The “Falling Walls Lab” international competition was organized at AzTU by the joint organization of Azerbaijan Technical University (AzTU) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). The event was realized with the joint support of DAAD lecturer Claudio Kasperl working at AzTU and AzTU employees. The main goal of the project, organized in about 60 countries, is to promote exceptional creative ideas and unite promising young scientists and students from all fields of science on a globally recognized platform. The competition participants are given the opportunity to present their research, business models or initiatives to their peers, a high-level jury and the general public.

Opening the final event of the “Falling Walls Lab” international competition in Azerbaijan with an introductory speech, AzTU Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs Professor Nurali Yusifbeyli welcomed the participants and informed them about the importance of the competition. He noted that such international competitions are opportunities for Azerbaijani researchers to reveal all their creative potential. He expressed his gratitude to the representatives of the German Academic Exchange Service and the German Embassy in Azerbaijan for this opportunity.

Claudio Kasperl said that this year, the “Falling Walls Lab” competition was announced open to individual researchers and students from Azerbaijan for the first time. A total of 80 project ideas were submitted to the competition, and online training on presentation skills (pitching) was first conducted for the participants whose candidacy was approved. 19 project authors, consisting of young researchers from AzTU, Azerbaijan State University of Economics, Baku Higher Oil School, Mingachevir State University, Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University, UFAZ, and the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, qualified for the final stage and presented their ideas for 3 minutes at the final event held at AzTU.

Then, Heiko Schwarz, Deputy Ambassador of Germany to Azerbaijan, Gebhard Reul, Head of the Regional Office of the German Academic Exchange Service in Tbilisi, and Nargis Wieck, Executive Director of the German-Azerbaijani Chamber of Commerce, made speeches and wished success to the participants of the competition.

The projects of the candidates who participated in the final stage of the competition were evaluated by a jury consisting of Azerbaijani higher education institutions, scientific research institutes and industrial enterprises. The evaluation was carried out based on criteria such as the originality, innovation and usefulness of the project idea to the field, the relevance of the project idea and its impact on the target audience, and the level of presentation of the project.

Zarifa Asadullayeva, a researcher representing the Baku Higher Oil School, was selected as the winner of the competition for Azerbaijan with her project “Breaking Walls of Unsustainable Construction”. The winning project involves the development of bioactive hydrogel capsules that increase the longevity of buildings, reduce their repair costs and reduce CO2 emissions by enabling concrete to self-heal. The winning participant will represent Azerbaijan with her project at the grand finale of the competition to be held in Berlin on November 6, 2025.