On April 1 2019, the Rector of ASOIU Musfata Babanli and UFAZ management received a French delegation, Anne Lauvergeon, Founder and CEO of ALP SA consulting and service company, and Eric Ghebali, Director of the International development of the French company Suez - Industrial group, the global expert in the water and waste sectors.
After visiting the facilities of UFAZ main building, ASOIU Rector, Mustafa Babanli, gave to the guests a short introduction about the strong and historical relations between France and Azerbaijan in the field of higher education (1st Azerbaijani Doctor in Sciences graduated from Strasbourg University at the end of the 19th century).
He also discussed with the French guests' ways and means to strengthen cooperation with ASOIU and UFAZ, with a special focus on the importance of supporting the startup sector, by stimulating creative and innovative ideas amongst students. Indeed Anne Lauvergeon, is the member of numerous executive boards of international companies, and also very actively involved in the development of startup projects in France. She was as such appointed in 2013 by the President of the French republic, Head of the 2030 Innovation Commission. This organization fosters talent, through a Worldwide Innovation Challenge launched to identify and provide support for the growth of both French and foreign entrepreneurs whose innovation projects have significant implications for the French economy.
To conclude the Rector gave a short introduction about the UFAZ Fund created in 2017 (within the Foundation of Strasbourg University), thanks to which any investor/company may support financially and materially the scientific development of UFAZ.
Last but not least, Mrs. Lauvergeon, herself a highly diplomed scholar in the field of physical sciences, mentioned her active relations with the French Engineering School of Mines in Nantes and the network of Paris Sciences Lettres (PSL) - a rich array of prestigious schools and institutions of France based in Paris. She mentioned she would gladly support the future cooperation between those prestigious schools and ASOIU / UFAZ.
