Within the framework of the ReINNOVA project, a presentation of student pilot projects was held at GTU
03-07-2024
At the Georgian Technical University, the final conference developed within the framework of the project – “Renovation Support Program for Stimulation and Improvement of Cooperation with Manufacturing Businesses in Engineering Education – ReINNOVA” - and presentations of student pilot projects were held.
The event was attended by representatives of the university administration and faculties, students, donors, and guests from partner organizations.
The conference was opened by Tea Murvanidze, Acting Head of the Department of International Relations of GTU, who informed the audience about the idea and strategic goals of the project. The conference participants were welcomed online by the professor of Keele University, the partner of the project, Colin Rigby, the director of entrepreneurship of the business school of the same university, who, at the same time, is an expert on the ReINNOVA project. He spoke about the importance of the project and the experience of Keele University in managing similar projects.
“The main essence of the project is to test the best British practices at the Georgian Technical University, to activate cooperation with businesses, and to stimulate the practice of cooperation with businesses using an innovative platform. Our goal is to institutionalize this methodology for sustainable purposes,” said Colin Rigby.
The conference continued with the presentations of pilot projects prepared by students considering the ReINNOVA concept. Pilot projects were developed with the cooperation of students, professors, and business organizations of the educational programs of the faculties of construction and transport systems and mechanical engineering of the Georgian Technical University.
As the Dean of the Faculty of Transport Systems and Mechanical Engineering of GTU, Associate Professor Boris Githolendia noted, within the framework of ReINNOVA, during the period of March-June of this year, under the mentorship of “innovation advisors”, six student teams worked on innovative solutions to the tasks set by business companies, and as a result, by the pilot educational programs, and in cooperation with six different business organizations, six different projects were prepared.
The project “Evaluation of the technical condition of drinking water reservoirs in Ambrolauri municipality” was created in collaboration with the civil engineering educational program of GTU and the company “Mshenebeli 80”, which was implemented by students Giorgi Shvangiradze and David Kavrelashvili under the guidance of the company’s representative Giorgi Turmanidze and mentor Nino Bakhtadze.
As the project mentor noted, within the project scope, the reinforced concrete structures carrying drinking water reservoirs were inspected, the damaged and out-of-order structures and zones were identified, and the corresponding conclusion will be prepared based on laboratory studies.
Within the educational program of the organization and management of the entrepreneurial business, the company “Autoban” participated in the preparation of a pilot project with the theme: “Problems of attracting human resources”, where the students Sophia Amaglobeli, Mariam Gugulashvili, and Nana Ninikashvili participated under the guidance of the mentor - Tamar Kamkhadze and the representative of the company Thea Morbedadze.
As Tamar Kamkhadze noted, the students visited the company on a working visit, conducted research in the form of a survey, and prepared appropriate recommendations.
Lasha Demetrashvili, a student of the educational program of construction, and the company “Progress Project” presented the project – “Constructive solution of buildings and structures, making a geological conclusion”.
The pilot project was carried out under the mentorship of Ana Tabatadze and the leadership of the company’s representative, Johnny Gigineishvili. The student was assigned to make a geological conclusion of the building from the structural point of view, as a frame-connected monolithic reinforced concrete system, to process the structural part, which included structural calculation with specific computer calculation programs.
The educational program of construction engineering and management and the company “Forsi” with the theme – “Preparation of construction project account analysis - a practical example” presented the cost estimate of a structurally complex multi-story hotel. Student Ketevan Todua, Mariam Vardiashvili, and company representative Aleksandre Tsakadze led the implementation of the project.
Students Lia Gotsiridze, Ana Odishelidze, and Gigi Pataridze participated in the implementation of the logistics educational program and the company “Lion Trans” pilot project – “Planning of logistic processes of the training course for car dealers”. They were mentored by Tamar Rukhadze and company representative Ketevan Gelashvili. The goal of the project is to plan a training course for car dealers and adapt it to an academic environment.
Within the framework of ReINNOVA, the sixth pilot project was implemented in cooperation with the transport educational program and the company “Greenway Georgia”. Students Avtandil Akhalkatsi, Gela Zhghenti, and Aleksandre Tskifurishvili worked on the topic – “Technical inspection of automobiles - research related to the problem of relevant human capital in the field” - under the mentorship of Valery Djadjanidze and the guidance of the company’s representative, Zakaria Gabetsadze.
As Boris Gitolendia said, the research and innovation support program of the Georgian Technical University - ReINNOVA is based on the unique British experience, and the goal is to promote the development of student’s practical skills and close cooperation with the business sector.
