The Institute of Politics
The Institute of Politics at Khazar University is an independent, non-partisan organization committed to public policy research, analysis and education. This policy-oriented research institution was founded in September 2004 at Khazar University on the base of Center for International and Strategic Studies and Department of Political Science. The Institute holds regular 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 moot courts on various issues. It has offered a wide range of programs and resources including speakers, visiting and resident fellows, study groups, conferences, and internships.
On May 9, 2010, a Model OSCE Conference was held at Khazar University as a result of the mutual project of Khazar University and OSCE Office in Baku. More than 60 students from 12 universities across Azerbaijan took part in the country's first Model OSCE Conference. In 2005-2006 the Institute of Politics was involved in the partnership with British Council/Azerbaijan in implementing the project Living Together within the framework of the British Council’s global Connecting Futures program. During this project, the Institute has conducted a series of workshops in conflict resolution for young people from various regions of Azerbaijan as well as designed and implemented a major training-of-trainers workshop for young people from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Northern Ireland.The two-day Modeling Azerbaijan's Future: Examining Trends, Exploring Opportunities conference took place on June 18-19, 2005 and was a convention of around 60 scholars, practitioners and students of public policy, government executives and civil society leaders, devoted to expert discussion of trends and opportunities pertaining to major public issues in Azerbaijan. The conference was conducted with the financial support of the Embassy of the United States of America in Azerbaijan and Khazar University. The two-day Modeling Azerbaijan's Future: Examining Trends, Exploring Opportunities conference took place on June 18-19, 2005 and was a convention of around 60 scholars, practitioners and students of public policy, government executives and civil society leaders, devoted to expert discussion of trends and opportunities pertaining to major public issues in Azerbaijan. The conference was conducted with the financial support of the Embassy of the United States of America in Azerbaijan and Khazar University.Second Annual Crisis Simulation Exercise was held on April 30, 2005, and around 70 students from four universities in Baku took part in the exercise. Seven teams of students from Khazar University, Baku State University, Azerbaijan State Economic University, and Baku Slavic University were "representing" mock National Security Councils (NSC) in a role-playing game in order to solve an imaginative crisis in the South Caucasus. The working language at the exercise 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 unique workshop was conducted under the auspices of the Eurasia Foundation/ Azerbaijan and the Embassy of the United States of America in Azerbaijan to equip government and public sector executives and analysts as well as faculty and students of public policy with essential tools to handle problem identification, policy formulation, and decision-making issues confidently and effectively. 25 government executives and policy analysts, NGO managers, junior faculty and advanced students from Azerbaijan and Georgia participated in this workshop led by Dr. Beryl Radin, Professor of Government and Public Administration at the American University in Washington, DC.
The translator liberates the language imprisoned in a work
The Khazar University Translation Studies Center (TSC) was established on April 27, 2000. The main objective of this Center is to translate the academic, fictional, philosophical and technical works published in various modern languages into Azerbaijani. Some examples of the spiritual treasure of Azerbaijan culture are being translated into various languages, as well. The Center is involved in research and teaching of translation as subject fields.
Translation studies create research unique in its kind, giving rise to opportunities for collaboration between scholars who have traditionally worked in distinct fields of research.
Khazar University TSC has become an academic body – a place where scholars and students study, perform and enhance the complex act of transforming literary experiences created in one language into an equivalent experience in another language.
Attracting experienced professionals as well as young specialists to its activities The Center holds theoretical and practical conferences and symposiums on various issues concerning translation and organizes discussion sessions on Lexicology, Literary Translation, Translation of Poetry, Theories and Techniques of Translation, etc. By training students as translators, Khazar University TSC gives them an opportunity to use and improve their language skills professionally.
The TSC closely cooperates with other academic departments and research centers of the University. Other academic entities have been adding their expertise as the center expands from literary translation to include commercial and legal translation. Khazar TSC, in affiliation with Khazar University Press, completed different Translation Projects. Some of them partially were funded by the government of the United States. That list of translations include:
Translators of the center worked on the translation of “Racing Up Hill” by Hafiz Pashayev. A New translation project started in 2005 publishing the First Collection of "Poetry in Translation. 1st Collection" by the team of authors-translators including Hamlet Isaxanli.
The Legal Education Center
The center was established with the support of US Agency for International Development (USAID) and Khazar University in January 2013. The purpose is to increase the effectiveness of civil society and legal professionals to better defend the rights and interests of citizens and to improve the rule of law. This will be reached through achievement of two interdependent outcomes as summarized below:
1) Development of broader-based Azerbaijani constituencies more actively promoting reforms that safeguard citizens’ rights
2) Improved capacity of legal professionals to better apply laws and assist their clients.
At present, in Azerbaijan, the training of most young lawyers is almost entirely academic and in the future, they lack social and "lawyering" skills when they embark on their careers. With this in mind, ARC established the Legal Education Center at Khazar University. The center conducts regular, high-quality curriculum-based training and develops legal publications covering a broad range of legal areas (see below). To ensure reputability and high quality of its services, the center attracts outstanding legal professionals and practitioners to develop the curricula and teach the courses. It is also envisioned that young lawyers and law students will be accompanying professional lawyers during strategic litigations, court hearings, rendering legal advice and consultations. The center plans to provide high-quality curriculum-based training courses to at least 20 law students per year and annually help 6-7candidates for membership to Collegiums of Attorneys (Azerbaijan Bar Association) prepare for Bar exams and pass them successfully.
The objectives of the Center include the following:
Based on the needs identified, the consortium works with international and local experts to develop continuing education course curricula and materials. The courses provide in-depth coverage of a wide range of topics which include, but are not limited to, Administrative law, Criminal Law, Review of existing laws and updates on new laws being passed by Parliament, Bar exam preparation, European Court of the Human Rights case law, Family Law, Labor Law, Legal Drafting, etc. Participants who successfully complete the course will be awarded certificates.
The Khazar Psychological Counseling Center
The Center opened in 2016 and offers a variety of services to the Khazar community, from individual/group counseling to campus-wide educational programs that contribute not only to the growth and health of individual students, but also to academic programs in related fields, to campus life, and to the educational/cultural life of the region.
Our center offers help to: