Baku hosts major STEAM festival promoting global knowledge exchange PHOTO

The International STEAM Azerbaijan Festival (SAF 2025) is taking place at the Baku Expo Centre, having begun on November 17, supported by the Ministry of Science and Education and the STEAM Azerbaijan project, bringing together local and international participants on a platform that promotes global knowledge exchange in STEAM education.

The opening ceremony gathered representatives of state institutions, members of parliament, university rectors, directors of scientific institutes of the National Academy of Sciences, representatives of international organisations, media leaders, education experts, prominent public figures and other guests, Caliber.Az reports.

Speaking at the ceremony, STEAM Azerbaijan project head Igrar Nazarov presented statistical indicators of the initiative’s activities, noting that STEAM Azerbaijan encompasses more than 300,000 students and over 400 schools. 

STEAM classes are currently taught in grades III–IX, and 21 STEAM centres operate across the country. Nazarov stressed that the festival is not only a competition but also an international platform that gives Azerbaijani youth the opportunity to engage in global knowledge exchange.

Minister of Science and Education Emin Amrullayev noted that STEAM education in Azerbaijan has seen significant growth over the past five years, with thousands of students joining the process, and that the expansion of innovative thinking within the education system further increases the festival’s importance.

Highlighting the core components of STEAM education, he said that compared with the early years, more than 50 times the number of educational resources, methodologies and systemic models are now being implemented. The minister emphasised that STEAM will become the leading content of Azerbaijani education in 2027–2030.

After the speeches, participating teams competing in the festival’s final stage were introduced, followed by a creative segment.

The festival features thousands of schoolchildren, students, mentors and experts from more than 20 countries across 18 categories covering robotics, artificial intelligence, renewable energy, unmanned and satellite technologies, art, innovative projects and engineering.

The International STEAM Azerbaijan 2025 Festival will run until November 19.

More than 1,400 participants have reached the final, including 202 representatives from 19 foreign states. In total, 22 countries, including Azerbaijan, are taking part. STEAM is an interdisciplinary education model integrating Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics.

By Jeyhun Aghazada