Academia Europaea Tbilisi Regional Knowledge Hub has summarized its 2019 activities. Academia Europaea Tbilisi Regional Knowledge Hub opened at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University in April 2019 aims at promoting the development of science and research in the Caucasus region. It is Academia Europaea’s first branch in non-EU member state; besides Georgia, it also covers five countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus.
Rector of TSU, George Sharvashidze, members of the Academic Council and representatives of academic community attended the event of Academia Europaea Tbilisi Regional Knowledge Hub on December 30.
Prof. David Prangishvili, Academic Director of AE Tbilisi Knowledge Hub, noted that educational activities represented the priority in 2019. “It involved a series of seminars, international conferences. We have established Distinguished Seminar Series for broad public and you know that really distinguished scientists have been invited. It is not a seminar for the sake of a seminar. We are holding seminars to help invited guests establish a new direction in Georgian science and act as mediators between Georgian science and European science,” Prof. Prangishvili said.
He also noted that three seminars were held in 2019 and the leading professor from the University of Jerusalem working on Eastern Christianity issues was invited to one of the seminars. It was his first visit to Georgia. Prangishvili said that the professor’s visit was very fruitful; Georgian scholars in religious studies got involved in international research area; they were invited to various conferences; it paved the way to the engagement of Georgian science into European research area,” Prangishvili said.
In 2020, Academia Europaea Tbilisi Regional Knowledge Hub plans to hold a series of international conferences and seminars with the participation of scientists from the region as well as European countries.
Academia Europaea Tbilisi Regional Knowledge Hub is the fifth member of the network of regional knowledge hubs following Spain, England, Norway and Poland. Rector of TSU, George Sharvashidze noted that creation of the regional hub is very important for Georgia. “A lot of projects we have discussed today need more attention, more engagement by our academic community. It is an excellent opportunity for our scientists to connect with international networks and gain European funding more easily than previously. This opportunity should definitely be used, especially as it is being discussed in the context of a big region,” Sharvashidze said. According to him, international conferences planned in 2020 are a good opportunity to attract the attention of academic community to the region and portray the uniqueness of the South Caucasus as a crossroad in the dialogue between civilizations and cultures.
