The 3rd Central Asian Nobel Festival "The future is today", which started on October 26, continues.

On the second day of the festival, a round table of rectors was held, Tehsil.biz reports. The Rectors' Center spoke about the competitiveness of universities in Asian countries, as well as how they take their place among the world's leading universities.

Rector of Azerbaijan Technical University (AzTU) Vilayat Valiyev asked at the festival "How should XXI century technical universities that support innovations prepare their future specialties?" spoke on the topic. The rector said that the missions of modern technical universities have changed significantly. Thus, research activities in universities should support innovation. Research must meet the demands of the labor market and be rapidly integrated into education. Vilayat Valiyev stressed the importance of forming a new vision of a network of competitive universities in the region. He said that curricula in universities should be adapted to modern challenges, and students should learn project-based teamwork based on the Conceive-Design-Implement-Operate (CDIO) approach. Relevant preparations have been made at AzTU to join the CDIO network of universities. In this regard, real steps are being taken to update programs, train specialists and implement projects on the basis of joint programs with leading universities in the region - especially universities in Turkey, Germany, Russia and Ukraine.

Rector also invited Central Asian universities to cooperate with AzTU. This cooperation can be both in the field of training and joint innovative projects.

It should be noted that Vilayat Valiyev is the rector of the only higher education institution representing Azerbaijan at the festival.

The program of the III Central Asian Nobel Festival "The Future is Today" in partnership with the Ministry of Education's "SABAH" group project includes 25 lectures, discussions and other events on green reality, education and future professions, the age of innovation and economics for people.

The platform will feature four Nobel Prize winners, two Leap Prize winners ("Oscars of Science"), as well as a number of world-class experts.