Alumni Abbas Abbasov, Ph.D. ’24, has recently joined the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) as a postdoctoral researcher with the Center for Education Research and Policy Studies (CERPS) in the College of Education. In this new role, he supports the project Research Academic–Work Integration in STEM Education, funded by the Board of Regents of the University of Texas System. The study examines how students’ academic and work experiences shape one another and how universities can design more inclusive structures that view employment as a source of learning and growth rather than an obstacle to success.
As a scholar-practitioner, Abbas approaches higher education through a comparative lens, exploring how systems and institutions can better serve diverse student populations. His research spans a wide range of topics, including college access, alumni giving, university–community engagement, and institutional preparedness. Across these areas, he focuses on the organizational and systemic conditions that enable, or limit,student opportunity and resilience, particularly in times of crisis and transformation.
Abbas completed both his Ph.D. in Comparative and International Education and his M.A. in Higher and Postsecondary Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. His doctoral research explored how universities in Hong Kong, Johannesburg, and New York responded to the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a comparative case study of seventeen institutions, he analyzed how leaders made decisions under pressure, navigated risk, and redefined the university’s role as a community anchor. His findings deepen understanding of how higher education systems adapt to global disruptions while maintaining their social mission. He is currently preparing two manuscripts based on this work.
Before joining UTEP, Abbas contributed to a variety of international research projects that reflect his commitment to connecting global insight with local relevance. He has examined branch campus initiatives in the post-Soviet region, educational philanthropy in Azerbaijan, and digital diplomacy in Australia, among other areas of inquiry. His article Higher Education regionalism in the former Soviet Union: a qualitative exploration of Russian university branch campuses was published in Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education. Originally from Azerbaijan, Abbas earned a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the Australian National University in Canberra. His academic and professional journey, spanning multiple continents and educational systems, continues to inform his vision for higher education that is more equitable, inclusive, and responsive to the realities of students’ lives.
Learn more about the Center for Education Research and Policy Studies at UTEP at https://www.utep.edu/education/cerps/.