President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended the opening of the first stage of the “SABAH.city” innovation campus, established at the High Technologies Park of the Ministry of Science and Education, in Baku on September 14.
elchi reports that Minister of Science and Education Emin Amrullayev briefed the head of state on the “SABAH.city” innovation campus.
It was noted that the project will be implemented on a total area of 20 hectares. The first stage covers more than 5 hectares of land and a total built-up area of 20,000 square meters. Construction work here began in October last year, and a complex consisting of 4 interconnected buildings has been constructed. The campus features 5 restaurants, a market, an event hall, as well as outdoor sports infrastructure – basketball and football courts, and 2 padel courts; outdoor recreation areas, pedestrian and bicycle lanes, and parking areas have been organized.
The campus is intended to involve more than 1,500 students from Baku State University, Azerbaijan Technical University, and Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University, who are studying in the fields of engineering, information technology, and applied sciences, in education and practical activities. With the campus becoming fully operational, the number of daily visitors is expected to be approximately 3,000.
The ASAN Artificial Intelligence Hub (ASAN AI Hub) has also been established here. Ulvi Mehdiyev, Chairman of the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, briefed President Ilham Aliyev on the ASAN Artificial Intelligence Hub, the “INNOLAND” Incubation and Acceleration Center, as well as the “Artificial Intelligence Assistant” project of “ASAN service”.
The ASAN Artificial Intelligence Hub was created to support innovative initiatives in the field of artificial intelligence in Azerbaijan, bring together researchers, government agencies, the private sector, and individual users on a single digital platform (www.asanhub.ai), and strengthen cooperation between government, business, and educational institutions by promoting an open innovation model. To date, a total of 50 artificial intelligence solutions have been presented. The ASAN Artificial Intelligence Hub has established cooperation ties with 8 universities operating in the country, the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, a number of prestigious foreign universities (Tsinghua University (China), Oxford University (United Kingdom), and Boğaziçi University (Turkey)), as well as other influential international partners.
To date, 150 startups have benefited from the “INNOLAND” Incubation and Acceleration Center of “ASAN service”, and 4 startups have been acquired by foreign investors.
The “Artificial Intelligence Assistant” platform creates the opportunity to obtain information about various areas of “ASAN service” in a fast, simple, and casual conversation format, as well as to analyze and forecast.
There are a total of 13 teaching and research laboratories in the “SABAH.city” innovation campus created by Baku State University, Azerbaijan Technical University, and Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University. The laboratories are intended to carry out research and applied activities in artificial intelligence, robotics, computer science, cybersecurity, biotechnology, nanobiology, nanophysics, chemistry, telecommunications, and other priority scientific and technological areas.
At the same time, there is a “coworking” zone (a shared workspace intended for people and companies to work) hosting 12 startups, and 22 office spaces for local and international technology companies, corporate research and development centers, as well as other participants of the innovation ecosystem.
In addition to 3 higher education institutions, 8 technology and innovation-oriented companies and 12 startups, totaling 23 main ecosystem participants, have been involved in the first stage of the project.
It should be noted that the main goal in the implementation of the project is to form an innovation environment that strengthens the interaction of the main participants of our country’s innovation, science, education, and high-tech ecosystem by bringing them together in a single space. As a complex innovation platform supporting the transformation of knowledge and technology into economic and social value, “SABAH.city” will play an important role and contribute to the further strengthening of human capital, applied science, technology transfer, and the competitiveness of Azerbaijan’s innovation ecosystem in the long term.