On July 13, Sumgayit State University hosted an extended online meeting of the Scientific Council on the results of the 2019-2020 academic year and tasks for the new academic year.

Opening the meeting, the rector of the university, professor Elkhan Huseynov noted that on July 12 the Armenian armed forces tried to attack with artillery in order to capture our positions in the direction of Tovuz on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border. Azerbaijani soldiers died in the battle, preventing the enemy from attacking.

The souls of our martyrs, who died for the territorial integrity and independence of our country, were honored with a minute of silence.

The rector stressed that our National Army responded to this provocation of the enemy with great courage, and the attack of the Armenian armed forces, which inflicted heavy losses, was resolutely repulsed. The rector added that the battles in the direction of Tovuz proved once again that Azerbaijan is not only fully ready for war, but also able to finish it in a short time with victory!

The rector also noted that along with the students of SSU, Turkish students studying at the university sent a letter. The letter emphasizes that “We are together with our dear Azerbaijan. The good day of our Azerbaijan is our joy, the bad day is our bad day. Our students also apply to volunteer for military service, and they are always with the head of state in this regard. Our young people support and express solidarity with our army, which is steadfastly defending our lands in the trenches and is always ready to fight for the restoration of our territorial integrity.

Then the rector, Professor Elkhan Huseynov, said that due to the foresight of President Ilham Aliyev in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, the immediate serious reaction to the events, the situation in the country was under control, the number of infected people decreased day by day.

As a continuation of the work done in our country, during the quarantine period, the entire staff of Sumgayit State University, as always, showed with their practical work that they are always with our esteemed President. The rector also noted that important steps have been taken in the field of education, as well as other preventive measures taken by the Operative Headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers to prevent the spread of the coronavirus epidemic in the country. Due to the current situation with coronavirus (COVID 19) infection, given the need to continue teaching online using modern technologies and innovative methods during the quarantine period, the university has been working on this issue since March, and technical issues have been resolved. He said that online classes were launched in March and all electronic materials were made available. It was also noted that the classes were held on time and in full in accordance with the schedule. In accordance with the instructions and recommendations of the Ministry of Education, the educational process at Sumgayit State University is based on the WhatsApp messaging system, Zoom online conference program and Microsoft Teams platform, and Moodle for offline education. The teaching process was organized using the system and WhatsApp. In general, emphasizing the high level of online education at Sumgayit State University, the rector said that taking into account the organization of the spring semester of the 2019-2020 academic year online, the exam session was organized in accordance with existing rules, transparency and objectivity in assessing students" knowledge, the examination session was held on the basis of existing normative documents, the examination headquarters was established at the university, each complaint received by this headquarters was promptly investigated and the necessary measures were taken. The entrance score for the exams at SSU was 49 points for everyone; the number of exam questions included in the ticket was reduced from 5 to 3. The minimum passing score of the exams was 17 points.

The rector spoke about the general results of the 2019-2020 academic year, the achievements and the final results of research work carried out at the university, the scientific activities of young researchers, doctoral students and dissertators, as well as the work carried out in scientific departments and reported that the results were satisfactory.

Faig Shirinov, director of the Teaching Methodological Center, and Sabir Khalilov, head of the Doctorate and Master"s Department, informed the members of the Scientific Council about the results of the examination session of the spring semester of 2019-2020 academic year. Director of Sumgayit State Technical College under SSU, Associate Professor Matanat Pirguliyeva informed about the organization of exams and said that the spring semester exams at the college were conducted in online format in accordance with the relevant instructions.

Vice-rector for Science and Innovations, Professor Ramazan Mammadov spoke about the scientific conferences planned for the first half of 2020. He noted that due to the coronavirus pandemic, it has become a tradition to hold online conferences, scientific seminars, classes and various events at the university. XX Republican scientific conference of masters, Republican scientific conference on "Ecology and protection of life activity: achievements, problems", Republican scientific conference on "Fundamental problems of mathematics and application of intellectual technologies in education", "Economic security: current situation and prospects" International Scientific Conference on "Information Systems and Technologies: Achievements and Prospects" was held in the format of a video conference with ZOOM program.

The reports were discussed and the submitted reports were considered satisfactory by the members of the Scientific Council. Relevant recommendations and instructions were given to the heads of structural units on the issues discussed.

At the end of his speech, the rector reminded of the important requirements and recommendations in the fight against COVID-19, and called on university staff to take an active part in awareness-raising in this area.

The Scientific Secretary, Professor Mukhtar Samadov, informed about the current issues (implementation of the decisions of the Scientific Council, granting the right to publish teaching aids, approval of the work plan of the Scientific Council for the 2020/2021 academic year). He noted that 326 decisions were made at the meetings of the Scientific Council during the academic year, the decisions were kept in the spotlight and implemented by all heads of structures, and then it was noted that the Scientific Council received 14 teaching and educational-methodical works, which were approved by the Editorial Board and were discussed at the meetings of the Teaching Methodological Council and submitted to the Scientific Council with a positive expert opinion. Following the discussions, the publication of teaching aids was allowed. Then the work plan of the Scientific Council for the 2020/2021 academic year was approved.

This concludes the extended online meeting of the Scientific Council.