Science and Innovation Festival 2018

A solemn opening of Science and Innovation Festival was held at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (TSU) on September 22. Various entertaining and scientific activities were organized in the yard of the 1st Building of TSU.

TSU is hosting the Science and Innovation Festival as part of events marking the 100th anniversary of Tbilisi State University. The festival will last till October 2 and a number of scientific and cognitive events will be held, among them exhibitions, public lectures, conferences, trainings, workshops, open days, presentations of latest scientific publications and projects, etc.

Rector of TSU, Giorgi Sharvashidze, Parliamentary Chairman Irakli Kobakhidze, Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, Alexander Tevzadze, academia and invited guests attended the opening ceremony.

Rector Giorgi Sharvashidze noted that the festival is of regional importance, as foreign guests from various countries are participating in it. “Over 500 events are planned in frames of the Science and Innovation Festival. A lot of entertaining activities will be held today. We will hold the days of French, Italian and German science with the participation of over 200 foreign guests from our partner countries,” Rector Sharvashidze said.
Georgian Parliamentary Chairman, Irakli Kobakhidze said that it was important to involve the youth in science, research, innovations and technology as much as possible. “It is symbolic that the festival is being hosted by Tbilisi State University. Future does belong to science, innovations and technologies. The development of science, research and innovations is and will remain one of our top priorities,” Kobakhidze noted.

Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, Alexander Tevzadze said that besides Tbilisi, the Science and Innovation Festival will also be held in Batumi and Kutaisi.

Tsira Digmelashvili, one of the participants of the Science and Innovations Festival, presented her own project on the Vere River water monitoring. She said that the festival enables students to familiarize with the projects of each other and obtain information about various fields. “My project will permanently provide me with information on water level in the Vere River. In case of any danger, the alarm system will turn on and we will be able to inform the population on possible hazards. The project will later envisage water level monitoring in other rivers as well. The Science and Innovation Festival raises our motivation for developing more interesting projects,” she noted.

The festival guests will have an opportunity to participate in the days of German, Italian and French science; to view an interactive exhibition of the CERN Laboratory; to spend one day in the Grakliani archaeological expedition and get involved in scientific picnics in Batumi and Kutaisi.

A regional Academia Europaea hub will be opened at Tbilisi State University on October 1. TSU will host an international conference “EU4Innovation: Promoting Research-Industry Partnerships” of Eastern Partnership Panel on Research and Innovation organized by the European Commission and the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia.

Georgia’s state and private universities, research centers, Georgian National Academy of Sciences and Georgian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Georgian National Museum, San Diego State University, Millennium Challenge Account – Georgia, various private companies and foreign scientists are participating in the festival.

The Science and Innovation Festival is being held since 2015 upon initiative of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia.