements for labor is low, so
specialists can not find jobs

15. Situation with graduates
 Because the Universities give only
diplomas the graduates are free in labor
market
 The labor market has no any relationships
with Universities
 Labor market is free market, where the
demand and supply are independent
players

16. Project IUBN
 To connect both parties in labor market the
project of IUBN was proposed for consideration
and implementation.
 This problem exists in all Islamic countries.
 Realization of IUBN project will create global
labor marketplace for graduates in Islamic
countries.

17. The objectives of the project
- Realization of a new paradigm of higher
education in the Islamic countries.
- Creating a global Islamic marketplace for
university graduates.
- Attracting business to participate in the process
of improving educational quality and level.
- Creating a business network of educational
market places.
- Establishing relations between employees and
universities.
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18. The objectives of the project
- Improving curricula and adapting them to
companies' requirements.
- Collecting and allocating human resources
to companies.
- Organizing the labor market for universities‘
graduates.
- Establishing a developed system of
interchange within Universities
of the Islamic World.
- Exchanging visits among students, teachers,
staff and rectors of universities across the
Islamic World.
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19. The objectives of the project
- Working out programs for educational system
development.
- Holding regular meetings and conferences for
improving educational processes and raising
quality level.
- Organizing mobility of graduates among
Islamic universities.
- Creating a unified common system of education
on business in the Islamic World.
- Creating a system to provide the labour market
across Islamic countries with highly skilled
professionals.
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20. The expected results
- Formation of labor market for
high-skilled specialists.
- Creation of business networks
for university graduates.
- Introducing global changes
in education quality.
- Ensuring student and faculty
mobility.
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21. The expected results
- Ensuring high education level for
national market and Islamic World market.
- Incorporating and implementing the noble
Islamic values in business and management.
- Enhancing the role and level of Islamic
education and its development in the world.
- Creating regional marketplaces and linking
them to the Islamic world global network.
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22. Technology used for realization
 Database in IUBN-cloud
 Fully secure system
 Last technology for interaction
 User friendly interface
 Easy access

23. Levels and working mechanisms of
the network:
- Activities within network based on
database for high skilled labor
market (specialized on University graduates).
- Networks operate on the basis
of electronic market place.
- The deep analysis of demand and supply
on all markets allows regulating and managing
the Universities degree on each level.
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24. Global Islamic Universities Business
Network
Country level
Regional level
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25. Social impact of IUBN


26. Who takes part in IUBN
 Both sides – demand – supply
- Universities
- Businesses

27. Language of interaction
English, Arabic, local

28. Join IUBN

29. Thanks for your attention !