Up to 2015 Traditional system of quality assurance in HEIs of Azerbaijan has 2 main directions: The control of student’s knowledge on institutional level and control from the Ministry of Education or other relevant authority based on academic aspects. Most of the universities didn't have Internal Quality Assurance System in terms of administration and effective control of the processes. Some of the universities had the Quality Assurance Centers but they were not functional or the functions were not appropriated with the international standards. The most important thing, there were no demand for Internal Quality Assurance in HEIs on national level. Even though the universities had to be accredited every 5 years, but the external quality assurance was not aligned with international standards as well. It was somehow was similar with giving the license for providing services with appropriate equipment. The universities were seriously lacking of low level performance management, quality of the programs, quality of the staff and most important the QUALITY CULTURE. Therefor EQAC project aimed to enhance the quality of higher education in Azerbaijan and to promote voluntary union with EU developments and to develop a model of principles, priorities, guidelines and procedures to improve and assess the quality.The specific objectives of the project were:•Make a comparative analysis of current QA practices (and identify the needs of the universities) •To increase awareness on modern quality assurance tools and policies •To develop framework for quality assurance mechanisms in Azerbaijan higher education institutions. •To develop and establish common Quality Assurance System – (in line with ESG) •To create online platform and user service charter•To enhance Quality Assurance Culture•To train quality assurance related administrative and academic staff• Develop a Model of Principles, Priorities, Guidelines and Procedures for internal management of QA for partner HEIs 8 Work packages implemented In order to reach these objectives WP 1: Scoping and Analysis of Quality Assurance in Azerbaijan UniversitiesWP-2: Creation of a framework for the QA implementationWP-3: System-building: Shaping systems of quality assurance in AZ universities.WP-4: Field tripsWP-5: Preparing Guidelines and Standards for QA at institutional levelWP-6: Quality AssuranceWP-7: Dissemination of the projectWP-8: Management

The project proposed by the consortium is planning to address several nation-level problems in Azerbaijan. The main scope of the activities to be undertaken during the project covers capacity-building initiatives in selected higher education institutions with the main goal to improve and harmonize understanding as well as practice of entrepreneurial mindset, innovative talent and high-impact expertise.By trying to reach the above-mentioned goal, the consortium will attempt to minimize or remove the impact of the following fundamental problems/concerns in higher education institutions across the nation:1) There is a lack of sophisticated ecosystem fostering entrepreneurial mindset in higher education institutions;2) The conditions and incentives provided to students and faculty at higher education institutions to produce and implement innovative ideas are limited;3) Majority of the teachings and research in higher education institutions is overly theoretical, offering limited or no opportunity for hands-on experience;4)The students and faculty at higher education institutions have a limited understanding about how to cultivate, initiate, incubate, accelerate, realize and commercialize an innovative startup idea;5) The level of collaboration between higher education institutions and industries is limited and inadequate.

Over the course of three years, the “Developing Research Capacity through Institutional Repositories Network in Azerbaijan” project (hereafter DIRNA) aims at building capacity in the context of research output management, focusing on seven leading AZ HEIs, via establishing Open Access Institutional Repositories Network. The process of intense as well as comprehensive training, which is required to establish and then interlink the aforementioned repositories at each site, arrange the framework’s implementation, data entry and smooth management will represent the core of the DINRA.Learning outcomes from the project-bound activities will be shared and disseminated in a variety of ways, including the initiation and then establishment of facilities and mechanisms to proactively assist other institutions in the country in setting up and managing their own repositories. In a significant addition, the DINRA’s lenses will be on improving not only the visibility and the management of quality scholarly research, but also on supporting open access to research outputs, advocating, and fostering scholarly communication and coordination between the AZ HEIs across the country.

GEOCLIC aims to modernize BA / MSc / PhD curricula in geospatial technologies in order to ensure environmental safety of coastal ecosystems using new technologies: GEONETCast; GIS Software - ILWIS and remote sensing and modeling technologies through updating existing curricula in the area and developing /testing accrediting new curricula according to the new achievements in the area; to test and accredit the curricula and to disseminate the results. GEOCLIC's consortium consists of 17 partners (plus 7 associate-partners) with the required expertise and skills. The outputs/results are: •Agreement and Guidelines on instructional strategy for curricula design •New curricula in geospatial technologies, including innovative new equipped laboratories GEOLAB and virtual rooms CVE •Updated current curricula in geospatial technologies including ECTS and the new developments •Bringing the HEIs of AZ, KZ and TM closer to labor market (new equipped Service Offices on spatiality technologies GEOCOF). The content and use of new educational technologies, compliant with the European modernization agenda for HEIs, will function as the envisaged impact.

The VEHUB4YOU project focuses on business knowledge’s transfer from EU to young people of Eastern partners countries (13 to 30 years) by virtual exchanges technologies. As part of Goal 9 EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027 “Space and participation for all” consortium members will undertake common efforts for organizing a network of international virtual business hubs and teaching of doing business for high school pupils, college students and university students of both economic and non-economic specialties by creating VIRTUAL YOUTH BUSINES HUBS INTERNATIONAL NETWORK which includes 60 virtual international business hubs at schools, universities and rural libraries in Ukraine and Azerbaijan. European universities, with the help of universities and youth organizations in Ukraine and Azerbaijan, will share their business courses and experience of teachers with the youth of the Eastern Partnership countries. As a result, 2500 representatives from 60 hubs and 250 facilitators from Eastern partners countries will take part in the project, 220 participants from other specify regions will be involving as well (Southern Neighborhood and Sub Saharan Africa). The project participants will develop a pool of methodological materials for online business trainings. In addition, a training program for hub leaders and facilitators will be published, taking into account local requirements. The VEHUB4YOU project is expected improve the quality of business education by providing access to modern European education; at the organizational level promoting entrepreneurial learning and on the level of individual project participants is expected to get the skills of planning for a business, marketing the products and obtaining the instruments to create their own business. It is expected upgrading school, college and university educational programs in accordance with new trends on virtual learning and raising the efficiency of virtual education.