Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan Adil Kerimli visited the Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts (ADMİU), where he discussed various issues with the teaching staff, students and artists teaching at the university, the press service of the department told Day.Az.
The minister noted that the university has rich traditions, its graduates have made an important contribution to the development of our culture. It was emphasized that under the leadership of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the country, as in all areas, pays special attention to the development of culture.
It was noted that the Ministry of Culture attaches great importance to personnel training, and there is close cooperation in this area with the Ministry of Science and Education. To achieve development in this direction, it is important to find out what the interests of young people are and their ideas about the chosen specialty. Although in our time we are witnessing innovations and the development of artificial intelligence, the cultural sphere depends solely on the human factor, talented, capable and qualified personnel.
The Ministry of Culture prioritizes the development of human resources in the field of culture and creative industries (MYS). The scholarship program announced for this purpose will support the study abroad of 20 students at undergraduate and graduate levels for the first time.
Speaking about the development of the film industry, the minister noted that last year, together with the Azerbaijan Cinema Agency (ARKA), a competition was held for film projects that would be produced under state orders. Thanks to this competition, more than 40 films have already been released. The ministry will also support the production of student films.
Rector of ADMİU, Honored Artist, Professor Jeyran Mahmudova noted that training is a very important issue; a cooperation agreement was signed between the educational institution and ARKA. As a result of this agreement, work began on 12 film projects. 6 of these projects have been filmed, and the remaining 6 are in the process of filming. One of the six projects, the film “Motivator” by ADMİU student Kamal Mushfig Ibadov, received a prize in the category “Best Documentary Film Director” at the international student film festival “Ascension”, organized by the All-Russian State University of Cinematography named after Sergei Gerasimov in Moscow. ADMIU was also awarded a diploma “For active participation in the festival.” Among the priorities are the publication of textbooks and teaching aids for the teaching and student staff of the university, increasing the interest of young people in the film industry, free entry of ADMİU students to theaters, training at the master’s level, new specialties, etc.
The Minister listened to proposals on topics and answered questions of interest. Speaking about the issue of publishing textbooks and teaching aids for teaching staff, the minister noted that the department annually purchases books from publishing houses in our country. Since last year, more and more scientific and popular science books have been purchased from publishing houses and distributed in the libraries of our republic. Commenting on the Ministry of Culture’s proposal for the placement of actors, the minister said that every year about 60 students graduate from the ADMİU Department of Theater Arts: “We should strive to place these graduates in appropriate theaters. In this process, it is also important to encourage private theaters,” he said.
Speaking about increasing the interest of young people in the field of cinema, Adil Karimli said that our country is taking steps to expand film production, and student films are also supported. One of the proposals made during the meeting concerned free entry to theaters for ADMİU students. The minister noted that some work is being done in this direction. As part of the TələbəPlus project, a cooperation agreement was signed between the Ministry of Culture and the Education Development Fund. According to the agreement, special discounts are expected to apply to students at theatres, museums and nature reserves. Speaking about master’s programs and new specialties, the minister noted that in recent years the regulatory and legal framework of education has been improved in our country, and significant work has been done to improve material and technical support.