Ankara and Baku have entered into an agreement to establish the Türkiye-Azerbaijan University, bringing the expertise of Turkish higher education to the capital of Azerbaijan. Following the recent accord signed by President Recep Tayip Erdoğan and his Azerbaijani counterpart, İlham Aliyev, Erol Özvar, the head of Turkey’s Council of Higher Education (YÖK), and Azerbaijani Education Minister Emin Emrullayev signed a memorandum of understanding during a ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara. According to Özvar, the university is set to commence operations within this year, and a significant aspect of the project involves consolidating programs from Turkey’s well-established universities under one university.

This innovative model will incorporate associate, undergraduate, and graduate programs selected by YÖK from established Turkish universities. The head of YÖK mentioned that upon completion of these programs, students will be awarded a diploma from the corresponding Turkish university. As an example, if a program is launched in collaboration with Hacettepe University, graduates will receive a diploma from Hacettepe University. Under this new model, Turkish universities will have the flexibility to define the curriculum, credit hours, and academic staff for the programs they offer. Özvar highlighted the robustness of the project, noting that this approach allows countries to leverage the expertise and knowledge of established universities without the need to establish a new university from the ground up.

The umbrella university model will not only be open to Azerbaijani students but also to students from across the globe who can apply for the Turkish and English programs offered.