AZSET at a glan­ce

The AZCON School of Engi­nee­ring and Tech­no­lo­gy (AZSET) repres­ents a pio­nee­ring model for hig­her edu­ca­ti­on in Azer­bai­jan, com­bi­ning indus­try lea­der­ship, aca­de­mic excel­lence, and inter­na­tio­nal part­ner­ship within a sin­gle insti­tu­ti­on.

AZSET was crea­ted through the col­la­bo­ra­ti­on of AZCON Hol­ding and Azer­bai­jan Tech­ni­cal Uni­ver­si­ty (AzTU), with the aca­de­mic sup­port of TUM Inter­na­tio­nal GmbH (TUMint).

A new model for tech­no­lo­gy edu­ca­ti­on

AZSET starts with two Bache­lor of Sci­ence pro­grams (Com­pu­ter Sci­ence in Sep­tem­ber 2026 and later Com­pu­ter Engi­nee­ring), both taught enti­re­ly in Eng­lish and model­led on the qua­li­ty stan­dards of Tech­ni­cal Uni­ver­si­ty of Munich (TUM). This means that the pro­grams are desi­gned to pro­vi­de stu­dents with a strong aca­de­mic foun­da­ti­on while con­nec­ting their stu­dies with real-world tech­no­lo­gi­cal chal­lenges.

A defi­ning fea­ture of AZSET is the clo­se coope­ra­ti­on bet­ween aca­de­mia and indus­try and the focus on pro­mo­ting an entre­pre­neu­ri­al mind­set. AzTU pro­vi­des the local aca­de­mic struc­tu­re, while AZCON Hol­ding con­nects the pro­grams with an indus­tri­al eco­sys­tem that can offer prac­ti­cal expo­sure and future care­er oppor­tu­ni­ties.

TUMint con­tri­bu­tes the inter­na­tio­nal aca­de­mic dimen­si­on of the part­ner­ship, sup­port­ing cur­ri­cu­lum deve­lo­p­ment, facul­ty capa­bi­li­ties, assess­ment stan­dards and qua­li­ty struc­tures. The aim is not sim­ply to trans­fer an exis­ting stu­dy pro­gram, but to build a sus­tainable aca­de­mic model that can be deve­lo­ped and deli­ver­ed local­ly in Azer­bai­jan to prepa­re the talent that is nee­ded for the country’s tech­no­lo­gi­cal and eco­no­mic deve­lo­p­ment ambi­ti­ons. Aca­de­mic experts from TUM’s rich sci­en­ti­fic eco­sys­tem accom­pa­ny the new­ly crea­ted school and its facul­ty in estab­li­shing the capa­bi­li­ties and deli­ve­ring the edu­ca­tio­nal pro­grams in accordance with TUM qua­li­ty stan­dards.

From con­cept to class­room

Sin­ce the launch of AZSET, the part­ners work­ed inten­si­ve­ly to turn the visi­on into a func­tio­ning aca­de­mic insti­tu­ti­on. TUMint, TUM Fel­lows and AZSET facul­ty col­la­bo­ra­ted on the aca­de­mic pro­grams, stu­dent admis­si­on, and staf­fing, while capa­ci­ty-buil­ding acti­vi­ties in Munich and Baku hel­ped trans­la­te aca­de­mic stan­dards into ever­y­day tea­ching prac­ti­ce.

In Sep­tem­ber 2026, this pre­pa­ra­ti­on rea­ched its most important mile­stone so far: AZSET wel­co­med its first cohort of stu­dents who pas­sed the ent­ry exam and inter­views and began tea­ching its Bache­lor of Sci­ence in Com­pu­ter Sci­ence. The start of the semes­ter mark­ed the tran­si­ti­on from plan­ning and deve­lo­p­ment to imple­men­ta­ti­on — from an ambi­tious idea to stu­dents lear­ning in the class­room.

Buil­ding for the long term

The launch of the first cohort is only the begin­ning. With tea­ching now under­way, TUMint con­ti­nues to work with AZSET, AzTU, AZCON Hol­ding and TUM Fel­lows to sup­port the pro­gram, streng­then qua­li­ty assu­rance and fur­ther deve­lop the aca­de­mic model.

In the lon­ger term, AZSET aims to expand its aca­de­mic port­fo­lio and streng­then its role as a cen­ter for engi­nee­ring and tech­no­lo­gy edu­ca­ti­on in Azer­bai­jan. The broa­der ambi­ti­on is to deve­lop local aca­de­mic capa­ci­ty, con­nect hig­her edu­ca­ti­on more clo­se­ly with indus­try and inno­va­ti­on, and streng­then the country’s tech­no­lo­gi­cal talent pipe­line.

For TUMint, AZSET demons­tra­tes how inter­na­tio­nal uni­ver­si­ty col­la­bo­ra­ti­on can go bey­ond know­ledge trans­fer. By com­bi­ning glo­bal aca­de­mic exper­ti­se with local insti­tu­ti­ons and indus­try, the part­ner­ship is crea­ting edu­ca­tio­nal struc­tures desi­gned for sus­tainable, long-term impact.