Baku 19° C
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Interview of Report News Agency with the Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan Mikayil Jabbarov
- Mr. Jabbarov, as reported, the Ministry of Science and Education and the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan are launching the project called "IT-Academy" ().Please tell us about the project and the purpose of its implementation.
-"IT-Academy" is a joint educational project of the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Science and Education for those who want to acquire a new profession in the field of information technology. The project is being implemented with the participation of the Algorithmika international programming school, which is present in 55 countries of the world, including Azerbaijan, and has been successfully implementing large educational programs in the IT field in partnership with the Ministry of Science and Education and universities of the country for 5 years.
We believe that quality education is the most important factor for increasing the country's opportunities in the digital economy. The digital economy, in turn, will form a solid foundation for the economic development of Azerbaijan. Therefore, the goal of the IT Academy is to train professionals in the field of information technology, promote the development of the country's IT market, and accelerate digitalization in the education system.
As part of the new project, students from scratch will quickly master the most demanded IT specialties in today's labor market: web development, testing, and system administration. We expect that in 2–3 years after the launch of the project, at least 3,000 citizens of the country will receive a profession in the field of IT and give a tangible impetus to the development of the digital economy.
We do our best to make learning as accessible as possible. Thus, students of the "IT-Academy" will cover only 10% of tuition fees.
- You have emphasized the potential of the digital economy. Please tell us how digitalization can contribute to the growth of the Azerbaijani economy.
- All over the world, digitalization is one of the key drivers of socio-economic development. The Azerbaijan Socio-Economic Development Strategy for 2022-2026, recently approved by President Ilham Aliyev, also highlights the importance of digitalization for our country.
Azerbaijan has sufficient potential to become an advanced IT state in the region and become a significant player in the IT market of the post-Soviet space, with the prospect of gradually entering European market.
The necessary steps will be taken to achieve these goals. However, without the required number of specialists, new IT companies will not emerge, while existing ones will continue to experience “staff shortages”. Also, without a sufficient number of companies and, accordingly, jobs, new specialists will not appear. We understand that a rapid growth in the number of qualified personnel is impossible without the participation of the state. Therefore, it was has been decided to start training in currently required IT skills for people interested in mastering a new profession and demonstrating interest in this area.
Azerbaijan has already taken significant steps towards building a digital economy, such as teaching digital skills in schools, transitioning to e-government, creating and modernizing the necessary IT infrastructure. However, we will see the results from the implementation of these steps in the long term, this must be understood. At the moment we have excellent staff, but not enough specialists to provide a qualitative leap for the country. To get an operational effect, you need a much larger number of IT specialists today.
- Mr. Jabbarov, The Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan is closely cooperating with the World Economic Forum in the field of digitalization. A branch of the network of centers of the Fourth Industrial Revolution has been launched in Azerbaijan. What is the purpose of this center, and what advantages will it give Azerbaijan?
- In April 2021, the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the World Economic Forum signed an agreement, and soon after, in February of this year, the first branch of the IV Industrial Revolution Centers network in the CIS was opened in Baku. One of its goals is to strengthen Azerbaijan's position in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It significantly changes the trends and rules of competition in the global economy.
The activity of the center accelerates the introduction of modern technologies and innovations. This cooperation opens up great opportunities for the evolution of the digital economy and the formation of an ecosystem based on advanced technologies in Azerbaijan.
As part of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Azerbaijan faces various challenges, one of which is the transition from a manufacturing economy to an information technology society. The country should focus not only on the extraction of raw materials and minerals, but also on their further processing and manufacturing of industrial products, the development of high-tech and information technologies. There is an urgent need for highly qualified personnel.
Cooperation with the World Economic Forum and the Fourth Industrial Revolution network is the successful continuation of activities in this area. C4IR is a huge contribution to the absorption and effective application of advanced technologies, ensuring that they serve citizens and the public interest, the development of the digital economy and the further improvement of the field of research and development.
- The initiators of the creation of "IT-Academy" are the Ministries of Science and Education and Economy of Azerbaijan. Typically, projects of this kind are carried out by the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport. What is the reason for the involvement of the Ministry of Economy in the implementation of the project?
-The training of highly qualified personnel in the field of IT and, in general, the development of this area is a voluminous work that requires a lot of time, significant financial expenditures, and it would be wrong to place all responsibility on one governmental institution. This is our common cause, since all government agencies need IT specialists. It should be emphasized that the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport has done a lot of work to train highly qualified IT specialists and continues to implement projects for the development of this industry in our country. The “IT-Academy” project, in turn, will make a significant contribution to this process and support the efforts of the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport.
The significance of digitalization is reflected in the "Strategy for the socio-economic development of Azerbaijan for 2022-2026". By implementing the “IT-Academy” project, the Ministry of Economy, along with the Ministry of Science and Education, contributes to the implementation of the “Strategy” approved by Mr. President.
This is not the only project aimed at the development of human capital and business in the country. An example is the computer academy "Step IT Academy", the Azerbaijani-Israeli training center for teaching information technology at the Azerbaijan State University of Oil and Industry, where training is carried out by specialists from Israel under the Israeli program. I am confident that joint efforts will bear fruit in the near future.
Along with this, the Ministry of Economy continues initiatives to stimulate startups. Thus, within the framework of the Baku ID Summer’22 festival, the Ministry of Economy allocated 25,000 AZN to each of the 18 projects for development.
-What steps will be taken in the future to provide graduates with jobs and, in general, to keep them in the country?
-I am sure that the IT Academy will give a significant impetus to the training of IT specialists in Azerbaijan. In the process of learning, students will gain unique professional experience and practical skills in solving real problems. Citizens who are interested in IT and want to develop in this area are given the opportunity to learn a new profession in a short period of time and in a convenient format. All IT-Academy courses have a career block, trainings and consultations as part of their program that will help graduates to find a job in this field. Thus, the development of the information technology market is stimulated, and the demand for IT specialists is satisfied.
