American Councils in Azerbaijan


American Councils has been operating in Azerbaijan since 1993. During the past 16 years in Azerbaijan American Councils has developed a network of over 750 alumni who participated in a number of US Government funded programs administered by American Councils in the past such as the ‘Muskie' Program, ‘Ugrad' Program, the ‘TEA' and ‘PiE' Programs as well as current programs:

  • Future Leaders Exchange Program (FLEX): The FLEX program began in 1992 as a Department of State initiative to have over 1000 high school students from all over Eurasia visit the US for an academic year to live and study as American high school students. Each year between 40 and 45 high-school students from Azerbaijan are sent on the FLEX program.  Upon return home, FLEX alumni are encouraged to develop activities that address needs in their community and that help develop professional qualifications of alumni.  There are over 800 FLEX Alumni in Azerbaijan.

  • Program (JFDP): The primary and distinct goal of the Junior Faculty Development Program is to provide university instructors with opportunities to engage in curriculum development and explore alternative teaching methodologies, expand their knowledge in their fields of study and gather new teaching materials and resources.  Individuals may apply for fields in the humanities and social sciences. Each JFDP Fellow spends a total of five (5) months (January-May 2011) in the United States.
  • Open World Program: The Open World Program enables emerging leaders from Azerbaijan and other Eurasian countries to experience American democracy and civil society in action. Each delegation focuses on a set theme that relates to the delegates’ professional or civic work, exposing them to ideas and practices they can adapt to their own situations. Typical activities include watching jury selection, sitting in on newspaper editorial meetings, and observing political candidates on the campaign trail. Most participants stay in private homes.
  • Exchanges to Internships Program: A program funded by the US Embassy in Azerbaijan that places outstanding alumni of the FLEX Program in four-month internships in Azerbaijan government ministries and agencies.  The internships are designed to give interns professional experience and to encourage alumni to consider careers in the Public Sector.  There were approximately 85 interns since 2005 with internships in over 10 Azerbaijan Government Ministries and other State entities.   
  • Test Administration: ACCELS in Azerbaijan is an official administrator for the TOEFL, GRE, and SAT standardized tests.  
  • Critical Language Scholarship Program: The CLS Intensive Summer Azerbaijan Language Institute is a program of the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.  Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) institutes provide fully-funded group-based intensive language instruction and structured cultural enrichment experiences for eight weeks for U.S. citizen undergraduate, Master’s and Ph.D. students. The CLS Program offers courses designed to develop students’ listening, reading, speaking, spoken interaction, and writing skills. Classes at the Azerbaijan University of Languages also provide students the opportunity to learn about Azerbaijani culture, history, and geography in the process of learning the language. 

 

For more information on American Councils activities around the world, please visit  http://www.americancouncils.org/