Gazakh Teachers' Seminary

The educational heritage of Azerbaijan is a source of national pride for all. Throughout history, Azerbaijani teachers and intelligentsia devoted themselves to serving the nation, educating society, and transforming innovative mindsets into a national treasure. Azerbaijani educators have always reflected succession, tradition, innovation, and reform in their lofty educational mission. Gazakh Teachers' Seminary, the heir of Gori Teachers' Seminary, is an embodiment of their services and endeavors.

The incredible journey of relocating the Azerbaijani branch of Gori Teachers’ Seminary to Gazakh, Azerbaijan, is a testimony to the unwavering determination of Firudin Bey Kocharli, the Azerbaijani enlightener and founder of Azerbaijan literary historiography, and his mission aide, his wife Ms. Badisaba (mainly recognized as “Badisaba ana” or “Mother Badisaba” due to her remarkable services).

The Gazakh Teachers' Seminary is a narrative of rebirth. Established in 1918, the Seminary operated as Gazakh Pedagogical Technical College from the 1920s until the 1940s. Throughout its existence, 3000 + educators were trained here until 1959. However, from 1959 till 2022, the Seminary stopped operating; the doors were closed and the classrooms were filled with melancholic darkness. Hundred years later, ADA University followed the footsteps of education devotees, with one mission in mind: give a second life to the Seminary, reopen its doors, light up the dark classrooms, and ignite the flame of enlightenment more fervently than ever before.

So, to one who asks about the age of the Seminary, ADA University proudly gives an answer: 1918 - ∞

Missionaries of education ignited the flame of enlightenment and worked tirelessly towards educating the sons and daughters of our nation. They served and successfully fulfilled their mission. Inspired by the services of its successor, ADA University embraced a noble pursuit, encouraged its philanthropist partners to forge a commitment to breathing a second life into this temple of enlightenment.

ADA University signed an Agreement of Intention with its philanthropist partners. The ADA University Foundation and its partners including the National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers) Organizations, NEQSOL Holding, Heydar Aliyev Foundation, PMD Group MMC and Azerbaijan Society of America came together to rebuild and renovate the Seminary. It was a testimony of the University-Industry partnership towards building a powerful intellectual force taking its roots from the Seminary.

ADA University gives another title to its Seminary mission—reviving the educational tradition and showing exemplary action in heritage protection.

For ADA University, tradition is a source of inspiration. This is how ADA University expresses gratitude to those who engraved their name forever in the history of Azerbaijani education. This is how ADA University took ownership of our inheritance in the modern educational age.

The ADA Gazakh Center, the heir of the Gazakh Teachers' Seminary, restores the tradition of cultivating pedagogues with true citizenship values and strengthens the regional teacher's capacity by empowering them with global teaching practice. The Center's main goals are:

• Achieving excellence in education in the regions by empowering teachers through knowledge and skills.
• Improving the teaching profession through helping to raise the bar of teaching, sharing best practice, and helping colleagues overcome any challenges they face in their schools/universities/vocational schools.
• Creating a network of new generation of teachers who will take ownership and responsibility in ensuring the success of their students and schools and creating the best models of excellence for that.
• Recognizing success stories and best practices of teachers in the regions through participation in professional development programs in ADA (Baku and DC Campus) annual awards, fellowship programs, teacher exchange programs, conference participation/presentation, publications.