TechConnect Week ’26 in Baku: AI Week Concludes — REPORT

More than 1,200 participants gathered in Baku at “TechConnect Week ’26”!

More than 1,200 participants attended “TechConnect Week ’26,” held in Baku from November 2 to 7. Throughout the week, artificial intelligence training sessions were held at 10 universities and lyceums, while a hackathon was organized at Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University (ASOIU) with support from Cursor Community. The week concluded with the “TechConnect 2026” forum, held at “Baku Events Hall” on November 7.

The initiative’s slogan was “Touch the Future.” The goal was to introduce students to new technology trends and teach them how to use artificial intelligence tools in practice. In addition, the organizers wanted to strengthen ties between universities and technology companies.

Training at schools and a hackathon at ASOIU

During the training sessions, which ran from November 2 to 6, university and school students worked on practical assignments after the theoretical portion. They had hands-on opportunities to see how artificial intelligence tools could be used both for everyday tasks and in professional activities.

Nearly 100 university and school students took part in the hackathon at ASOIU. The teams used artificial intelligence to develop solutions to real-world problems. One of the main areas was the automation of HR processes, so most of the projects presented focused on résumé analysis, optimizing the recruitment process, and managing candidate databases.

“TechConnect 2026”: five panels

Five panels were held at the forum on November 7. The discussions centered on artificial intelligence, data analytics, cybersecurity, programming, and the digital transformation of business. The speakers included representatives of government agencies, local and international companies, and startups.

The opening panel was titled “We No Longer Write the Rules of the Game: Artificial Intelligence Is Changing the Rules.” It was moderated by Aqşin Rəcəbov, founder of the “Parvaz” startup. The panel featured Aydan Aliyeva, chief operating officer of “GrantByte”; Aytəkin Aliyeva, founder of “Femigrants”; and Nicat Nəsirov, an analytics engineer at “Getsafe” in Germany.

The second panel covered how to ask artificial intelligence the right questions, the technology’s capabilities, and its responsible use. The discussion, moderated by Arzu Ağazamanova, featured Fərid İsmayılzadə, adviser to the head of “AzInTelecom”; Qismət Qurbanov, head of the ICT Department at the Ministry of Justice; artificial intelligence and data strategy consultant Kamran Ağayev; and “NeuroPuls” founder and AI mentor Aynur Fərəcova.

The third panel focused on artificial intelligence transformation in business. The discussion was moderated by Natiq Məmişov, an AI engineer at “Northwest.” The speakers were Enrike Nur, director of artificial intelligence technologies and data at “PASHA Financial Holding”; Emin Ələsgərov, information technology director at “Prodata”; Elxan Əlizadə, head of the MLOps and AI Engineering division at “Azercell”; and Kamil Ələsgərov, head and chief data scientist at “SimpleCo.”

The fourth panel discussed how artificial intelligence will change employment, business, and technology in the future. Emil Aydınsoy, data solutions architect at “Proxyfy,” served as moderator, joined by Nihat Abdullayev, head of the AI solutions division at “Azerconnect Group”; Nicat Zeynalov, division head and AI specialist at “Unibank”; and Üzeyir Süleymanov, co-founder of “AZAI TECH.”

The final panel was devoted to the application of artificial intelligence across various sectors, data-driven approaches, and the development of technology solutions. Moderated by Malik Məmmədli, an organizer of the Google Developer Groups community, the panel featured Həzrət Poladov, project manager at “Azərsilah” Holding; Tərlan Cəbiyev, head of the Data Science team at the Azerbaijan Land Transport Agency; Vaqif Abbasov, co-founder of “Keepface”; and Fariz Həsənli, senior engineer at “Unibank.”

Games, networking, and a concert

During breaks between the panels, Sənan Mahmudov organized games for participants, and the winners received gifts from “AzInTelecom.” The breaks were also a good opportunity for networking: participants could speak directly with experts and connect with representatives of various companies and communities.

In the evening, the forum continued with the “TechConnect Night” concert. AYNABAND and VUGARIXX took the stage.

“TechConnect” was first held in 2024. At the time, training sessions were held at four universities, the events drew more than 1,000 people, and more than 30 speakers from the US, Europe, Türkiye, and Azerbaijan took part. This year, the format was expanded: the university and lyceum program, hackathon, and main forum were combined into a weeklong program.

The event’s main sponsors were “AzInTelecom” and SİMA, while its main organizers were “Alas Academy” and “Yusifli Tech.” “Techzone.az” was the main media partner, and “Softwave” was the operations partner. The partners also included universities, technology communities, and companies.

More information: https://techconnect.az/