Idman.biz
Fuad Hajiyev, Rector of the Azerbaijan State Academy of Physical Education and Sports (ASAA), stated that the English-language "Sports Journalism" master's program did not fully meet expectations.
In a statement to Idman.Biz, Fuad Hajiyev noted that the problems start from the admission stage:
"We require applicants to have at least 6.5 points on the IELTS English language exam. It is difficult to attract even 10 people with this indicator in the country. Sometimes we can attract them, but we do not see the desired result."
According to the Rector, the academy has taken a number of important steps to develop education in the field of sports journalism. Dan Mason was invited to the country within the framework of this program, and the standards of the University of Sheffield Hallam University in Great Britain were applied. Also, the manager of the BBC studio and other British specialists were involved in the educational process. In addition, a multimedia center equipped with radio and television equipment has been created at the academy.
"We sent our students to the BBC's central office for internships. They visited the stadiums of Chelsea F.C. and Arsenal F.C., as well as large sports facilities. Our goal was that after 3–5 years, our graduates would work as sports journalists in organizations such as the BBC or CNN. But we could not achieve the expected result. However, there are also certain successes - some of our graduates work in Eastern countries," the rector added.
Fuad Hajiyev believes that this issue raises a broader question:
"For example, what should be the specialization of a good journalist in the field of healthcare? Should he graduate from a medical university or a journalism faculty? The same question applies to sports journalism: is a good sports journalist formed from a former athlete or from someone with a journalism education? First, we need to find the answer to this question, and then the system will work correctly."
At the same time, the rector noted that there are no problems in other areas at the academy - especially in the fields of sports medicine and sports management.
Hajiyev also cited the "Physiotherapy" bachelor's program as an example of one of the international projects. The curator of the program is Roman Yagoda, executive director of the Austrian organization Complex Core+. According to him, among the teachers teaching this program are experts and professors invited from Europe.
"This is a very successful project. In the current academic year, we have 40 students in the program, and all of them scored higher than 450 during admission. Students who choose physiotherapy are already starting to work during their studies. Because there is a great demand for this field in the labor market. They operate in the academy's scientific research laboratory, the National Scientific and Practical Institute of Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation, and other institutions," the rector said.
Finally, Fuad Hajiyev added that the academy currently cooperates with approximately 50 universities. Currently, work is underway to implement a triple diploma program in physiotherapy together with Charles University and Azerbaijan Medical University.
