Irada Rovshan

Irada Rovshan Abdullayeva (Mamedova) was born on May 15, 1968, in Zagatala. She graduated from Azerbaijan Architecture and Construction University (1990), and was a member of the Union of Architects of Azerbaijan (2013). Rovshan completed secondary school No. 2 in Zagatala (Russian language sector) in 1975-1985. Studying in X grade, she was busy with training for the correspondence preparation course of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), the Institute of Engineering and Construction. She entered the University of Architecture and Construction and graduated there with honors in 1990 and received higher education after leaving secondary school. Rovshan began her professional career in 1991 in the Sheki Regional Scientific Center of ANAS. Until 1998, she worked as the laboratory assistant then as a junior researcher. She moved to St. Petersburg in 1998 and lived there until 2004. In 2004, she returned again to Sheki and continued working in the Sheki Regional Scientific Center of the previous place.

Rovshan earned recognition from colleagues at the Sheki Regional Research Center for her knowledge, abilities, and work. Based on their recommendation, she continued her research activities. The Scientific Council of the ANAS Institute of Architecture and Art later approved the dissertation topic “The Interior of the Sheki Houses,” taking her research work into consideration. Irada Rovshan has begun to investigate this theme with great interest and enthusiasm, at last successfully completing this challenging and exciting field of research. The members of the council commission appreciated her scientific innovation and the relevance of the research. Rovshan has defended the theme "The interior of the Sheki houses" and was awarded the title of Candidate of Architecture (architecture, Ph.D.) on 25 December 2007 by the Scientific Council of the University of Architecture and Construction. After receiving a degree, she began her leadership position; she was appointed scientific secretary in the SHRSC. From 2013 until the last days of her life she was the head of the “Folklore and Ethnography” laboratory. Roshan has published a book named "The interior of the Sheki houses (from eighteenth to early-twentieth century)" in 2008. At the same time, she published numerous scientific articles in the country as well as while working abroad.

Rovshan was not only interested in architecture; she also was interested in folk art and oral literature of Azerbaijan. Her ideas about national folklore attracted folklore experts.

All her published articles outside the borders of the country, and inside the country would be of interest to experts from time to time. Rovshan has also worked in the local Sheki municipality [az] press (newspapers) for a long time, published the scientific- publicistic articles, and gained a lot of readers.

• 1. "Residential interiors of Sheki (at the end of the eighteenth and early nineteenth century)," Baku: "Science", 2008.- 152 pp. (Book - Azerbaijani and Russian language)
• 2. “Collection and analysis of samples of Balakan-Sheki region's folklore and folk arts."