Today Kutaisi International University was solemnly opened. The event was attended by the President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, the Prime Minister, Giorgi Gakharia, the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, Archil Talakvadze, and the Honorary President of KIU, Professor Wolfgang A. Herman.

The Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia, Mikheil Chkhenkeli addressed the audience and congratulated the students and the invited guests on the opening of Kutaisi International University.

Mikheil Chkhenkeli: “Today is a truly historic day! First of all, I would like to congratulate the students on this exceptional day. This morning was a very emotional moment when freshmen students took the oath at the university.

I would also like to congratulate the entire Georgia, and our society as a whole with this glorious day. Kutaisi International University is a truly European university of world standards. The author of the idea and the core concept in its entirety belongs to Mr. Bidzina Ivanishvili. A university of such rank and scale simply could not have existed without his extremely generous charity of €1 billion. This is a great gift for our youth, students, the Georgian academic community and the whole country. Once again, I’d like to express my sincere gratitude towards him and his family.

Kutaisi International University is a truly unique university. First of all, as you may know, the academic programs of Kutaisi International University are based on the programs of the Technical University of Munich. This means that students at this university will study the exact same programs as their peers at the world’s leading university. This is a guarantee that the graduates of Kutaisi International University will be extremely competitive on the international labour market. I would also like to point out that the concept of university development and the philosophy of the university are based on this very approach. New academic programs will emerge at the University in the coming years and each of them will be based on the programs of the world’s leading universities.

It should also be emphasized that the lectures at Kutaisi International University together with Georgian professors will be given by professors of the world's leading universities, both in the traditional format(i.e.in auditoriums) and online.

Additionally, I would particularly like to mention the scientific research side of this university, which will be very active and visibly presented to all faculties. The Hadron Therapy Centre will start functioning in the university in a few years’ time. Currently, one of the leading companies in the world, IBA, is manufacturing and assembling a cyclotron. This project is also funded by the Cartu Foundation. Cyclotrons are used to treat tumours with ultra-modern methods, which is especially important for children with cancer. I have personally met with the world's leading researchers in the field of oncology and proton therapy, and they have already expressed readiness and great enthusiasm to conduct a scientific research process with Georgian scientists here in Kutaisi. Accordingly, Kutaisi International University and Hadron Therapy Centre will become an academic and scientific centre of world importance.

Kutaisi International University already marked Georgia on the world academic and research stage. This is an extremely important step for an educated and successful Georgia."