EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Project: Promoting a New Economy: Enhancing Undergraduate Business Education in Azerbaijan

This proposal links Southern Connecticut State University’s (SCSU) School of Business in New Haven, CT and Khazar University’s (KU) School of Economics and Management in Baku, Azerbaijan in order to establish a comprehensive business school to facilitate the training of managers who will be critical in the transition to a new market economy.

Khazar University is one of the first private universities established after the break-up of the Soviet Union, and is closely modeled after the American system, with English as the official language of instruction. At present, KU offers only undergraduate degrees in economics, finance, and international relations. Over the years, it has benefited from the advice of various American scholars who have visited the school. However, no comprehensive curriculum planning has been done to date to tap the full potential that the university could offer the developing business community. There is a strong university-wide desire to accomplish this goal. The activities of this proposal were discussed with KU administrators while one of SCSU’s professors spent the Spring 2000 semester at the institution as a Fulbright Scholar. Under the linkage, the School of Business at SCSU will provide curriculum and faculty guidance to enable KU to convert itself into a comprehensive school of business, offering a full range of new business programs including accounting, economics, finance, management, and marketing.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Republic, and the emergence of Azerbaijan as an economy in transition, several companies from the U.S. and Western Europe have established subsidiaries in the country. At present, these companies depend on expatriates to fill most of the entry-level professional positions. This is costly because of the added expense and the high turnover rates associated with expatriates. The training of host country's graduates for these entry-level positions is critical for the success of the transition. It certainly may be an inducement to attract other foreign direct investment. KU is trying to fill this national need and SCSU believes it can help KU met this need. The principal activities proposed under this grant will involve faculty from both institutions who will:

· Design a comprehensive undergraduate business curriculum that will serve the needs of Azerbaijan as it moves forward towards a free market economy;

· Assist KU in implementing the curriculum through a process of appropriate staffing, development of instructional resources, and devising effective administrative processes;

· Provide the resources for KU to augment its library/informational resources, and to establish a business computer lab;

· Collaborate in such a way that at the end of the grant period KU faculty will have full ownership of the program. Over the grant period, KU faculty will also develop its capacity to make program modifications as needed in response to changes in the needs of stakeholders, particularly employers.

There are also several gains for Southern Connecticut State University’s School of Business:

· The faculty will develop further expertise regarding the problems and opportunities in the NIS and emerging economies. This first-hand insight will be used to acquaint U.S. students with the diversity of economic systems, including challenges and solutions that widen the possibilities.

· Common research agendas will foster collaborative projects in the future.

· Given that KU teaches in English, there will be opportunities in the future for student exchanges.

This proposal represents the mutual goals and objectives to which both institutions aspire. It also represents the types of activities that satisfy the mission and objectives of the NISCUPP program.