Some experiences change the course of your career. Others shape who you are. My years between 2016 and 2019 at UFAZ — the French-Azerbaijani University — were both.
After defending my Ph.D. in 2015, I spent the 2015–2016 academic year teaching at various institutions in Toulouse, all while navigating the traditional path many new Ph.D. holders pursue: applying for an assistant professor (Maître de Conférences) position in France. I had applied to the University of Strasbourg, expecting the usual long wait for results.
Then came the unexpected.
In the summer of 2016, while I was in Paris, I received a phone call from Professor Pierre Collet, a respected figure at the University of Strasbourg. He told me about a bold and unconventional project: the creation of a French university in Baku, Azerbaijan. A joint initiative was discussed between the French president and the Azerbaijani president. And collaboration started between the University of Strasbourg and Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Science and Education, the goal was to launch an international campus offering French higher education programs taught in English.
At that point, nothing existed except an article on the website of the French Embassy in Baku. No campus. No faculty. No students. Just a vision.
After thoughtful reflection and a few phone calls, I made my decision. I returned to Toulouse, packed my belongings, gave up my apartment, and boarded a flight to Baku. I joined a small but determined founding team, Charlotte Payen, Latifa Nasibova, and my colleague Yannick Hinschberger, and together we set out to build a university.
Literally.
Our first classrooms were carved out of a corridor at the Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University (ASOIU). In September 2016, we welcomed the very first cohort of UFAZ students — proudly known today as #UFAZ2016.
Computer Science UFAZ first promo 2016
The following year, we received our first dedicated building, and with it, our second cohort. By the third academic year, in 2018–2019, a second building was inaugurated — now home to advanced laboratories, including a chemical lab and a high-performance computing center.
Throughout those formative years, I served as the Academic Program Advisor for every new cohort. Each year brought a new challenge: designing an innovative curriculum, coordinating visiting professors from France with local faculty, managing the complex academic schedule, and ensuring the smooth delivery of high-quality education.
Our shared mission was clear: to create a world-class learning experience that would empower Azerbaijani students with the best of French scientific education following the University of Strasbourg curriculum. We worked tirelessly to make that vision real, and I’m proud to say we succeeded.
I learned more in those three years than any academic training could ever teach me: how to lead, how to adapt, how to build bridges between cultures and systems, and how to build something meaningful from the ground up.
Today, although I’ve returned to France to build new curricula for professional master’s degrees and research in multimodal AI, I continue to teach at UFAZ each year as a visiting professor. I spend one to two weeks in Baku annually, proudly contributing to the growth of a new generation of computer science students.
But what I cherish the most from this journey is not just the buildings we inaugurated or the programs we launched. It’s the people, the students, the faculty, and the dreamers who believed in the improbable and made it possible.
Building UFAZ was more than a job. It was a life chapter for me, one I carry with me every day.
