OMM Redaksiyası
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended the opening on Sept. 14 of the first phase of the SABAH.city innovation campus established at the High Technologies Park of the Ministry of Science and Education in Baku.
Operative Information Center-OMM reports that Minister of Science and Education Emin Amrullayev briefed the head of state on the SABAH.city innovation campus.
It was reported that the project will cover a total area of 20 hectares. The first phase covers more than five hectares and includes 20,000 square meters of built-up space. Construction began in October last year, and a complex comprising four interconnected buildings has been built. The campus includes five restaurants, a market and an events hall, as well as outdoor sports facilities, including basketball and football courts and two padel courts. Outdoor recreation areas, pedestrian and cycling lanes, and parking spaces have also been created.
More than 1,500 students studying engineering, information technology and applied sciences at Baku State University, Azerbaijan Technical University and Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University are expected to participate in education and practical activities at the campus. Once fully operational, the campus is expected to receive approximately 3,000 visitors daily.
The ASAN Artificial Intelligence Center (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 Center, the INNOLAND Incubation and Acceleration Center, and the ASAN Service Artificial Intelligence Assistant project.
The ASAN Artificial Intelligence Center was established to support innovative initiatives in artificial intelligence in Azerbaijan, bring researchers, government agencies, the private sector and individual users together on a single digital platform (www.asanhub.ai), and strengthen cooperation between the 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 Center has established cooperation with eight universities operating in Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, several prominent foreign universities — Tsinghua University in China, the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom and Boğaziçi University in Türkiye — as well as other internationally recognized partners.
To date, 150 startups have benefited from ASAN Service’s INNOLAND Incubation and Acceleration Center, while four startups have been acquired by foreign investors.
The ASAN Service Artificial Intelligence Assistant platform enables users to obtain information about various areas of ASAN Service’s activities quickly, simply and in a conversational format, as well as to conduct analysis and make forecasts.
The SABAH.city innovation campus includes a total of 13 educational and research laboratories established by Baku State University, Azerbaijan Technical University and Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University. The laboratories are expected to conduct research and applied activities in artificial intelligence, robotics, computer science, cybersecurity, biotechnology, nanobiology, nanophysics, chemistry, telecommunications and other priority scientific and technological fields.
The campus also has a coworking zone hosting 12 startups — a shared workspace designed for individuals and companies — as well as 22 office spaces for local and international technology companies, corporate research and development centers, and other participants in the innovation ecosystem.
A total of 23 key ecosystem participants have been involved in the first phase of the project, including three higher education institutions, eight technology- and innovation-oriented companies and 12 startups.
The main objective of the project is to bring together the key participants of Azerbaijan’s innovation, science, education and high-technology ecosystem in a single location and create an innovation environment that strengthens their interaction. SABAH.city is designed as a comprehensive innovation platform supporting the transformation of knowledge and technology into economic and social value. In the long term, it is expected to contribute to strengthening human capital, applied science, technology transfer and the competitiveness of Azerbaijan’s innovation ecosystem.
