KU receives contract to study feasibility of MBA program in Azerbaijan

LAWRENCE -- The Graduate School and Office of International Programs at the University of Kansas has won a contract to conduct a feasibility study on the establishment of an American-style master's of business administration program in Azerbaijan.

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency awarded the $271,670 grant Aug. 22 to the University of Construction of Architecture in Baku, Azerbaijan. KU will work as a contractor to the university in Baku, learning how financial and political factors in Azerbaijan could affect the proposed program.

The KU research team also will investigate the possibility of establishing an engineering management project. Diana Carlin, dean of the Graduate School and International Programs, is the principal investigator for KU. Other team members are Doug Houston, director of the MBA program; Carl Locke, professor and former dean of engineering; Paul D'Anieri, director of the Center for Russian and East European Studies; and Mehrangiz Najafizadeh, associate professor of sociology.

The project is scheduled to begin Nov. 1 and end by Sept. 1, 2004. U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback of Topeka asked KU to consider developing this type of program and suggested the Trade and Development Agency as a possible funding source. The KU Graduate School and International Programs worked with Brownback's office and the Trade and Development Agency to develop the grant proposal.

"It's becoming more common for U.S. universities to establish programs in developing countries," Carlin said. "We are pleased that Sen. Brownback brought this possibility to our attention. It's another example of the growing internationalization of the University of Kansas."

Houston said, "Should this feasibility study prove fruitful, the University of Kansas School of Business will be in a position to provide much needed business knowledge to a fragile area of the world, while facing both challenges and opportunities. In delivering an MBA program in Baku, innovative approaches to content delivery, perhaps including streaming video technology, will be necessary."

Azerbaijan has put the use of its enormous hydrocarbon reserves at the center of its economic development strategy. Several oil and gas contracts that require the use of local personnel have been awarded to major Western companies. As a result, there is a need to hire managers who understand Western styles of conducting business, but there are not enough people in Azerbaijan with the necessary education to fill these positions.

This project falls under the guidelines of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, an independent U.S. government agency that advances economic development and commercial interests in developing and middle-income countries. The agency funds various forms of technical assistance, feasibility studies, training, orientation visits and business workshops that support the development of a modern infrastructure and a fair and open trading environment.