The Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia, Mikheil Chkhenkeli hosted the Ambassador of Germany, Hubert Knirsch and discussed prospects for the development of a world-class mega-project - Kutaisi International University.

The Minister thanked the Ambassador for the support of Kutaisi International University and for numerous important and fruitful projects implemented in the field of Georgian education in general.

Mikheil Chkhenkeli noted that German professors play an important role in the strategic development of Kutaisi International University, both in terms of administration and academic life. Notably, the Honorary President of the KIU is the world-renowned scientist, former President of the Technical University of Munich, Professor Wolfgang Hermann, whereas the Advisory Board is chaired by Sebastian Schmidt, Scientific Director of the Helmholtz Center (HZDR) in Dresden-Rosendorf. Additionally, the members of the Board comprise of: Prof. Bernd Neumeier, Prof. Johnny Shah, Prof. Hans Stroer, who holds a leading position at the Julich Research Center, etc.

The Minister once again emphasized that the author of the idea and the entire concept of Kutaisi International University belongs to  Mr. Bidzina Ivanishvili. A university of this rank and scale could not have existed in Georgia without his generous contribution. This is a great gift for young people, students, academia, and the whole country.

It should be noted that Kutaisi International University has been cooperating intensively with one of the leading technical universities in the world, Munich Technical University. In the coming years, the university will have new academic programs for all three levels of education, each of which will be based on the academic programs of the world's leading universities. This approach allows students to receive the highest level of education as their peers receive abroad.

For his part, Hubert Knirsch expressed readiness for future cooperation and noted that scientific achievements and teaching methodology are being shared between German and Georgian professors who are lecturing at Kutaisi International University.

At the meeting, Mikheil Chkhenkeli emphasized the expansion of scientific cooperation between Kutaisi International University and the Julich Research Center, in particular, the planned prepare joint scientific projects for Horizon Europe grant competitions from 2021.

Furthermore, it is known that a special attention is paid to the scientific research at Kutaisi International University. In the coming years, the Hadron Therapy Center will start functioning on the university premises. Currently, two cyclotrons are being manufactured and assembled by the world's leading manufacturer of cancer proton therapy equipment (IBA). One cyclotron is used to treat tumors with ultra-modern methods, which is especially important for children with cancer, whereas the second one will be used for scientific research purposes. The university is already cooperating with the German Cancer Research Center and plans to implement joint master's and doctoral programs in the future. As a result of science-oriented and international approach, Kutaisi International University will be established as a regional hub of education and science and will become an academic and scientific center of world importance.