GTU Students to Undergo Internship at Azerbaijani Company SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations
03-12-2025
Students of the Georgian Technical University met with representatives of the Baku headquarters and the Georgian office of SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations (SMGO), an affiliate of Azerbaijan’s largest state-owned company, and shared information about the company’s activities, strategy, future plans, internship programs, and employment opportunities.
SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations expresses its readiness to closely cooperate with the Georgian Technical University and, at the first stage, to offer employment opportunities to talented and motivated students and graduates of the university’s engineering faculties, as well as young researchers, at the company’s headquarters and Georgian representative office.
Organized by the Career Development Department of the GTU Educational Process Management Service, the 2-day meeting with representatives of SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations was actively attended by bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral students from the university’s engineering departments - Energy, Mining Geology and Sustainable Mountain Development, Construction, Transport Systems and Mechanical Engineering, and Informatics and Control Systems, including ethnic Azerbaijani students, as well as the Dean of the Faculty of Power Engineering, Professor Ketevan Kutateladze and professors and teachers of the relevant faculties.
The Azerbaijani state-owned company SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations was introduced to the students by Dr. Zaza Buachidze, Head of the GTU Academic Process Management Service.
“Georgian Technical University is starting cooperation with SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations, which provides our students with unique opportunities to directly engage in the management processes of energy infrastructure of regional and international importance. With the direct support of the Government of Georgia, the Ministry of Education, Science and Youth, Georgian Technical University sees this new partnership as one of the most realistic ways for our students, graduates and young scientists to engage in solving modern engineering challenges and gain practical knowledge from international professionals in various fields. The fact that SMGO offers them not only internships, but also future employment prospects is particularly attractive for young people. It is of fundamental importance for Georgian Technical University that partner companies, including regional ones, offer young people a real working environment with the prospect of further employment, which is a long-term investment in the career development of young people. We are confident that SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations will offer them a high standard of cooperation. Also, we are sure that the partnership will deepen and become much larger in the future. Georgian Technical University is ready to provide training for the best engineering personnel who will successfully participate in large-scale energy projects in the South Caucasus region,” noted Zaza Buachidze.
SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations’ Baku and Tbilisi offices’ Human Resources Managers – Jamila Mursalova, Ayten Mammadova, Gunay Gulieva, and Nino Maisuradze introduced the youth to the mission, goals, and strategic directions of the company, founded in 2015 by the state-owned company SOCAR with the direct support of the President of Azerbaijan. According to them, SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations operates in the regional and international markets, and manages and supervises onshore gas export pipelines and facilities, including the largest engineering structures – the South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP), the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP); As SMGO representatives noted, the company’s desire is to work closely with all countries through whose territories transboundary pipelines pass, and above all, with such an important actor in the South Caucasus region as Georgia.
As they mentioned, SMGO develops career development programs and structures at a high level, creates working conditions in accordance with international practice, in order to benefit both the company and its employees. Representatives of the HR department of SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations, on behalf of the company, expressed their readiness to offer various internship programs with the prospect of future employment to interested students of the Georgian Technical University.
The managers of the engineering department of the Georgian office of the Azerbaijani company - Sergo Samkharadze, Giorgi Asanidze, Merab Salukvadze and Iase Sichinava - introduced the students to the company’s engineering, technical and technological innovations and focused on the innovative approaches that the company uses in the work process and gradually introduces in the form of new technologies; Among other things, they discussed the functions of the SCP commercial operator, the possibilities for commercial and technical expansion of the SCP system, the commercial, technical and operational activities of SCP, TANAP and TAP, and the reduction of complex operational risks.
The next day, representatives of SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations continued the meeting in the focus group format. GTU students, based on pre-registration, united in focus groups of the desired direction and worked on solving blitz tasks of the company representatives.
As the head of the Career Development Department of the University’s Educational Process Management Service, Associate Professor Nato Katamadze notes, the focus groups of various directions were purposefully created by the company in order to identify the most motivated and talented students, graduates, or researchers in the field by profession.
“The main responsibility of the Georgian Technical University is to create an environment for students and graduates that ensures their professional growth, career advancement, and real employment. Our task is to maximally combine theoretical knowledge with practical opportunities and prepare students for the requirements of the modern engineering market. That is why the partnership with SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations and regional and international players of a similar profile, which offers young people large-scale technological experience, is important. The more students are employed in regional and international companies, the more the reputation of our university and its graduates will grow both in the region and in the international employment market. Such cooperation is of great importance for strengthening the professional resources of our country. The university is committed to creating an opportunity for motivated young people to fully reveal their potential. The focus groups that we created together with SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations allow us to identify the best young people and provide them with real opportunities for career advancement,” says Nato Katamadze.
