Dr. Rufat Azizov began his career in the oil and gas sector with BP (2005–2012) as an Integrity and Corrosion Engineer, responsible for the management inspection, corrosion control and chemical injection programs. He later held leadership roles in the steel manufacturing industry (2013–2020), overseeing large-scale operations and projects. Transitioning to education, he was appointed Director of the Institute of Education (2021), subsequently Rector of Sumgayit State University (2023) and Rector of Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University (2025). Dr. Azizov holds BS, MS, PhD degrees in Chemistry (Lomonosov MSU), Executive MBA from University of Oxford and MBA Maastricht/ADA.