On July 10, during the meeting held at Sokhumi State University, Prof. Zviad Gabisonia, General Director of Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation, was elected as a member of the Georgian Academy of Education Sciences. The rector of the university, Zurab Khonelidze, the president of the Georgian Academy of Education Sciences, spoke about Zviad Gabisonia's multi-faceted successful career in education and science and congratulated him on this honorary title and wished him future success.
The meeting was attended by various members of academia, university professors and faculty members. The meeting was opened by the Rector of Sokhumi State University - Zurab Khonelidze, who is also a president of the Academy of Education Sciences of Georgia.
During the conference at Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation, Gabisonia gave a speech regarding the ongoing reforms, spoke of the institutional, legal and infrastructural problems, reform priorities, targeted and applied research, as well as interdisciplinary, inter-institutional integrated studies and its utmost important. He noted that among the priority directions of the development of science, the special role must be assigned to Kartvelology or the study of Georgian heritage, more research must be conducted in this regard and the direction must be popularized. The Director of the Fund focused on the fact that within the first 30 years, with the support of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, one of the priorities will be to support research studies in occupied territories within the limits of program funding of Kartvelological Studies. He noted that the assessment system of scientific research presented on the competitions administered by the Rustaveli Foundation will be closer to high European, ERC and Horizon 2020 standards. Zviad Gabisonia answered many questions from the audience, in conjunction with getting acquainted with their opinions and business proposals regarding the science reform, and the overall activities of the foundation.