Prof. Dr. Roida Rzayeva Oktay was born in 1979 in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. In 1996 she accomplished the high school with honor awards. In 2002 Rzayeva graduated from the Turkish Department of Oriental Studies Faculty in Baku State University with bachelor honors diploma. In 2002 she acquired master honors diploma from the same department. In 2004 Rzayeva had training in the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey in Azerbaijan. In 2007 Rzayeva defended her Ph.D. thesis on philosophical sciences (“The Socio-Cultural Analysis of Modernisation in Modern Turkey”) in Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences. In 2016 Rzayeva defended her D.Sc. thesis on philosophical sciences (“Postmodern and Analysis of Development’ Concepts of Turkish Public Consciousness”) in Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences. In 2013 she became an associate professor; in 2023 she became a professor.
From 2001 to 2010, she worked as a simultaneous interpreter in conferences and events at state and international levels. From 2002 to 2011 she worked at the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, in the Institute for Oriental Studies after academician Z.M.Bunyadov. From 2003 to 2004 and from 2007 to 2008, Rzayeva gave lectures at Turkish Department of Oriental Studies Faculty, Baku State University. From 2002 to 2005, she worked as a teacher and a head of Russian Department at FONO Institution of Open Education under the Ministry of Education, Republic of Turkey. From 2011 until 2017, Rzayeva worked as deputy director at the Institute of Philosophy and Law of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences. At present, she is the head of Department of Theory and History of Oriental Studies, Institute of Oriental Studies named after academician Z.M.Bunyadov, Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences. She has authored five books (The Challenges of Contemporaneity: Postmodernity and Multiculturalism, Springer, 2016), Postmodern and Multiculturalism: Interdisciplinary Discourse (in Russian, Baku, 2015), Rus ve Azerbaycan Kaynaklarında Türk Modernleşmesi (Ankara: Lotus, 2012), etc.), and authored over one hundred and sixty publications. She has 54 certificates. Rzayeva gave talks in many countries (South Korea, Great Britain, France, Italy, Greece, Denmark, Russia, Turkey, Cyprus, Lithuania, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, etc.). She has investigations on Turkish culture, literature, Mihri Khatun, Nedjati, Mevlâna, Yunus Emre, Ibn Sina, Al-Ghazali, and socio-cultural transformations in Turkey and non-Western societies. Currently her research and writing are devoted to different philosophical and political science issues, especially concerning fields such as philosophy of politics, philosophy of culture, philosophical antropology: referring to unveiling the concepts of development of public conscience, especially in the postmodern condition and under influence of contemporaneity tendencies, multiculturalism, and alternative modernities, globalization, gender, post-Soviet area issues as well.
Prof. Rzayeva was awarded with a diploma of the Ministry of Education of Azerbaijan Republic for the best report at the section of Oriental Studies (2002), the honorary diploma of Youth Intellectual Development Centre for distinguishing herself in pursue youth policy (2007), INTAS Grant (Marie Curie programme for young scientists) (2007), diploma and the award “Young Scientist of the Year” for her scientific achievements in 2007 (2008), the honorary diploma of Department of Social Studies, Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences on the occasion of 70-year-old anniversary of ANAS for long and fruitful scientific activity (2015). Rzayeva became a prize-winner of the international award in a nomination “Social Sciences” at the international competition of the young scientists of countries of the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) (2010). She has been officially thanked for organizational, pedagogical and research activity by the Ministry of National Education of the Republuc of Turkey (2003-2008), Ege University of the Republic of Turkey (2010), the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Azerbaijan (2011), the Ministry of Family and Social Policy of the Republic of Turkey (2013), Turkish Academy of Sciences (2014). Rzayeva is a foreign expert of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (2019 – Present), editorial Board member of İnternational culturological magazine “Simurg” (2018 – present), member of the Russian Philosophical Society (2014 – present), editorial Board member of American Journal of Educational Research, The International, peer reviewed journal (2013 – present), member of Asian Network for Mind Studies (South Korea) (2013 – present), etc.