This event, which is a first in the history of Azerbaijan healthcare, opens new horizons for the university. Educational programs of Azerbaijan Medical University have passed international accreditation for the first time in the history of Azerbaijan healthcare. The long-term accreditation process was carried out by the Independent Agency for Accreditation and Rating (IAAR), officially recognized by the World Federation of Medical Education since 2017. Finally, on January 28, the highest authority of the international organization gave a positive response to the accreditation application.
On this occasion, a ceremonial presentation ceremony of the relevant certificate was held yesterday at AMU. Rector of the university, professor Geray Geraybeyli, who spoke at the event, greeted the guests and media representatives and pointed out that this event is a first in our country.
Talking about the importance of AMU passing the international accreditation, the rector said that this process has been going on for more than 3 years. It was an active phase for two years. During the past period, many experts from Turkey and other countries visited the university and got acquainted with the teaching process. On the basis of the set requirements, numerous works have been carried out in AMU, changes and improvements have been made in a number of directions. On November 21-25, 2021, the delegation of the Agency's Foreign Expert Commission visited Baku and conducted on-site inspections on the evaluation of the quality of educational programs at AMU. Organization of the educational process, implementation of educational programs, activities of deaneries, clinical bases, structural units, etc. compliance of his work with the rules and criteria established for accreditation was evaluated.
Professor Geray Geraybeyli noted that accreditation for the longest period - 5 years - for all 3 specializations presented by AMU - Medicine, Pharmacy and Dentistry - is a very important event for the university and our country. The rector said that there is no similar event in the 91-year history of AMU and talked about the advantages of this decision. He said that this primarily means that AMU's reputation in the international arena will rise and it will get higher places in the rating lists. In addition, it is extremely important from the point of view of attracting more foreign students to AMU and expanding this geography. Finally, this decision of the Independent Agency for Accreditation and Rating is a big step forward in terms of foreign countries recognizing the diplomas of AMU graduates and their employment in prestigious medical institutions.
Congratulating the entire team of AMU on this remarkable event, the rector informed the event participants that another memorandum will be signed today within the framework of the university's cooperation with IAAR. So, as a continuation of the process, the Independent Agency for Accreditation and Rating will provide advisory services to AMU to be included in its own and other world-class rating agencies' lists and to occupy high places.
Speaking at the meeting, the official representative of the IAAR international accreditation organization, Professor Olga Yanovskaya, said she was happy to be at the Azerbaijan Medical University and congratulated the team on the occasion of passing the international accreditation. He emphasized that this event is of great importance for a higher education institution in a globalized world: "Especially in medical education, internationalization is going on in the world. After that, Azerbaijan Medical University will become more attractive in the world education market. As a result, both the number of foreign students will increase and the quality of education will increase."
After the speeches, the international level certificates of IAAR were presented to the rector of AMU, professor Geray Geraybeyli. Later, a cooperation agreement was signed between the institution and AMU for the next period.
It should be noted that Aykız Bauyrzhankizi, an expert on international relations of IAAR, representatives of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan, as well as representatives of AMU participated in the meeting.
For your information, both institutional and educational programs are accredited by IAAR. This agency is the first institution recognized by the World Federation of Medical Education (WFME) among the CIS countries. Universities and study programs accredited by the IAAR are considered to have obtained accreditation from the World Federation of Medical Education.