Dear colleagues,

We are currently in a temporary unusual lifestyle due to a new type of coronavirus (COVID-19) infection. To date, more than 478,000 people worldwide have contracted the disease and more than 21,000 have died. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared it as a “global health emergency” (pandemic). If we look at the history of global infectious diseases in the past, these figures are very low. However, these figures are growing every day, and it is in our hands to prevent the growing pandemic in a timely manner. It is important to stay home to break the chain of transmission, to quarantine oneself when feeling the first signs of the disease, and to follow WHO guidelines.

The Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan has made several decisions to keep people at home in order to prevent infection https://cabmin.gov.az/az/article/747/). 

The Ministry of Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan proposed to use the Microsoft Teams platform in order to organize the distant learning process.

Prior to the spring holidays, several Khazar University professors began applying Skype, Zoom, and the Microsoft Teams platform.

The faculties have already organized classes with the Microsoft Teams platform and presented them to teachers. The current situation envisaged to be as follows:

• Delivering lessons according to the schedule provided for the semester;
• Students access to the "Teams" class with Khazar University’s email addresses;
• The participation of a representative of the faculty or department in the "Teams" class in order to support the organization of classes and provide statistics to management.

On March 23, the entire board of the University held a meeting to assess the current situation, the quality of the distance learning process (duration of the semester, methods of conducting tests and exams, their timing, lessons monitoring and collection of statistical data, etc.) and also envisaged to prepare new action plan for the university. These proposals will be developed and presented to you soon.

Other issues:

International student enrollment started on December 25, 2019 and the deadline (April 15, 2020) was extended until May 15, 2020.

The recruitment process, as a general rule, is reviewed by a recruitment commission. Applicants should send their CV to job@khazar.org. Given the current situation, preference will be given only to those who apply for priority positions. Information on admission to other positions will be provided depending on the current situation.

As you may be well aware, Khazar University is committed to the quality of the educational process, as well as very serious about the health of university staff and students. In this regard, please take care of your health while staying home, work from home, keep in touch with each other, and if you have any questions, please contact the relevant people via email. 

Take care of yourself and your loved ones, 

Associate Professor Irada Khalilova 

Rector