Largest aerospace festival Teknofest kicks off in Baku

By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

The largest Aerospace and Technology Festival Teknofest has kicked off in the Azerbaijani capital Baku, Azernews reports.

The festival will be held from May 26 to 29 on the territory of the Baku Seaside Boulevard and in Baku Crystal Hall.

The Teknofest Aerospace and Technology Festival has been held annually in Turkey since 2018 by the Ministry of Industry and Technology of Turkey, as well as the Turkish Technology Team Foundation (T3 Foundation).

In 2021, Azerbaijan participated in the Teknofest for the first time. Products and solutions from 10 startups and a local company were showcased during the festival's exhibition section in Azerbaijan's national pavilion and a local unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by the Defense Industry Ministry was unveiled. This year the festival is being held in Azerbaijan for the first time.

The main highlight of this festival is the organization of various competitions and contests for schoolchildren, students, startups, and entrepreneurs.

The event will feature air shows, demonstration flights by Azerbaijani Air Forces Su-25 attack aircraft, and MiG-29 multi-role fighter jets, as well as Turkish Stars F-5 fighter planes and Solo Turk F-16 aerobatic demonstration teams, Hurkush Fighter trainer aircraft, and ATAK helicopters.

Moreover, within the framework of the festival, over ten competitions will be held: Baku Skills, GreenTech, Socially-oriented technologies, Unmanned aerial vehicles, Sailplaner, AgriTech, CanSat, Robotics, Smart Karabakh hackathon, and European Esports championship.

Baku Skills competition aims to improve the participants’ skills in using 3D printing technology.

The GreenTech competition addresses topics such as the use of renewable energy sources, the promotion of new technologies, the improvement of existing technologies, the careful use of natural resources and technologies that will ensure their transfer to future generations, and the goal of zero-waste production.

The socially oriented technology competition aims to assist people in developing socially beneficial projects by combining technological knowledge and experience with a sense of social responsibility. The socially oriented technology competition involves the categories of Social Innovation, GovTech, Health, and First Aid.

The International UAV competition is organized in a number of countries to increase students' interest in aerospace, unmanned aerial vehicles and to develop fundamental flight knowledge and skills in this field. The tasks set in this competition create conditions for the application and development of theoretical and practical knowledge in engineering areas such as electronics, mechanics, and programming.

The Sailplaner competition is aimed at involving young people in aircraft modeling and the development of aircraft designing skills.

The AgriTech competition is open to projects that aim to increase productivity in horticulture and animal husbandry, as well as the efficient use of water resources, by utilizing technological solutions, such as the internet and artificial intelligence.

The tasks set by CanSat competition (Amateur Satellite Modeling competitions) are to attain conditions for the application and development of theoretical and practical knowledge in basic engineering critical design, programming, implementation and operation.

The Robotics competition is aimed at designing robots that can be useful to a person in everyday life, in space, or can do part of his work in production, simplify any daily routine, or even become an amusement.

The Smart Karabagh Hackathon offers a one-of-a-kind presentation opportunity for students, startups, and entrepreneurs interested in being directly involved in Karabakh's rehabilitation program and developing innovative projects based on the Smart City concept. Education, agriculture, transportation, households, energy consumption, water consumption, the environment, and security are among the topics covered by the hackathon.

Additionally, the best cyber athletes of Europe will try out their abilities at the Rocket League and Tekken 7 stage in Baku.

The contest winners will be announced on May 28, Azerbaijan's Independence Day, and will receive honorary diplomas as well as cash prizes.

Residents and visitors to the capital will be able to see and visit a spectacular show of pilot groups, grand finals of contests and competitions, a fair of the latest aviation equipment from Azerbaijan and Turkey, more than 2,000 square meters of exhibition space of leading and advanced technology companies from the two countries, and so on during the four-day festival.

The conduct of Teknofest outside of Turkey for the first time is another manifestation of the two countries' friendly, brotherly, and strategic alliance. The organization of this festival in Azerbaijan is also regarded as a significant step forward in technological development.