MaksudYusuf

MY

I'm a student at Landau School in Baku, where I study in English. Last year I was the elected school vice president and editor of the school newspaper — two jobs that taught me the same thing from different sides: leadership is mostly listening, and good writing is mostly rewriting.

I'm a self-taught developer, and I build for the city I live in: an app that teaches people how to recycle, a windcatcher that could cool a room without the grid, a lap timer that measures the fuel and CO₂ of every kart lap, a football app for girls and women in Azerbaijan. What interests me most is where technology meets philosophy and ecology — not only how to build something, but whether to, and for whom.

I'm applying to study cybersecurity. Goalkeeping taught me to read the play before the shot, position early, and stay calm when everything happens at once. Security asks for exactly the same instincts.

Away from screens and the pitch, I hold a music school diploma in guitar. Years of scales taught me the goal-line lesson again: mastery is unglamorous daily repetition — until one day it sounds like music.

• SchoolLandau School, Baku — English-language instruction
• LeadershipSchool Vice President (elected), 2025–26
• WritingEditor, school newspaper, 2025–26
• FootballGoalkeeper · BJK (Beşiktaş) Academy youth system from age 6
• MusicGuitar — music school diploma
• LanguagesAzerbaijani, Russian, English
• Applying forCybersecurity

What pulled me into security wasn't hacking scenes from movies — it was the realization that trust itself can be engineered. When you message a friend, pay online, or update your phone, you're trusting mathematics no one can cheat. Cryptography is where philosophy becomes engineering: questions about identity, proof and truth, answered in code.

My favorite example is the cryptographic hash, a fingerprint for information. It's the same mechanism that signs this page in the footer. Try it:

• Ongoing

  Member

  The Youth Collective

  An organizational anchor for the group's community and ecology-focused technology initiatives.

• 2025 – 26

  School Vice President

  Landau School

  Elected to student leadership, representing the student body.

• 2025 – 26

  Editor

  Landau School newspaper

• Jun – Jul 2025

  Mathematics intern

  Leznik & Co., Baku

  One-month mathematics internship, 17 June – 17 July 2025.

• 2025

  Software development intern

  GNI Software

  Contributed to building the Baku City Karting website.

• 2025

  Leadership Summit & volunteering

  A-Level Global Education USA

  Leadership lectures, and volunteering with children with special needs: organizing art-therapy sessions and learn-and-play activities.

• 2025

  Workshop organizer

  Azerbaijan Autism Association

  Recognized for organizing and running workshops for children with special needs, supporting inclusive learning.

• 2025

  Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix — Certificate of Appreciation

  Baku City Circuit / BCC Academy, for outstanding performance during the Qatar Airways Azerbaijan Grand Prix

• 2024

  Basic First Aid — IIRSM-approved

  G&I Training Academy, based on UK/European legislation and best practice

• 2023

  World Scholar's Cup, Baku Round — Silver, Team Debate

  Global Round qualifier (Junior Division), representing Landau School

• 2022

  Owlypia Global, London Round — 1st Place, Overall Best Team

  Team "Stone Ocean", OWLETS category (ages 12–14)

• 2022

  Copernicus Olympiad — Bronze Medal, Mathematics

  4th Copernicus Olympiad

Read the EcoCatcher case study →

• LanguagesTypeScript, JavaScript, Python, HTML/CSS
• Apps & webReact Native + Expo, Node.js + Express, WebGL, progressive web apps
• Data & infraSupabase (Postgres, row-level security, Edge Functions), GitHub Pages and Actions, custom domains
• AIGemini and Claude APIs, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG)
• Security habitsSecrets kept server-side, rate limiting, least-privilege database access, privacy by design

I've played football since I was six and trained in the BJK (Beşiktaş) Academy youth system from that age. I've kept goal for my school team, the Landau Lions, and tournaments abroad shaped my confidence and how I see the world.

A goalkeeper doesn't get to make mistakes quietly — every error is a goal, visible to everyone. You learn accountability fast. You learn to communicate, because you see the whole field and your defenders don't. And you learn that ninety minutes of concentration matter more than ninety seconds of brilliance.

A striker can miss ten chances and be a hero for scoring one. A goalkeeper — like a security engineer — has to be right every time.

Football is also why I built Verve, an app that teaches girls and women in Azerbaijan to play.

The fastest way to reach me is email. I'm happy to share my research, walk through any project, or send source code.