Baku, November 2, AZERTAC

Rector of Mingachevir State University (MSU) Shahin Bayramov was elected to the Administrative Board of the International Association of Universities (IAU). The Administrative Board is the main governing unit of the Association, and its members are elected for a four-year term. The Board of the IAU currently has 17 members. The Administrative Board meets annually, ensures that decisions of the General Conference are implemented and guides the work of the IAU Secretariat. Some of its work is carried out through specific committees and working groups.

The elections of the new Administrative Board for the next period took place within the framework of the IAU 16th General Conference, which was held on 25-28 October 2022, in Dublin, Ireland. The Conference, hosted by University College Dublin (UCD), was dedicated to the theme "Relevance and Value of Universities to Future Society". The Conference has gathered more than 300 university rectors, heads of international and regional higher education organizations from nearly 100 countries.

Pam Friedman, IAU President, Simon Harris, Minister of Higher Education, Innovation and Science of Ireland, Mark Rogers, UCD Acting President and Stefania Giannini, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education have delivered welcome speeches at the opening ceremony of the Conference.

Rector Shahin Bayramov has actively participated in the Conference sessions those discussed the topics like the development of higher education in the post-pandemic period, the issues of digitalization and internationalization, the Sustainable Development Goals and the growing role of universities in sustainable development, the open science, a new vision for a university mission in terms of education, research and serving to society, the new approaches to address local and global challenges, and the fundamental university values.

Within the 16th General Conference, the IAU report for the previous period, the Strategic Plan for 2022-2030 and the Budget for 2022-2026 have been discussed and approved. Also, IAU Policy Statement titled “Transforming Higher Education in a Digital World for the Global Common Good” was adopted.

MSU has been a member of the IAU since July 2022. Founded in 1950, under the auspices of UNESCO, the IAU is the leading global association of higher education institutions and organizations from around the world. As a global forum for leaders of institutions and associations, IAU convenes and connects almost 600 members from more than 130 countries to identify, reflect and act on common priorities. It acts as the global voice of higher education to a wide range of international and inter-governmental organizations, in particular to UNESCO. IAU promotes collaboration among its members by articulating the fundamental values and principles that underpin the pursuit, dissemination and application of knowledge. The Association advocates for higher education policies and practices that respect diverse perspectives and promote social responsibility. With a particular emphasis on values and leadership, and acting as a forum for sharing and joint action, IAU encourages innovation, mutual learning and cooperation among institutions.

IAU Administrative Board Membership might be considered an important step towards MSU’s transformation into the New Age University, which is this institution’s main strategic goal set by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.