Project GPSEducation – Presentation of an Italian student at the Faculty of Business Technologies

On February 23, 2026, Emilio Casiello, a student of the University of Foggia (Foggia, Italy), gave a presentation about the research conducted at the Faculty of Business Technologies of the Georgian Technical University and the University of Foggia. The event was attended by students, professors and representatives of the Department of International Relations of the Faculty.

Emilio Casiello is in Georgia within the framework of the Italian project – “Green and Pink for Sustainable Education – GPSEducation”. During his two-month visit to the Georgian Technical University, he carried out a research project – “BEYOND PROFIT: NEW ECONOMIC PARADIGMS AND RELATIONAL GOODS”. The student investigated the extent to which the principles of social and gender equality (PINK) are integrated into the academic environment and curricula of the Georgian State University of Technology. Emilio Casiello conducted an analysis of the future of sustainable viticulture, linking environmental and social sustainability frameworks with blockchain technologies.

Emilio Casiello is supervised by Professor Mariantonietta Fiore from Italy, and Professor Tinatin Iashvili from Georgia.

During his stay in Georgia, Emilio Casiello met with entrepreneur Baia Abuladze (“Baia’s Wine”) and Dr. Andrew Thornhill, a promoter of the Cardano blockchain technology. Based on interviews and field analysis, the student developed a comparative study between Italy and Georgia, which will address new directions for international cooperation in sustainable viticulture.

As Emilio noted during the presentation, the fruitful work was made possible by the support of the Dean of the Faculty, Rusudan Kutateladze, and the Deputy Dean, Giorgi Sulashvili. He expressed special gratitude to the co-supervisor, Professor Tina Iashvili, Professor Giorgi Baghaturia for methodological consultation, as well as representatives of the Department of International Relations.

The GPSEducation project includes student and professor mobility, double degree programs and specialization courses. More than 300 students and professors participate in it. Among them are 5 Georgian professors (2 of whom are representatives of GTU) and 5 students who spent 2 months at the University of Foggia with the funding of the project.

The project was created to strengthen international cooperation between Italian and foreign universities, to promote training and education on the topic of sustainable development. The project is funded within the framework of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, with the aim of promoting and implementing transnational educational initiatives (TNE).

With this project, the University of Foggia, as the lead partner, coordinates 9 Italian universities: the Polytechnic of Milan, the Universities of Messina, Basilicata, Calabria, San Giovanni, Ennio Cori, Tuschi, Verona and Modena and Reggio Emilia, as well as 41 foreign universities in Argentina, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Georgia, Morocco, Kenya, Palestine, Thailand and Vietnam.

The Technical University of Georgia has been cooperating with the University of Foggia for more than 10 years. During this time, a number of joint projects have been implemented. Georgian students have successfully benefited from the projects with Italian projects – MUSA and MOBIS. GTU students and staff successfully participate in the “Erasmus+” exchange program.

The University of Foggia is a multidisciplinary university and includes several departments, including economics, law, clinical and experimental medicine, agricultural, food and environmental sciences, etc. The Georgian Technical University and the University of Foggia continue their successful cooperation.