The Baku Higher Oil School of SOCAR (BHOS) hosted the closing ceremony of ITACA project (Innovative training center to support a 3rd cycle advanced education course to face environmental emergency in Azerbaijan), Azernews reports.

The project was implemented within the framework of the Erasmus+ KA2: Capacity Building in Higher Education Program funded by the European Union.

Speaking at the opening of the event, Rector of Baku Higher Oil School Elmar Gasimov said that the project launched in 2019 has been realized at a high level. The Rector emphasized that the ITACA project is one of the most important educational projects implemented by Azerbaijan together with the European Union.

"Baku Higher Oil School, which hosts the ITACA Training and Research Center, is one of the main partners of the project. This center, equipped with the most advanced technologies, was established to remediate soil and water affected by oil and gas production in Azerbaijan and to manage wastes. As part of the project, 10 young specialists were engaged to conduct 40-week trainings on ‘Environmental Restoration and Sustainable Oil and Gas Production’. The trainings conducted by professors and lecturers from both local and European partner universities have nurtured scientifically oriented personnel who, using the opportunities provided by modern laboratories, will conduct productive research in the field of environmental pollution prevention.”

Deputy Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Azerbaijan Rauf Hajiyev emphasized that special importance is attached to environmental issues in the country and large-scale environmental projects are being implemented. The Minister noted that by taking an active part in conducting trainings, young specialists make an important contribution to solving environmental problems.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Greece to Azerbaijan Christo Kapodistria spoke about the advantages of the Erasmus+ program. He expressed confidence in the successful implementation of the project and noted that the project participants have gained valuable experience in the process.

Speaking at the event, Senior Advisor at the Ministry of Science and Education Vusala Gurbanova and Head of the National Erasmus+ Office Parviz Bagirov noted that as a result of the implementation of the project, the efficiency of the teaching process in higher education institutions has increased.

"The results of scientific and research activities have also improved dramatically, and the project participants have gained valuable experience."

Speaking at the ceremony, Chairman of the Executive Board of “Tamiz Shahar” JSC Etibar Abbasov congratulated the project partners and researchers and expressed confidence that the experience they gained from participation in the project will be useful in their future activities.

Project Coordinator, Prof. Luca Di Palma spoke about the work done in the project, the results achieved and future opportunities. He emphasized that the project was successfully implemented thanks to the constant support provided by partners and close cooperation between higher education institutions of the European Union and Azerbaijan in the field of innovation. Luca Di Palma also noted that the implementation of the project provided an opportunity for its participants to exchange useful experience.

The implementation of ITACA project is coordinated by the Sapienza University (Italy). Consortium members are Aalborg University (Denmark), University of Granada (Spain), University of Patras (Greece), the company Argus Umweltbiotechnologie GmbH (Germany), Baku Higher Oil School, Baku State University, Baku Engineering University, Azerbaijan University of Architecture and Construction, the company Azecolab, and “Sukanal” Scientific-Research and Design Institute.