“ASAN Service” at the “Take Off Istanbul 2025” Startup Summit

On December 10–11, 2025, a delegation from the Innovation Center of the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan participated in the international “Take Off Istanbul 2025” startup summit held in Istanbul, Turkey.

At the event, where “ASAN Service” is a partner, Azerbaijan was represented with its national stand. The stand showcased the Innovation Center, ASAN AI Hub, resident startups of the INNOLAND Incubation and Acceleration Center, as well as promising local startups representing the innovation ecosystem, including Enverson AI, Convitsa, Polygraf AI, Speakday, IOMETE, Qmeter, Tryverse, and StarKidStories.

During the two-day summit, the Azerbaijan stand was visited by Selcuk Bayraktar, Technical Director of Baykar, İrem Bayraktar Aksakal, Director of the Take Off Girişim Summit, as well as investors and other key participants of the innovation ecosystem. The startups’ activities were closely reviewed, and potential collaboration opportunities were discussed.

On the second day of the event, Vusal Rustamov, Director of the Innovation Center, spoke at a panel discussion on “Regional Startup Ecosystem: Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Turkey” held within the framework of “Take Off Istanbul 2025.”

This year, the “Take Off Istanbul” summit brought together more than 500 startups from 40 countries, over 250 investors, 75 stakeholders, and 11 sponsoring organizations.

The summit is organized within the framework of TEKNOFEST, initiated by the T3 Foundation, the Ministry of Industry and Technology of the Republic of Turkey, and the Investment and Finance Office of the Presidential Administration. It functions as one of the region’s largest innovation and startup platforms, creating a favorable and barrier-free environment for innovation by bringing together entrepreneurs, mentors, venture capital representatives, and companies.

To enhance the knowledge and skills of the employees of the Lankaran Regional “ASAN Service” Center, a three-day training program was conducted by Nicat Amiraslanov, Head of the “INNOLAND” department of the Innovation Center, and Nofel Aliyev, Senior Public Relations Specialist of the center.

During the training, participants were provided with both theoretical and practical knowledge on the following topics:

• What is an idea and methods of idea generation

• The concept of startups and the first steps to create one

• Effective presentation skills

• Ways and benefits of using artificial intelligence tools

The training was organized with an interactive approach. Participants worked in groups, engaged in teamwork, completed tasks based on real-life scenarios, and reinforced their learning through interactive games.

At the Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University (ASPU), a series of educational sessions were organized by the "INNOLAND" Incubation and Acceleration Center in collaboration with the ADPU ENACTUS team to familiarize students with modern educational approaches and foster their innovative thinking.

During these sessions, renowned experts shared detailed insights on the application of new methods and tools in the teaching process, the role of project-based and game-based learning in education, as well as the prospects of using digital platforms.

On May 16, the session titled "Online Education Platform" featured an opening speech by Professor Asaf Zamanov, Vice-Rector for Science and Innovation at ASPU. During the session, Könül Guliyeva, founder of the "Safavy" platform, delivered a presentation on the development dynamics and application opportunities of online education.

On May 19, the session "Future of Education: Transition to Project-Based Learning" was held, where Nariman Garayev, founder of the "Taskool" platform, discussed the essence and effectiveness of project-based education through practical examples. The session was opened by Shahin Mammadli, Head of the ADPU ENACTUS team, and the presentation part was conducted by Aytac Abbasova.

On May 20, the session titled "Ways of Using Interactive Games in Schools" was opened by the team’s coordinator Zenfira Seyidova. Aynur Huseynova, a teacher at the "Bilim Baku" center, shared practical recommendations on applying game methodologies in teaching and increasing student motivation.

The sessions attracted great interest from students, and all three events were held in an interactive format with discussions and Q&A sessions.