Elmir Guluyev ’23 M.S. came to Syracuse University’s Whitman School to increase his knowledge of business analytics, an area that has become a critical force across all business disciplines. When he graduates, Guluyev will not only enter one of the fastest growing areas of business, but he will also have earned a STEM-designation aimed at making Whitman graduate students the data-driven leaders and decision makers critical to today’s competitive professional world. 

This aspect was particularly attractive to Guluyev, who is from Azerbaijan, as the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) designation gives students who are in this country on F-1 visas the opportunity to extend their time in Optional Practice Training (OPT) from 12 to 36 months after graduation. This allows international graduate students more opportunity to gain work experience in the U.S., offering added value in the eyes of future employers.

Guluyev already has some practice with business analytics, as he has been working with his brother and a friend since 2020 to launch Freelance4az, the first website in his home country that will not only connect freelancers, employees and employers but also serve to promote the values of equity, fairness and community in the labor market, particularly for women. Even though his studies at Whitman keep him busy, Guluyev continues to contribute to the startup as its data analyst, using the new skills, tools and platforms he has learned to benefit the budding project.

A teaching assistant and a business analytics ambassador on campus, Guluyev is pleased that he chose to attend the Whitman School, noting how much he has already learned both in and outside of the classroom. 

“I was looking for a comprehensive, quality and affordable program, and I found that at the Whitman School,” says Guluyev, a graduate of Azerbaijan State University with a bachelor’s degree in international economics. “I’ve always studied hard, but, at Whitman, I’m working with the very best professors and leveraging my interest in business analytics across various disciplines. I’ve also learned to be organized, improve my multi-tasking and productivity skills — and, on top of that, not waste a single bit of my time.”

Having relocated from the other side of the globe to attend the Whitman School, he has also quickly learned some important life skills, as well. 

“This is my first time living alone, far, far away from my family,” he explains. “The experience has taught me to stand on my own feet, not to fail myself and to learn from my mistakes. My classmates, professors, advisors and friends at the Whitman School have all helped me feel welcome and supported.”

Fluent in four languages and currently mastering a fifth (Italian), Guluyev is optimistic that the world will be wide open to him when he graduates from the Whitman School next spring with a master’s degree in business analytics and a STEM-designation. Right now, he is open to all possibilities, whether that be working in the U.S. for an extended period of time, returning to his native country or taking his highly sought after skills almost anywhere if opportunity knocks. Whatever he chooses, Guluyev will look back on his choice to attend the Whitman School as one that solidly put him on a path to success.

By Caroline Reff