The Minister of Education and Science of Georgia, Mikheil Chkhenkeli hosted the Ambassador of the Czech Republic, Petr Mikiska and discussed the possibilities of expanding cooperation with him in the field of higher education.

Mikheil Chkhenkeli thanked the ambassador for the cooperation in the field of education, which is actively implemented on the basis of the memorandum signed in 2017 and promotes contacts between educational, scientific and research institutions of the two countries, deepening cooperation in science, technology and innovation.

During the meeting, the parties discussed the possibilities of expanding exchange programs not only for students but also for the professors. The ambassador noted that in mid-July, the Czech government will announce a scholarship competition for master's and doctoral programs in areas such as construction, finance, agriculture, mathematics, statistics, information technology, environment and energy.

Mikheil Chkhenkeli noted that in order to integrate into the European scientific space, Georgia is actively preparing for the new EU program "Horizon Europe". According to the Minister, it is possible to submit and implement joint scientific projects with Czech scientific circles.

The Minister informed the guest about the main mega-project of the education system - Kutaisi International University and noted that the creation of a scientific research space of European standards in Georgia became possible as a result of the extremely important contribution of Mr. Bidzina Ivanishvili and his family.

According to Mikheil Chkhenkeli, the university had a very good start and despite the pandemic, in 2020 it received the first influx of students. According to him, the high standard of the university and the degree of internationalization are conditioned by the approach, which envisages the creation of academic programs in cooperation with the world's leading university in a specific field. In addition, lectures are given by foreigners along with Georgian professors. The university will open its doors to international students in the near future, including Czech students.

Furthermore, Mikheil Chkhenkeli noted that the development of science at Kutaisi International University is conditioned by the Hadron Therapy Center, where international scientific circles will be involved in the production of research in the field of oncology and proton therapy. According to the Minister, in case of interest, Czech scientists and research institutions will have the opportunity to participate in the collaboration at the institutional level. The research process will begin with the development of ultra-modern cyclotrons at the Hadron Therapy Center, which are manufactured and assembled by the world's leading manufacturer of cancer proton therapy equipment (IBA).