A new rule of funding student projects will be
enforced at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University starting 2017.
Upon initiative of Rector of TSU, Giorgi Sharvashidze, to ensure
transparency and parity, a special council will be set up consisting of
the representatives of non-governmental and international organizations.
The council will develop the criteria for funding student projects. “A
competent council will be set up starting January 2017, which will make
decisions on funding the projects submitted by various groups. This
process will be transparent, open; everyone, be it individual students
or student groups, will be able to participate,” Rector Sharvashidze
said.
He also said that the initiative is stemming from the opinion
concerning the issue of creating equal conditions for funding student
projects and events. The opinion was offered by students during the
meetings of the group working on the university’s strategic development
document. The document is available to the public and it is open for
discussion (
https://www.facebook.com/TSUganvitarebisstrategia/).
The Rector also made remarks about some requirements of the members of
Auditorium 115. He said: “I familiarized myself with these requirements.
All students have equal rights – I agree, of course; autonomy to the
university – I like this idea very much. As far as the form of its
implementation is concerned, it is a matter of taste. I do not like the
current form and first of all, I do not want it to hamper the learning
process. The level of autonomy will definitely increase; everyone is
ready for it, including legislators, the Parliament of Georgia; there is
high readiness, but the forms are different.” He said that the
university should have legal rights that will enable TSU and its
students to define the issue of the university’s arrangement. “I also
want to emphasize that there will be no privileged groups at the
university,” the Rector said.
Giorgi Sharvashidze also noted that the statement made by some members
of Auditorium 115 on the issue of student dormitory is not new. “The
problem of a dormitory does exist; we have already started to solve the
issues of toilets as well as catering; students will also have access to
Wi-Fi; moreover, an agreement has been reached under which students
will have free access to the ropeway moving from the dormitory to the
Maglivi Building of TSU. Of course, money and time is needed to settle
these problems. But what is most important, there is a will to settle
the persisting problems.”
Rector Sharvashidze said that TSU will become the leading
European-level research institution. TSU will cooperate with everyone to
improve the environment at the university, including in terms of
providing equal rights to everyone. The work on TSU’s strategic
development plan has been underway for already two months. Everyone has
access to the order on planned changes at the university; everyone can
get involved and make a contribution to its improvement. Apparent
directions of the projects on funding student events from 2017 are also
discussed in frames of the strategic development plan; these directions
are available in the attached document; you can express your opinion and
make changes to it.
