The Standing Conference of Rectors of Higher Educational Institutions of Georgia Held Its 15th Session

The 15th session of the Standing Conference of Rectors of Higher Educational Institutions of Georgia, which was held online, was opened by the Chairman of the Standing Conference, Rector of the Georgian Technical University, Academician David Gurgenidze.

Rectors and representatives of 33 state and private universities accredited in Georgia attended the 15th session of the Standing Conference of Rectors.

The Chairman of the Standing Conference of Rectors, the Rector of the Georgian Technical University, introduced the issues included in the agenda to the members of the organization, after which the session moved to working mode.

According to the agenda, the members of the conference discussed the issue of electing the Head of the Secretariat of the Standing Conference and considered the candidacy of Konstantine Basilashvili, Advisor to the GTU Rector, for the position, and highly appreciated his past activities.

After the reconciliation of opinions, as a result of the vote, Konstantine Basilashvili was congratulated on his election to the position of Head of the Secretariat for a second term and wished him success.

The Chairman of the Standing Conference of Rectors brought up the issue from the agenda, considering the election of the organization’s Audit Commission consisting of three members.

The candidates for the members of the Audit Commission were: Rector of Telavi State University – Professor Shalva Chkadua, Rector of Shota Meskhia Zugdidi State University – Professor Teona Khupenia, and Rector of Georgian National University (GNU), Professor Gia Kavtelishvili. As a result of the vote, the Rectors’ Conference approved the Audit Commission with the above composition.

The third topic on the agenda was the issue of accepting the St. Tamar Queen Tamaruni University of the Georgian Patriarchate as an associate member of the Permanent Conference of Rectors of Higher Educational Institutions of Georgia.

The rector of Tamariuni, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor and Archimandrite Adam (Vakhtang Akhaladze), presented a report on the university activities. The rector of the Tbilisi Theological Academy and Seminary, Protopresbyter Giorgi Zviadadze, spoke about Tamariuni. By the unanimous decision of the members of the Standing Conference of Rectors, Tamariuni was granted the status of an associate member of the organization.

After discussing the main issues and making decisions, the Chairman of the Standing Conference of Rectors, GTU Rector Academician David Gurgenidze, with the members of the conference, discussed several current issues.

At the end of the session, David Gurgenidze made a brief report on the events that developed after the interrogation of the Rector and Chancellor of the Georgian Technical University by the Investigative Commission of the Parliament of Georgia.

For information, the Standing Conference of Rectors of Higher Education Institutions of Georgia, which shares the fundamental principles of the Great Charter of European Universities – “Magna Charta Universitatum”, was established in July 2019. This is a kind of platform where rectors of accredited higher education institutions in Georgia discuss the challenges in the higher education system and reconcile their positions.