Modern educational building for priority directions

The Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia will allocate more than 9 million GEL for the development of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Biosystems Engineering. This funding will be directed toward necessary infrastructure, equipment, and software development works.

Starting from the new academic year, the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Biosystems Engineering at the Georgian Technical University will continue its operations in a modern academic building equipped with the latest technology.

The educational institution will feature ultramodern laboratories. All laboratories and classrooms will be equipped with so-called “smart boards,” and the lecture halls will feature “SMART Response Clicker” voting systems. This innovative technology allows for maximum audience engagement during lectures, as well as student evaluation of the lecturer. Technologies of this kind do not yet exist in Georgia, neither within the scope of a single faculty nor even at the level of any individual university.

The academic building will also include a space for conducting scientific research, which will be accessible not only to students but also to young scientists.

Currently, the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the building are underway, taking into account all requirements stemming from the standards of a modern-day educational institution. Today, the Minister of Education and Science of Georgia, Tamar Sanikidze, and the Rector of the Georgian Technical University, Archil Prangishvili, inspected the ongoing renovation works.

The Georgian Technical University admitted students to the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Biosystems Engineering for the first time for the 2014-2015 academic year. The number of first-year undergraduate students reached 650. Master’s and doctoral programs have also been launched.

The faculty encompasses 8 educational programs: Animal Science, Agronomy, Soil and Water Resources Engineering, Agribusiness Management, Food Technology, Forestry, Agricultural Technologies, and Agroengineering. Of these, 7 programs are fully funded by the state.

Several of these educational programs had been operating at other faculties of the Technical University for many years. Following the establishment of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Biosystems Engineering, they were thematically consolidated under a single faculty, and the curricula were refined and adapted to modern standards.

The programs in Animal Science, Agronomy, and Water Resources Engineering are implemented within the framework of an agreement signed with Iowa State University (USA). The agreement provides for the implementation of programs existing at Iowa State University and the execution of a 2+2 curriculum, which will enable the issuance of a double degree. Within the framework of the agreement, the programs and textbooks used for teaching at Iowa State University have been translated, and first-year students are already studying using Iowa disciplines.

The refinement of other programs and the development of new ones are currently underway. Work on master’s degree programs is actively being pursued in coordination with leading universities in Western Europe (Spain, Italy, Slovakia, Poland) to develop joint English-language programs and introduce double degrees. Two additional doctoral programs are currently in the development phase and are scheduled to be completed this year.

Efforts are underway with several state and private structures to offer guaranteed job placements according to their specialties for top-performing graduates of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Biosystems Engineering.

The procurement and translation of a substantial volume of modern literature for the needs of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Biosystems Engineering began in 2014 and is also planned for 2015.

To enhance student motivation, negotiations are underway with several high-level Georgian and foreign professors operating abroad to deliver guest lectures.

The building of the Institute of Food Industry was selected as the location for the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Biosystems Engineering. The said institute will continue to exist integrated with the faculty, which allows for the optimal synthesis of the knowledge and experience existing within the institute. The Biotechnology Research Institute will also be integrated into the faculty, aiming to strengthen the scientific and practical potential of the disciplines of agricultural sciences, animal science, and food technology.