President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the first lady Mehriban Aliyeva have attended the inauguration of the administrative building of E-Government Development Center under the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The head of state cut the ribbon symbolizing the opening of the administrative building.

The President`s Assistant for Work with Law Enforcement Bodies and Military Issues, department head Fuad Alasgarov and chairman of the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan (ASAN Service) Ulvi Mehdiyev informed President Ilham Aliyev and first lady Mehriban Aliyeva of the conditions created in the building.

The building will feature the INNOLAND Incubation and Acceleration Center as well as the IT Training and Education Center.

President Ilham Aliyev familiarized himself with the INNOLAND Incubation and Acceleration Center. INNOLAND is an incubation, acceleration and research center created to develop the private sector, promote innovation and expand the startup movement both in Azerbaijan and beyond its borders.

The IT Training and Education Center is a place where young people will be taught programming, information technologies, and coding skills.

President Ilham Aliyev and first lady Mehriban Aliyeva then viewed innovative projects here.

President Ilham Aliyev and first lady Mehriban Aliyeva were also informed of the new development concept of e-government.

The “Demo Day” event of the IV “TUSI” incubation program, implemented by the “Innovation Center” of the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, within the framework of the “Skills for the Future” project, has been held.

The objective is to strengthen human capital in the field of innovation and promote innovative activities in education. At the same time, creating conditions for the development of students’ innovative ideas and directing them toward invention and startup activities are among the key priorities.

The event was attended by Ulvi Mehdiyev, Chairman of the State Agency; Firudin Gurbanov, Deputy Minister of Science and Education; Orkhan Mammadov, Chairman of the Board of the Small and Medium Business Development Agency; Bakhtiyar Aslanbayli, Vice President for Communications and External Affairs for the Caspian Region at bp; as well as rectors of higher education institutions in the country.

Within the framework of the event, a Memorandum of Understanding on “Cooperation in the Formation and Development of an Innovation Environment in Universities” was signed between the State Agency and newly joined institutions — Azerbaijan Medical University, Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University, and the Academy of the State Customs Committee.

Afterwards, the guests ознакомились with the projects of the startup teams.

During the event, speeches by officials were delivered, and a video highlighting the work carried out within the project was presented.

Sixteen startup teams that successfully completed the IV “TUSI” incubation program presented their projects. Based on the jury’s evaluation, the top three projects were granted the opportunity to become residents of the INNOLAND Incubation and Acceleration Center. The first-place winner also earned the right to participate in the “Take Off Istanbul” startup summit.

Detailed information was provided about the upcoming V “TUSI” incubation program. Through intensive training covering 10 main topics and 34 sub-modules, the program offers participants extensive opportunities for building startups, systematically developing ideas, and integrating into the innovation ecosystem.

Since 2021, cooperation has been established with 15 higher education institutions within the framework of the project; more than 300 startup ideas have been submitted by over 3,000 students. With the support of more than 130 trained university mentors, 29 startup teams have been formed and have presented their projects at “Demo Day” events.

To date, four startups formed within the “Skills for the Future” project have attracted a total of 310,000 AZN in investment.

The opening ceremony of the SID project, implemented under the slogan “Your idea is supported” with the support of the INNOLAND Incubation and Acceleration Center, has been held.

The SID project not only promotes the development of creative initiatives but also contributes to optimizing operations at OBA, implementing innovative solutions, and overall diversifying Azerbaijan’s startup ecosystem.

The opening ceremony was attended by senior representatives of Veysəloğlu Group of Companies and the Director of the Innovation Center under the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Vusal Rustamov.

Speaking about the project, Vusal Rustamov stated that the Innovation Center is ready to share its resources in order to create an effective incubation environment for the 33 selected startups. He emphasized that this cooperation is a bright example of public-private partnership and highly appreciated OBA’s initiative.

It should be noted that a total of 183 teams applied for the project, and 33 of the most promising teams were selected for the next stage.

Within the framework of the project, a total prize fund of 10,000 AZN has been allocated.