19/02/2014
PASHA Bank Azerbaijan implements the programme in partnership with The British Council. The project aims to develop student's creative writing skills and raise awareness of the topic of economic growth and reforms. It also endeavors to help students become active participants in their country's development.

The project consists of presentations in various higher education institutions in Azerbaijan and organizes training for selected students on essay writing skills, citation and plagiarism. Successful candidates will have opportunities to attend summer schools in leading UK universities.

Who can participate?

Participants should be students of selected universities between 18 and 21 years of age, citizens of Azerbaijan with permanent residence in this country.

Which stages are involved?

The project will be implemented in 4 stages:

1. Presentations at 10 Universities followed by the application process (The selected universities are the following: Baku State University, ADA University, Azerbaijan State Economic University, The Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Khazar University, Qafqaz University, Baku Higher Oil School, Sumgayit State University, Ganja State University, Lankaran State University)
2. Training for the selected 20 candidates from each of the university on essay writing skills, citation and plagiarism conducted by Azerbaijan UK Alumni Association (AUKAA) members
3. Essay Competition and Winners Selection
4. Summer School for winners to the leading UK university and colleges

Essays to be submitted shall cover the following themes:
1. What place should Azerbaijan take in general globalization process?
2. How can globalization process be observed in Azerbaijan?
3. Globalization: is it good or bad?
4. Think Globally, Act Locally - Youth Participation in Azerbaijan's Economic Development
5. To what extent should environmental issues be considered during economic development planning of a country?
6. Should environmental problems be managed by individuals, countries or internationally and how?
7. What role does higher education play in person's life and how obtained knowledge can be applied in building a career?
8. What role does education play in country's economic development?
9. How can internationalization of higher education improve educational system in Azerbaijan?
10. Should Universities go into partnerships with related business enterprises? If yes, how such partnerships can affect University graduates?
11. Is getting higher education just a means to obtaining a diploma or a condition for a successful career?
12. What role an active citizen should play in the development of a society?
13. How do you see Azerbaijan in 20 years from now?
14. Importance of cultural cooperation and inter-cultural dialogue in the 21st century
15. Skills of the 21st century: what knowledge and skills will you need to succeed?

Prizes

Summer school - at one of the leading universities of United Kingdom, in July and August, 2014

Summer Schools strands to select from:
International Political Economy
Introduction to Human Resource Management
Marketing Management
Small is Beautiful: impacting social change through business
Strategic Management
The Art of Leadership
The Entrepreneur - skills and smart thinking
Business & the City: analysis and evaluation
E-business - the online entrepreneur
International Business
International Marketing
• Negotiation & Communication in Business

How to submit?

The submission process for the Essay Competition is entirely online. Essays shall be submitted to the following email address: fidan.huseynli@britishcouncil.az by 30 April 2014

Rules

• Students need to participate in presentations made at their Universities where they will fill out application forms expressing their interest to participate
Applications will be reviewed by AUKAA members and participants will be selected to participate in training
Selected students must participate in training provided at the respective Universities prior to submitting their essays
Each participant can only submit an essay on one of the proposed themes
Essays should not exceed 2500 words and should be typed in English
Submissions will be accepted via e-mail only till April 30, 2014
All essays will be reviewed by the Jury
British Council and Pasha Bank reserve the right to publish and/or to make available to the public the winning essays
• Selected essay writers will be invited for an interview to be conducted by British Council and Pasha Bank where the decision will be made on project winners
The decision of the Jury will be final and will not be subject to an appeal