The two-year process was completed in 40 days – 2024-05-10 09:33:19

This story tells about the difficulties, hard work, successes, resistance and struggle of a village child on his career path. He was recognized on social networks and in the press as the first Azerbaijani sailor who won a “Fellowship” scholarship at the University of Texas, USA. In 2021, he was one of 32 people admitted to this university. The village and region where he was born and grew up at that time was proud of him. He worked day and night for two years and was forced to leave the achievement he achieved with great effort. But this was not the end for him. He starts fighting from scratch and continues his maritime studies at the World Maritime University in Sweden, where he was accepted on a full scholarship.

Publika.az informs that the interviewer of the “Example” section of “Kaspi” newspaper is sailor Emin Sadirov.

The first sailor in his family

He grew up in a simple peasant family in Khirmandali village of Bilasuvar region. His father was a hairdresser and his mother was a housewife. He received his secondary education at a village school in Bilasuvar. In 2009, he was admitted to the Azerbaijan State Maritime Academy, majoring in marine engineering and technology. Later, he continued his studies at the master’s degree in the specialty of the same name. He worked as an assistant teacher, chief laboratory technician at the Academy. He says that he is the first sailor in his family and relatives: “There was no seaman in my family. Actually, I didn’t expect to be a sailor either. Even when I found out I was accepted, I didn’t want to study. Because I was not familiar with the depth of this field. During my studies, I started exploring my specialty and found it very interesting. For example, you can travel to 175 countries of the world while practicing your profession. Because the Azerbaijan State Maritime Academy cooperates with countries that are members of the international maritime organization, and its diploma is recognized in 175 countries of the world. “I decided not only to become a sailor, but also to study this field abroad and train sailors.”

“I received a teaching offer from the Academy”

Studying at the university attracted the attention of the rector and he was offered a teaching position: “I was a disciplined student with high grades. Perhaps this caught the attention of the management. There was a vacancy in the university for marine engineering and technology. But this job offer was unexpected for me. I accepted the offer without hesitation. From that year, I was involved in classes both at the academy and at the Maritime College. The staff also supported me in my teaching activities.”

Scholarship admission to a highly competitive university

Emin interrupts his teaching activities to study in the United States. He is headed to the country to study for a PhD in Ocean Engineering at Texas A&M University: “I studied non-stop for two years to win this scholarship. Frankly, it was very difficult. My goal was to apply US education at the Azerbaijan State Naval Academy. To achieve my goal, I first got an IELTS certificate. I thought that this is the most difficult stage, it will get easier. As you say, the exams have just started. Since my admission period coincided with the pandemic, my exams were online. In total, I took written and oral exams on 42 subjects. Then I received an email about winning the Fellowship. In fact, this university was known as the stingiest university in the United States. It is very difficult to get a scholarship from them. Even the last three exams were taken by professors of Armenian origin, so I completely lost my hopes about admission, because I thought that they would cut me off on purpose. The strange thing is that Armenian professors gave the highest grades.”

“We joined NASA”

Emin even became a member of NASA with this scholarship. In our country, when we say shipping, we understand only the ships sailing in the sea. But in the United States there are two directions of shipping: the spaceship and the ship that conquers the seas. They directed me to the spaceship.” ”

Emin had reached his goal. He was the first Azerbaijani sailor to win the “Fellowship” scholarship, as well as became a member of NASA and was to undergo experience in the field of spaceships. However, he is forced to make a decision that was not in his plan. The US adventure, which will last two years, ends in 40 days: “Unfortunately, due to health problems, I had to interrupt my studies. The two-year process was over in 40 days. I remember at that time, about 12 thousand students applied for this scholarship. I was one of the 32 selected. There is such a proverb, you count what you count, see what the sky counts.”

“I was forced to return to my homeland”

On the advice of his parents, he comes to Baku and continues his treatment in Azerbaijan: “When I found out about my illness, I hid it from my family for three days. I saw that I was harming my health by hiding it and I definitely needed to get treatment. I had to tell my family. They told me that education is not more important than health. Come and get treatment in Azerbaijan, then continue your education. It is very difficult to live abroad, especially when you are sick. There is no price for the care your family members give you in your time of need. Even if you live far away from your family in your own country, our people are warm and always there to help you in every difficult moment. You don’t have this chance abroad, everywhere is foreign to you. I was forced to return to my homeland.”

“I can work as a sailor in any country”

Our interlocutor says that because he returned to the country, he faced pressures such as “he could not do it” and “he was kicked out of the university”. But negative thoughts strengthened him and he tried to reach his goal again: “I had frozen my studies in the USA, I could return and continue. But Azerbaijani professors advised me to study maritime law at the World Maritime University in Sweden. Because there are not enough staff or teaching staff to study abroad and teach in Azerbaijan in this specialty. This program also had many advantages. They gave a full scholarship and covered all expenses. The university even sent students studying for a master’s degree in law and politics to the United Nations International Maritime Organization, the Netherlands, Germany, the Philippines, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates for internships in international law courts. It was very good luck for me. I sent my documents, I was evaluated as a successful candidate in the initial process. I am studying with a full scholarship for a master’s degree in maritime law and policy at the World Maritime University in Malmö, Sweden, with an International Maritime Organization Korea scholarship. Currently, the university is one of the most highly rated universities providing maritime education. Its diploma is recognized by all countries of the world. That is, I can graduate from the university and work as a sailor in any country of the world with this diploma.”

“These students cannot teach maritime law”

As for the importance of the specialty studied, our interviewee emphasizes that the goal of maritime law and policy is to promote, protect and defend the status of shipping companies in the international arena: “Maritime law candidates and students who have graduated from other legal specialties cannot teach. I also intend to finish my education here and teach students in this field in my country. Every student who graduates from the Azerbaijan State Maritime Academy should know what rights they have in the international level of their qualification and field of work, what are their global contributions and how their rights are protected.”

“You should have people around you who believe in you”

Our interviewer says that when he won his first maritime scholarship, in addition to those who were happy and congratulated him on social networks, there were also those who said “he probably has a lot of money”: “I am a village boy who grew up in a simple family. People think that if someone is successful, it is because of someone. When I studied day and night for two years, my peers did not miss their fun. When he went to the United States, those same people said that he had people or money. These conversations come from the family. The family and the people around him psychologically instill in the child that everyone who succeeds has someone who will support him. We didn’t have that. Even if I failed the exam or got low marks, my family never discouraged me. Even when I failed, my family members used to say that don’t get discouraged, this time you lost, you will definitely win in your next attempt. There should be people around you who believe in you, not pull you down. If you want, you can. Nothing can stand before the will.”

“If I don’t find what I’m looking for in one place, I look elsewhere”

As for the secret of his success, our interlocutor emphasizes that his secret is not to give up until he gets what he wants: “If I got a “no” answer from somewhere, it doesn’t mean that everything is over for me. If I don’t find what I’m looking for in one place, I look elsewhere. Most importantly, I try again and again. For example, my budget was not enough to study abroad. I sent my documents to several universities. Some offered 50, 75 percent scholarships. But I needed a full scholarship to study. I tried, I got it.”