Students Met with Representatives of SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations

Students of the Georgian Technical University met with representatives from the Baku headquarters and the Georgian office of SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations (SMGO), an Azerbaijani state-owned company. During the meeting, the students learned about the company’s operations, received updates on internship programs, and learned about real prospects for future employment.

SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations (SMGO), affiliated with SOCAR, Azerbaijan’s largest state-owned company, is prepared to collaborate closely with Georgian Technical University. The objective is to involve engineering students and young researchers in internship programs at both the company’s headquarters and its Georgian office, with a view toward future employment opportunities.

Organized by the Career Development Division of the GTU Academic Process Management Service, the meeting brought together bachelor’s students from the faculties of Power Engineering, Mining Geology and Sustainable Mountain Development, Transport Systems and Mechanical Engineering, and Informatics and Control Systems with SMGO representatives, including ethnic Azerbaijani students and professors.

Associate Professor Nato Katamadze, Head of the University’s Career Development Division, and Professor Noe Khozrevanidze, Dean of the Faculty of Mining Geology and Sustainable Mountain Development, introduced the young participants to representatives of the Azerbaijani state company.

According to SMGO representatives, the company operates in regional and international markets, managing and overseeing onshore gas export pipelines, including the South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP), the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP). They discussed SMGO’s operations and recent developments and, on behalf of the company, offered various internship programs to interested students at the Georgian Technical University, with the prospect of future employment.

As Associate Professor Nato Katamadze, Head of the Career Development Division within the University’s Academic Process Management Service, noted, collaborating with a major company like SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations (SMGO) gives GTU students and young researchers a unique opportunity to gain extensive practical experience.

“Georgian Technical University is committed to providing students with high-level practical and career opportunities. Our partnership with SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations will enable engineering and technology students to apply their theoretical knowledge to real-world, large-scale, international projects. Participating in the management and oversight of export pipelines, both at the company’s headquarters and its representative office in Georgia, offers an excellent avenue for professional growth for our bachelor’s students and researchers. A particularly attractive aspect for these young people is that SMGO offers not only internships but also the prospect of future employment.

It is fundamental to Georgian Technical University that partner companies, including those in the regions, offer young people a real-world work environment with the prospect of future employment; this is a long-term investment in their career development. The company’s readiness to actively involve our students – including ethnic Azerbaijani youth in internship and future employment programs underscores the significance of this meeting, both in terms of education and regional development.”

 – Associate Professor Nato Katamadze

With support from the Career Development Unit under the Academic Process Management Service, university students first met with representatives of SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations last academic year. The second such meeting, held during the current academic year, took place at the Faculty of Mining Geology and Sustainable Development of Mountainous Regions at the Georgian Technical University.