Student Teams Prepared by GTU Won First and Second Place in the Millennium Innovation Competition

Student teams prepared by the Virtual Modeling and Construction Center of the Georgian Technical University – MARINEGUARD and STARFISH – won first and second place in the Millennium Innovation Competition, as well as, along with a significant victory, trips to the NASA Space Center (USA) Summer School and Stanford University (USA) iD Tech; In addition, another team prepared by the GTU Virtual Modeling and Construction Center – BEES, which is one of the finalists of this year’s Millennium Innovation Competition, was awarded the status of the selected team in the competition.

The leaders and mentors of the winning student teams in the Millennium Innovation Competition are Professor David Songulashvili of the Department of Engineering Physics of the Faculty of Informatics and Control Systems of the Georgian Technical University and doctoral students of the Engineering Physics Educational Program of the same faculty – Marekh Mazanashvili and Uta Kilasonia.

The winning and finalist projects were implemented with the direct support of the Virtual Modeling and Construction Center of the Georgian Technical University.

The first place and the main prize of the US Embassy in Georgia – a trip to the NASA Space Center Summer School – won the MARINEGUARD team, which includes students from the Kutaisi Georgian-American School Progress STEM Academy, St. Alexis Shushania Orthodox School-Gymnasium, Kutaisi Physics-Mathematics School No. 41 and the pupils of school “Shkhivi” – Zviad Pruidze, Luka Porchkhidze, Elene Kachibaia, Luka Tsotsoria, Ana Saldadze.

MARINEGUARD has created an innovative unmanned boat that monitors marine waters to detect spilled oil and automatically cleans contaminated areas with special filters.

The second place went to the team STARFISH, which includes students from the Batumi Georgian-American International School “Progress”, Batumi Physics and Mathematics Public School No. 6, and Batumi “Andria First-Called School” pupils – Giorgi Gobadze, Nika Abuladze, Aleksandre Jelia, Elisabed Gegeshidze, and Marta Todua.

STARFISH created a smart and eco-friendly fish farm. The second-place team, funded by the Georgian Innovation and Technology Agency (GITA), will participate in the Stanford University (USA) Technology Camp (iD Tech).

One of the finalist teams, BEES, prepared by the Georgian Technical University, has been selected by the National Intellectual Property Center of Georgia – Sakpatenti. The team members – students of the Georgian-American International School “Progress” in Tbilisi, the Georgian-American School “Progress STEM Academy” in Kutaisi, the St. Alexis Shushania Orthodox School-Gymnasium and the Vladimir Komarov Public School N199 in Tbilisi pupils – Sandro Chikovani, Lazare Chachua, Elene Lukhutashvili, Demetre Khachidze and Daji Kuchava – created a device for an innovative method of obtaining bee venom.

Rector of the Georgian Technical University, Academician David Gurgenidze congratulated the winning student teams in the Millennium Innovation Competition, the scientists and doctoral students of the Department of Engineering Physics of the Faculty of Informatics and Control Systems, and the University Center for Virtual Modeling and Design on another worthy victory.

As the rector states, student teams trained by the University Center for Virtual Modeling and Construction at the Department of Engineering Physics traditionally successfully participate in the Millennium Innovation Competition and win.

“We congratulate our talented young people – we can already boldly call them inventors on their first successful steps on the most difficult path of science. I am sure that their future interests have already been determined and this will undoubtedly be the field of science, technology, and innovation. We congratulate their mentors on the victory of the young people – Professor of the Department of Engineering Physics, Mr. David Songhulashvili, doctoral students Marekh Mazanashvili and Uta Kilasonia, who provided worthy mentorship to the student teams and paved the way for the first significant success. This next victory is undoubtedly an important event for the university because it is precisely through the creation of such projects and this way, that it is possible to create new, competitive engineering and technological solutions in our country. The development of innovations and technologies allows us to get closer to the modern world, and it contributes to the strengthening of a new generation of inventors, engineers, and innovators, which is one of the main priorities of the Government of Georgia, the Ministry of Education, Science and Youth, and the Georgian Technical University. It is commendable that young people set a goal, worked hard, and were able to implement innovative ideas, to which the Georgian Technical University and its scientists have made a great contribution. Congratulations once again, and we expect many more victories from you in the future,” noted Rector David Gurgenidze.

For your information, the Millennium Innovation Competition, funded by the United States Embassy in Georgia and supported by partner organizations, has been held since 2014 and aims to encourage STEM disciplines, innovative projects, and the creation of new technologies among high school students. The project aims to connect young people with successful scientists and the private sector, which will help them establish partnerships, and gain experience and knowledge in the future.