Representatives of the HR department of SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations will share the results of the focus group work with the Georgian Technical University’s Learning Process Management Service, and will accordingly invite the best candidates identified through the focus groups to internship programs.
SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations expresses its readiness to closely cooperate with the Georgian Technical University and, at the first stage, to offer employment opportunities to talented and motivated students and graduates of the university’s engineering faculties, as well as young researchers, at the company’s headquarters and Georgian representative office.
Organized by the Career Development Department of the GTU Educational Process Management Service, the 2-day meeting with representatives of SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations was actively attended by bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral students from the university’s engineering departments - Energy, Mining Geology and Sustainable Mountain Development, Construction, Transport Systems and Mechanical Engineering, and Informatics and Control Systems, including ethnic Azerbaijani students, as well as the Dean of the Faculty of Power Engineering, Professor Ketevan Kutateladze and professors and teachers of the relevant faculties.
The Azerbaijani state-owned company SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations was introduced to the students by Dr. Zaza Buachidze, Head of the GTU Academic Process Management Service.
“Georgian Technical University is starting cooperation with SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations, which provides our students with unique opportunities to directly engage in the management processes of energy infrastructure of regional and international importance. With the direct support of the Government of Georgia, the Ministry of Education, Science and Youth, Georgian Technical University sees this new partnership as one of the most realistic ways for our students, graduates and young scientists to engage in solving modern engineering challenges and gain practical knowledge from international professionals in various fields. The fact that SMGO offers them not only internships, but also future employment prospects is particularly attractive for young people. It is of fundamental importance for Georgian Technical University that partner companies, including regional ones, offer young people a real working environment with the prospect of further employment, which is a long-term investment in the career development of young people. We are confident that SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations will offer them a high standard of cooperation. Also, we are sure that the partnership will deepen and become much larger in the future. Georgian Technical University is ready to provide training for the best engineering personnel who will successfully participate in large-scale energy projects in the South Caucasus region,” noted Zaza Buachidze.
SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations’ Baku and Tbilisi offices’ Human Resources Managers – Jamila Mursalova, Ayten Mammadova, Gunay Gulieva, and Nino Maisuradze introduced the youth to the mission, goals, and strategic directions of the company, founded in 2015 by the state-owned company SOCAR with the direct support of the President of Azerbaijan. According to them, SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations operates in the regional and international markets, and manages and supervises onshore gas export pipelines and facilities, including the largest engineering structures – the South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP), the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP); As SMGO representatives noted, the company’s desire is to work closely with all countries through whose territories transboundary pipelines pass, and above all, with such an important actor in the South Caucasus region as Georgia.
As they mentioned, SMGO develops career development programs and structures at a high level, creates working conditions in accordance with international practice, in order to benefit both the company and its employees. Representatives of the HR department of SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations, on behalf of the company, expressed their readiness to offer various internship programs with the prospect of future employment to interested students of the Georgian Technical University.
The managers of the engineering department of the Georgian office of the Azerbaijani company - Sergo Samkharadze, Giorgi Asanidze, Merab Salukvadze and Iase Sichinava - introduced the students to the company’s engineering, technical and technological innovations and focused on the innovative approaches that the company uses in the work process and gradually introduces in the form of new technologies; Among other things, they discussed the functions of the SCP commercial operator, the possibilities for commercial and technical expansion of the SCP system, the commercial, technical and operational activities of SCP, TANAP and TAP, and the reduction of complex operational risks.
The next day, representatives of SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations continued the meeting in the focus group format. GTU students, based on pre-registration, united in focus groups of the desired direction and worked on solving blitz tasks of the company representatives.
As the head of the Career Development Department of the University’s Educational Process Management Service, Associate Professor Nato Katamadze notes, the focus groups of various directions were purposefully created by the company in order to identify the most motivated and talented students, graduates, or researchers in the field by profession.
“The main responsibility of the Georgian Technical University is to create an environment for students and graduates that ensures their professional growth, career advancement, and real employment. Our task is to maximally combine theoretical knowledge with practical opportunities and prepare students for the requirements of the modern engineering market. That is why the partnership with SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations and regional and international players of a similar profile, which offers young people large-scale technological experience, is important. The more students are employed in regional and international companies, the more the reputation of our university and its graduates will grow both in the region and in the international employment market. Such cooperation is of great importance for strengthening the professional resources of our country. The university is committed to creating an opportunity for motivated young people to fully reveal their potential. The focus groups that we created together with SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations allow us to identify the best young people and provide them with real opportunities for career advancement,” says Nato Katamadze.
Representatives of the HR department of SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations will share the results of the focus group work with the Georgian Technical University’s Learning Process Management Service, and will accordingly invite the best candidates identified through the focus groups to internship programs.
