Kutaisi International University to be a Tech & Innovation Hub to Rival the Best of the West

KUTAISI, Georgia, Sept. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Speaking to global education experts ahead of the inauguration of its first ever intake of students, the Founder of Kutaisi International University (www.kiu.edu.ge) and former Prime Minister, Bidzina Ivanishvili, has set out an ambitious vision for the new €1bn institution.

Mr. Ivanishvili said: "The 21st century will be an era of unprecedented scientific and technological advancement. Kutaisi International University will be a world-leading educational resource to generate the human capital we need to compete and succeed, both regionally and internationally."

KIU will be Georgia's first post-independence university and the very first ultra-modern 'campus' style university in the Caucasus. It will provide a modern, residential education on a par with leading institutions in the US and Europe.

The university will accommodate 1,000 students in the first year, rising to 15,000 in 2024-25 and eventually 60,000 students as new buildings and facilities are added. An international recruitment programme is getting underway for the Fall of 2021.

KIU will have a clear focus on STEM subjects with course content developed in partnership with The Technical University of Munich, rated the Best University in Europe in 2020 by QS World University Rankings. A full range of science and humanities subjects will be added from Years 2&3, as well as state-of-the-art science and medical research centers in support of Masters, Doctoral, and Post-doctoral programmes.

The Research Centres will attract scientific expertise and investment from around the world. Europe's leading provider of proton therapy technology for the treatment of cancer, Ion Beam Applications, has already signed a contract to install a cyclotron (Georgia and the region's first) in the University's Medical Research Center.

KIU is seen as the next stage in Georgia's rapid economic and cultural development. The country has embarked on a pro-business, anti-corruption drive that has seen it emerge as the region's leading economy -- the "Most Free" in the region according to Freedom House, and 7th place globally in the World Bank's "Doing Business" rankings.

Speaking alongside Mr. Ivanishvili, Chancellor, Magda Magradze, commented: "KIU heralds a revolution not just in educational terms, but in our economic and cultural outlook as well. We see an opportunity to compete for international students in a way that would not have been feasible a few years ago."

An Inauguration Ceremony to welcome KIU's first students will take place in Kutaisi on 15 September.

SOURCE Kutaisi International University