OREANDA-NEWS. November 25, 2011. “Coca-Cola Bishkek Bottlers”  and American University of Central Asia (AUCA) are beginning a new partnership.  The partnership is a commitment by both institutions to look for opportunities for cooperation in all aspects of their operations.  Coca-Cola will provide internships and opportunities to visit its factory to AUCA students – Plant tours, and AUCA wil provide Coca-Cola workers with scolarship for completing MBA program. AUCA and Coca-Cola will also work on developing innovative contests and projects for students and faculty to engage with.

To celebrate the occasion, Coca-Cola Bishkek General Manager Ezel Agaoglu addressed AUCA students, faculty and staff, and signed an official partnership agreement with AUCA President Andrew Wachtel.  The agreement sets a new standard for university-corporation partnerships in the region, marking the first time a company based in Bishkek will invest in its employees by sending them to the AUCA MBA program starting in spring 2012.    

At a lunch with AUCA students, Mr. Agaoglu encouraged them to go out and get experience, even if it is at a small company that nobody has heard of.  He said size does not matter, and that experience can come from the most unexpected of places if students make themselves open to it. 

He also encouraged students to consider finance as a route to success, since this is the part of companies where the most important decisions get made.  Mr. Agaoglu himself climbed the Coca-Cola company ladder by starting in Turkmenistan as the director of finance, before coming to the Kyrgyz Republic, where he has been managing  the Company for last 6 years.

Coca-Cola Bishkek has previously been a sponsor of AUCA's Career Fair, and was also a sponsor of this year's AUCA Freshmen Initiation. AUCA anticipates that this agreement is only the beginning of what will become a beneficial partnership for both institutions, and looks forward to all forms of collaboration with Coca-Cola Bishkek Bottlers.