On March 14, 2019, UFAZ administration organized for company representatives the first visit of its new scientific laboratories, followed by a roundtable chaired by the Rector Mustafa Babanli.

UFAZ coordinator and Dean of the chemistry faculty of Strasbourg University, Professor Jean-Marc Planeix, moderated the visit and the roundtable attended by top Azerbaijani and international companies of the energy sector, including SOCAR, SOCAR AQS, SOCAR Polymer, Schlumberger, TOTAL and BP.

During the visit, the company representatives were introduced with the 6-floor scientific laboratories of UFAZ - the engineering design of which was produced by the engineers of Strasbourg University to ensure full compliance with French standards. 

The guests had thus the opportunity to see the hall of chemical engineering, the laboratories of organic and general chemistry, the IT lab (which will host soon the supercomputer of UFAZ) and finally the applied physics labs, where 2nd-year UFAZ students were having a Practical Work on the topic of waves and modulations.

The roundtable was held in the museum-conference room named after the world-famous Azerbaijani scientist, Professor Azad Mirzajanzada. The latter is considered to be one of the foremost scientists of Azerbaijan, especially among oil scientists. His knowledge extends far beyond science and technology. 

Following a general presentation of UFAZ and its new pedagogical approaches and methods, all the participants agreed on the necessity to strengthen links between the industry and the universities to better train and prepare students for the professional world and discussed together with the possibilities of future cooperation, especially through guest lectures and internships.

Indeed starting from March 2020, UFAZ last-year (L3) students will have to realize a 10 to 16 weeks internship in a company, linked to their specialty. These internships are mandatory in UFAZ curricula. They are designed to develop the professional skills of the students while giving them the possibility to apply their knowledge and skills on real-life challenges.