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subsequently created by a resolution of the Cabinet of
Ministers dated March 18, 1991. The University, which started
to operate with seven teachers and 19 students, was the first
private (not for profit) university established in Azerbaijan and
one of the first universities officially established in the present-
day post-Soviet era.
He stressed and precisely articulated another important issue:
in a country where corruption is widespread, particularly in
the education system, it is vital and possible to establish a
serious and high-quality higher education institution. In
general, due to his gradually growing and strengthening
activities, he came to be known as a leader in both theory and
practice in the field of education systems in countries with
transition economies.
Due to its Western-style curricula and study programs,
adoption of a flexible credit accumulation system and student-
centered model of education, application of modern methods
of management, establishment of broad and effective
international relations, recruitment of high-quality local and
foreign specialists, firm stance against corruption in education,
and generally speaking, provision of high-quality education
under the direction of Hamlet Isaxanli, Khazar University
became famous as one of the leading universities not only in
Azerbaijan, but also in the wider geographical region covering
the former Soviet area, the Middle East, and Central Asia.
Hamlet Isaxanli decided to use English as a main language of
instruction at Khazar. It would be a good way to facilitate the
use of books and other educational and research resources
published in the West, as well as to facilitate student exchange
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poems of V. A. Jukovskiy, F. Baratynskiy, F. I. Tyutchev, A.
Fet, S. Yesenin, N. S. Gumilev, A. Akhmatova, A. Axundova,
G. Byron, W. Blake, R. Herrik, and G. De Nerval.
Hamlet Isaxanli’s poems are pleasant and full of music,
winning the hearts of readers. Certainly for this reason his
poems caught the attention of Azerbaijani composers. Many of
his lyric and epic poems have been used to compose songs and
musical spectacles. The prominent national composers the late
Ramiz Mustafayev and the late Vasif Adigozelov composed a
hymn on his poem “My Khazar University;” Ramiz
Mustafayev on the poem “In Search of my Khazar;” Vaqif
Gerayzade on the poem “Parting;” Lutfiyar Imanov on the
poem “Life Would be so Easy;” Naila Isayeva on the poems “I
Just Felt in Love with You,” ”It is Beautiful,” “Poppy,” “Lily,”
“Wind and a Lassie,” “I Want to Be Alone,” “Come Soon,” and
“My World;” Elza Seyidcahan on the poems ”I Couldn’t
Understand this World” and “Baku,” Cahangir Zulfuqarov on
the poem “Where we meet,” and Dilara Qulamova on the
poems “An old question,” “Magical night,” “Clouds lag behind
childhood,” and a musical spectacle “The life path is just a
moment” based on series of philosophical poems, etc. The entire
long epic-lyric poem “Pilgrimage” was set to music by
composer Cavanshir Quliyev, who also composed eleven
songs on the lyric by Hamlet Isaxanli. All these and other
songs and musical spectacles have been given heartfelt
performances by the master singers Lutfiyar Imanov, Flora
Karimova, Brilliant Dadashova, Ilqar Muradov, Rashida
Behbudova, Manana Caparidze, Elza Seyidcahan, Samir
Ceferov, Fedaye Lachin, the Azerbaijani State Symphony
Orchestra and Chorus, “Savalan,” “Sharon“ and “Kristal”
groups, and others. National mugam masters such as Arif
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Babayev, Alim Qasimov, Nazaket Teymurova, and Zabit
Nabizade have also used Hamlet Isaxanli’s poems while
singing.
The creative writings of Hamlet Isaxanli are rich and many –
sided.
Reforms in Education
Besides conducting his research and delivering lectures abroad
during Soviet times, Hamlet Isaxanli was also interested in
studying different aspects of educational organizations in the
West. In the late 1980s, H. Isaxanli tried to explain to the
general public and government the meaning of, and reasons
behind, the crisis of the higher education system in the Soviet
union and in particular in Azerbaijan. He discussed ways to
overcome the crisis and called for substantial reforms through
his articles published in Azerbaijani and Russian newspapers
and in speeches made on the radio and on TV.
New ideas started to emerge and be implemented in a country
that was living through political and economic crisis and war!
Hamlet Isaxanli was one of the rare persons who have played
an important role in that development.
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Hamlet Isaxanli, on the one hand, noted the necessity for step-
by-step reforms in the entire education system; on the other
hand, he emphasized the prospects of establishing new types
of higher education institutions that would meet the demands
of the new, rapidly-changing and globalized world. In his
opinion, these new higher education systems would benefit
from the US model of universities, especially in terms of
curriculum, management, quality of teaching and research,
university-industry relations, knowledge economy and
innovation, interactive student-centered systems based on
credit accumulation, programs leading to Bachelor, Master and
PhD degrees, extensive international relations, etc. New
institutions would play an important role not only in
education and research, but also in the overall activity and
democratization of the society.
Khazar University
(Foundation and
Principles)
In addition to continuing to think and publish on the subject of
educational reforms, Hamlet Isaxanli decided to actively
participate in the process of his own proposed reforms by
creating a university. As an outcome of these activities, official
preparation was carried out according to the Resolution of the
Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of (then Soviet!)
Azerbaijan, dated December 20, 1990. Khazar University (at
that time “English-Language Azerbaijan University”) was
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