The "Short-term Academic Visit of Internationally Renowned Scholars" program (September 16-28, 2024) at the Asian Faculty of Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) for Prof. Acad. Hamlet Isaxanli, the founder of Khazar University and Chairman of the Board of Directors and Trustees, has concluded. During the visit, Prof. Acad. Hamlet Isaxanli delivered a series of lectures and held meetings with the university administration, exchanging ideas on deepening inter-university relations.
Prof. Acad. Hamlet Isaxanli's scientific lectures were organized in two directions: for the entire university community, and specifically for students majoring in Azerbaijani language at BFSU. The lectures "Two Cultures: Barriers and Bridges Between Natural Sciences and Humanities" and "The Concept of Quality in Higher Education," intended for the entire university community, were met with great interest by a wide audience, and Prof. Acad. Hamlet Isaxanli received numerous questions related to the topics. Before the lectures, the moderator, Dr. Agshin Aliyev, Head of the Azerbaijani Language Department at BFSU and Ph.D. in Philology, provided the audience with extensive information about the speaker's life and professional activities. Additionally, Prof. Acad. Hamlet Isaxanli delivered a comprehensive lecture titled "The Development History of Azerbaijani National Identity" for students majoring in Azerbaijani language at the university.
It should be noted that the "Short-term Academic Visit of Internationally Renowned Scholars" program of the Asian Faculty of Beijing Foreign Studies University aims to broaden students' worldview and deepen academic connections by inviting renowned scholars from various countries. Prof. Acad. Hamlet Isaxanli is the first Azerbaijani scholar to participate in this program.
The decision to establish the Azerbaijani language major at BFSU, which prepares personnel for Chinese state institutions, especially the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and teaches 101 foreign languages, was made by the Chinese Ministry of Education in 2015. The Department of Azerbaijani Language was created at the university in 2016. Initially, Azerbaijani was taught as a third language, but in 2018, admission to the Azerbaijani language major was conducted based on the national entrance examination, and 9 students learned Azerbaijani for four years, becoming China's first Azerbaijani studies specialists. Students who studied Azerbaijani language in the first admission (2018-2022) at BFSU actively participated in various projects and events related to our country organized by the Azerbaijani Language Department. They showed initiative in organizing the "Azerbaijan Language and Literature Exhibition" during the "Year of Nasimi," and in the "Year of Nizami Ganjavi," 11 research articles and translations by students were published in the "Nizami Heritage" journal commemorating the 880th anniversary of the great Azerbaijani poet and thinker. During the study period, Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan - Head of the Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration, Acad. Isa Habibbayli, President of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, and others visited the Azerbaijani Language Department and delivered lectures to students. It should be noted that two graduates from the first admission completed their master's degrees in Azerbaijani Language and Literature at Khazar University with honors in 2024. In 2023, a memorandum of understanding on cooperation was signed between Khazar University and Beijing Foreign Studies University.