World Telecommunication and Information Society Day widely celebrated in Azerbaijan

Every year May 17 is celebrated as World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) by the members of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

The celebration of this date is related to the establishment of the International Telegraph Union - present International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

Until 2005, this date was celebrated as the International Day of Telecommunication. In November 2006, the ITU adopted a decision to further celebrate May 17 as World Telecommunication and Information Society Day.

For many years, various events have been traditionally held on the international level in many countries around the world on May 17.

The main aim of the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day is to enhance the use of the Internet and information and communication technologies (ICTs) and promote awareness on the opportunities of information and communication technologies (ICTs), as well as ways to eliminate the “digital divide”.

The theme of the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day for 2018 is “Enabling the Positive Use of Artificial Intelligence for All”.

Houlin Zhao, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union, said in his video message that artificial intelligence today has a great impact on people’s lives.

The potential power of artificial intelligence is developed and used at high tempo. He said that artificial intelligence opens up new opportunities for us, also sets a number of great challenges before us.

According to the Secretary-General, the artificial intelligence will significantly change the economy and our society. “The objective of the International Telecommunication Union, which is a UN specialized ICT service and technology institution, is to facilitate the development of artificial intelligence and make it useful for all, with academic, scientific research organizations, administrations and governments, UN agencies, as well as other stakeholders and partners”, Houlin Zhao said.

Azerbaijan has been a member of the International Telecommunication Union, which is a UN specialized agency for information and communication technologies since 1992. All the requirements and recommendations set out in the cooperation with the organization are observed. The Telecommunication and Information Society Day is also widely celebrated in our country in this regard.

Thus, on the eve of this historic day, the students of the Azerbaijan State University of Oil and Industry were involved in the production practice at the Data Processing Center of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies. The students will undergo an internship within 3 months. At the initial stage, they were provided with opportunities to get acquainted with the activities of all the ministry’s departments. Then the students chose the institution they want to be practiced in accordance with their professions and wishes.

Thus, young people are able to put their theoretical knowledge learned in higher education institutions into practice. Thus far in 2018, nearly 80 students from universities and colleges have been trained at the Data Processing Center. During the internship, both teamwork and individual work were done with the students. Each student has been given assignments in accordance with his / her individual knowledge and skills. They were also assisted by specialists when needed.

As part of the series of events, informative training and startup competition were held for the pupils of the secondary school # 23 in Baku within the framework of the project “From Idea to Business” by the High Technologies Park of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies.

Within the framework of the training, schoolchildren were informed about the formation of startup teams, proper designing of a project presentation, ways of selling the project to investors, and market research.

At the same time, competition was held among schoolchildren with ideas. The first place was taken by Silver Technology, the second place - 23 School Corporation and third place – Algasoft. The winners were also awarded.

Furthermore, the Republican Olympiad on Informatics among higher school students was organized jointly by the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies, Heydar Aliyev Foundation, the Ministry of Education and the Institute of Information Technologies of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan.

Baku Engineering University took 1st place, ADA University - 2nd place, Baku State University - 3rd place, Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan took the 4th place. The Students of Baku Higher Oil School, Azerbaijan Technical University, Azerbaijan State Agrarian University, and Baku Branch of Moscow State University named after M. V. Lomonosov were awarded the Certificate of Excellence.

The winners will be presented the honorary certificates and diplomas of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies, as well as gifts from sponsors.