Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct. 23 / Trend M.Aliyev /
Director of Admissions and Financial Aid department of Azerbaijani Diplomatic Academy (ADA) Janice Austin spoke in an interview with Trend .
Trend : Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy is recruiting students to pursue a Master Degree on diplomacy and international relations (MADIA program) for 2010-2012 years. What is going to make ADA's mentioned program attractive for Azerbaijani and foreign students?
Janice Austin: ADA is, and should be attractive to potential students especially Azerbaijanis for several reasons. First, one cornerstone of ADA and the MADIA program is to create and sustain an academic environment where students are active learners. In addition to interactive lectures, our students learn from the case study methods, and practical experiences. Our curriculum is a multi-disciplinary program focus on three components: International Relations and History, International Law and International Trade and Finance. Courses in these key areas form the foundation of our first year core curriculum. Our second year courses are electives and during both years, we have a course in English for Academic Purposes to continually support the development of our students English language skills.
Q: Is there a chance that someone with excellent records but lack of funding can become a student at ADA's Master Program? What's overall tuition policy for MADIA?
A: Yes, of course we do offer funding support. However, we believe the cost of the education is something students should be willing to share. Our experiences show that by paying for the education, students develop a level of ownership and responsibility that bodes well for them while at ADA and likely in the future. Nonetheless, our process is a "need-blind", meaning that everyone will be considered for admission, regardless of their ability to pay.
Q: As soon as ADA's is a state institution, will it give an advantage for graduates to get employed by the state agencies?
A: We know that many of our students have stated their professional goals to be of service to Azerbaijan, and this includes the possibility of joining the diplomatic corp. I am sure that over time, we will see many of graduates successfully employed in many various government agencies. We also hope to have graduates who continue on in their studies by pursuing PhD and perhaps return to the ADA as possible faculty members later in their careers.
With the level of visiting professors coming from the best universities of the world, the richest library in Azerbaijan in the English language and new fashionable campus, we can say that ADA is the best place to pursue a degree in Azerbaijan both on the sense of education level and its location.
All of those points are correct with regard to ADA now and in the future. We would hope that the ADA advantage will be well recognized and serve as an educational destination for potential students. With that said, we know that it also takes a certain type of student to be successful here. Students who are not only very bright, but also are passionate about learning, developing their intellectual capacity and believe in working with their fellow classmates. I am confident that these characteristics are found in many, many Azerbaijanis but students must also be very sure of their interest in succeeding as our academic standards do not waiver.
Q: What's international outreach of MADIA program and how the interaction with the foreign students will benefit their local classmates?
A: As Azerbaijan has become an increasingly important member the global community as easily demonstrated by the number of embassies or missions that is currently has in nearly 60 countries around the world; we here at ADA have been able to take advantage of this extensive network for recruiting international students. Our current international students are citizens of the Czech Republic, Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan and Russia. The ability to engage classmates from these and other countries with regard to pressing issues that all members of the global community face provides all students with a tremendous opportunity. Finally, I think it is all Azerbaijanis interest to educate and engage international students, who may very well become future leaders in their countries, about Azerbaijan, Caspian Basin and the South Caucasus region.
Q: Finally, can you briefly describe the application process, and what must be completed to be considered?
A: Our application process consists of three parts. On our website at www.ada.edu.az you will find our on-line application which is self-explanatory and straight forward to complete. Applications are instructed to include a Statement of Purpose, a professional CV and the names and contact information for three references. You may also complete the Scholarship Application on-line as well.
For Azerbaijani applicants we also require the results of TOEFL or IELTS, TDQK MADIA first round exam results and notarized original translated diploma and transcripts. The last part is the interview with members of the Admissions Committee for short-listed candidates. For anyone interested in MADIA, I would encourage you to attend one of our Wednesday Information Sessions held from 16:00- 17:00, registration available at our website.