Mikheil Chkhenkeli, the candidate for the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia, addressed the joint committees of the Parliament and spoke about the importance of Kutaisi International University, a large-scale project in the field of higher education and science.

As Mikheil Chkhenkeli noted, in terms of internationalization, Kutaisi International University is of paramount importance. It is the first university campus-type higher education institution in the region to be developed by Western standards.

The university, which officially opened in October 2020 despite a pandemic, has already admitted its first students to three English-language undergraduate programs: Mathematics, Computer Science and Management. These programs were created in collaboration with one of the world's leading universities - the Technical University of Munich. 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. Significant results in this direction have already been achieved with several universities, including the University of Rennes and the Polytechnic University of Milan. In addition, work is underway on a Master of Cyber ​​Security program to be developed in partnership with US and Japanese partners.

Professors from the world's leading universities give lectures at the university together with Georgian professors. The internationalization of Kutaisi International University is conditioned by the members of the Advisory Board, who are well-known scientists from different countries. The honorary president,  Professor Wolfgang Hermann – is a world-renowned scientist, former president of the Technical University of Munich.

As the Minister stressed, Mr. Bidzina Ivanishvili is the author of the idea and the entire concept of the main mega-project - Kutaisi International University belongs to him, and without his and his family's extremely important contribution, a university of this rank and scale would not exist in Georgia.

"I would like to note with special pride that a Hadron Therapy Center will be established on the premises of Kutaisi International University, where modern research in medical and nuclear physics will be carried out along with the treatment of oncological diseases. The center will house two cyclotrons, which are currently being manufactured by one of the world's leading companies (IBA). This project is also funded by the Cartu Foundation. One cyclotron will be used to treat cancer with ultra-modern methods, which is especially important for children with cancer, whereas the second cyclotron will be used for scientific research process. These studies will be carried out by well-known foreign scientists together with Georgian scientists. I have personally met the world’s leading researchers in the field of oncology and proton therapy. They have already expressed their readiness to carry out a scientific-research process in Kutaisi together with Georgian scientists. Accordingly, Kutaisi International University and Hadron Therapy Center will become an academic and scientific center of world importance.

We would like to inform you that representatives of IDOM, one of the world's leading architectural bureaus, and IBA, a company that manufactures proton therapy equipment for cancer, are currently on a working visit to Georgia. They are implementing the Hadron Therapy Center project at Kutaisi International University. The construction and development of the center is being carried out according to the plan and meeting all imposed deadlines.”

Additionally according to Mikheil Chkhenkelii, an industrial advisory council is planned to be established at Kutaisi International University, which will include representatives of the world's leading companies and business associations.