BP yesterday presented eleven world class laboratories to the Baku-based Qafqaz University. This is part of BP’s commitment to supporting the development of the country’s national experts and workforce potential through training, partnerships and sponsorship of educational initiatives.The laboratories are designed for the university’s mechanical engineering department established by BP in 2011. The new facilities specialize in such areas as aerodynamics and fluid mechanics; thermal sciences and heat transfer; internal combustion engines and automotive; materials-metallographic; upgrade of materials; mechanical vibrations and noise control; mechanisms and machine dynamics; automatic control; design and rapid prototyping; machine tools; non-destructive testing.This follows BP’s five-year successful partnership with Qafqaz University which started by signing a memorandum of understandingin 2009. The partnership has so far included BP’s support for establishing a chemical engineering department in 2009 followed by opening in 2011,five world class laboratories for this department. In 2011 BPalso established amechanical engineering department at the university followed by presenting eleven laboratories today. Gordon Birrell, BP’s Regional President for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, said: “BP sees a need to support national capability development, in particular in the oil and gas related disciplines. We have been working closely with SOCAR and the Ministry of Education to support their efforts to develop world class local experts and workforce who will be involved in our future giant projects and operations in the Caspian. “We are pleased to have this opportunity to build a partnership with Qafqaz University which we believe has been very successful. This has allowed us to be involved in establishing new departments and providing access to world class laboratories and educational equipment. These laboratories are designed to help the students of the university receive international standard education within the country. We look forward to working together in the future to support development of the new generation of national engineers.”To date BP has invested over $2.5 million in the projects that have helped Qafqaz University establish two new departments and 16 laboratories including $1.3 million spent for the laboratories presented today.

In addition, BP has also committed to inviting students from the new departments to apply for BP’s existing internship programmes and take part in recruitment processes on equal basis with others; inviting BP experts to contribute to university’s engineering programmes through sharing their knowledge and experience in regular seminars and conferences; providing access to BP’s relevant laboratories to increase students’ exposure to the industry.

ANN.Az