Founded in 2005, the Azerbaijan-UK Alumni Association brings together Azerbaijani professionals who have been to the UK under a range of study programmes and schemes. Members of the Association are Azerbaijani citizens who have participated in any programme managed or sponsored by British Council or the British Embassy in Azerbaijan in part or in whole, or who have completed professional studies in the UK funded from other sources. The aims that bind members together are to: • Maintain and advance UK-Azerbaijan relations, foster professional and social networking, information exchange, business cooperation and mutual support, create opportunities for wider social influence. • Establish contacts and networking with similar British alumni associations as well as other professional and social networks operating in Azerbaijan, in the region and globally. Supported by the British Council, British Embassy in Azerbaijan and BP, the alumni association is led by an executive board of five alumni volunteers elected for a one-year term by fellow alumni. The association boasts over 350 members, and it grew by 50 percent by the second year of its establishment. The AUKAA serves as a platform for its members to put forward and realize their ideas, and encourages member-driven initiatives. With members educated in wide range of academic disciplines, the alumni association holds the tremendous potential to catalyse the development of Azerbaijan.