“The program is focused on representatives of the business sector who are thinking about developing a new product or service or are in the process of creating it. Business companies that are involved in the project, after renewing and signing the memorandum of cooperation with the university, will present a brief description of the real problem. Working on business cases and using internal university mechanisms, academic staff with relevant qualifications and experience will be selected. They will be involved in the project and, together with the relevant student teams of the pilot study program, will present their version of the real business project within 3 months. The main evaluation criterion is innovativeness and the possibility of practical application”, - noted the dean of the Faculty of Transport Systems and Mechanical Engineering.
The goal of the ReINNOVA project is to strengthen the ties between the Georgian Technical University and entrepreneurial business industries, to promote the high involvement of employers in the learning process, and to promote the training of competitive, qualified specialists in the labor market.
ReINNOVA envisages the strengthening of the project piloting and production practice training module in six educational programs of the transport systems and mechanical engineering and construction faculties of the Georgian Technical University, which is implemented through the development of the practical component in the training programs, training seminars, joint research activities, and other innovative mechanisms.
The grant project is implemented with the financing of the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia, the Competitive Innovation Fund of Georgia (CIF), and the financial support of the World Bank.
The project partner is Keele University (Great Britain). The ReINNOVA project is coordinated by the Technology and Grant Projects Office of the Georgian Technical University.
The event was attended by representatives of the university administration and faculties, students, donors, and guests from partner organizations.
The conference was opened by Tea Murvanidze, Acting Head of the Department of International Relations of GTU, who informed the audience about the idea and strategic goals of the project. The conference participants were welcomed online by the professor of Keele University, the partner of the project, Colin Rigby, the director of entrepreneurship of the business school of the same university, who, at the same time, is an expert on the ReINNOVA project. He spoke about the importance of the project and the experience of Keele University in managing similar projects.
“The main essence of the project is to test the best British practices at the Georgian Technical University, to activate cooperation with businesses, and to stimulate the practice of cooperation with businesses using an innovative platform. Our goal is to institutionalize this methodology for sustainable purposes,” said Colin Rigby.
The conference continued with the presentations of pilot projects prepared by students considering the ReINNOVA concept. Pilot projects were developed with the cooperation of students, professors, and business organizations of the educational programs of the faculties of construction and transport systems and mechanical engineering of the Georgian Technical University.
As the Dean of the Faculty of Transport Systems and Mechanical Engineering of GTU, Associate Professor Boris Githolendia noted, within the framework of ReINNOVA, during the period of March-June of this year, under the mentorship of “innovation advisors”, six student teams worked on innovative solutions to the tasks set by business companies, and as a result, by the pilot educational programs, and in cooperation with six different business organizations, six different projects were prepared.
The project “Evaluation of the technical condition of drinking water reservoirs in Ambrolauri municipality” was created in collaboration with the civil engineering educational program of GTU and the company “Mshenebeli 80”, which was implemented by students Giorgi Shvangiradze and David Kavrelashvili under the guidance of the company’s representative Giorgi Turmanidze and mentor Nino Bakhtadze.
As the project mentor noted, within the project scope, the reinforced concrete structures carrying drinking water reservoirs were inspected, the damaged and out-of-order structures and zones were identified, and the corresponding conclusion will be prepared based on laboratory studies.
Within the educational program of the organization and management of the entrepreneurial business, the company “Autoban” participated in the preparation of a pilot project with the theme: “Problems of attracting human resources”, where the students Sophia Amaglobeli, Mariam Gugulashvili, and Nana Ninikashvili participated under the guidance of the mentor - Tamar Kamkhadze and the representative of the company Thea Morbedadze.
As Tamar Kamkhadze noted, the students visited the company on a working visit, conducted research in the form of a survey, and prepared appropriate recommendations.
Lasha Demetrashvili, a student of the educational program of construction, and the company “Progress Project” presented the project – “Constructive solution of buildings and structures, making a geological conclusion”.
The pilot project was carried out under the mentorship of Ana Tabatadze and the leadership of the company’s representative, Johnny Gigineishvili. The student was assigned to make a geological conclusion of the building from the structural point of view, as a frame-connected monolithic reinforced concrete system, to process the structural part, which included structural calculation with specific computer calculation programs.
The educational program of construction engineering and management and the company “Forsi” with the theme – “Preparation of construction project account analysis - a practical example” presented the cost estimate of a structurally complex multi-story hotel. Student Ketevan Todua, Mariam Vardiashvili, and company representative Aleksandre Tsakadze led the implementation of the project.
Students Lia Gotsiridze, Ana Odishelidze, and Gigi Pataridze participated in the implementation of the logistics educational program and the company “Lion Trans” pilot project – “Planning of logistic processes of the training course for car dealers”. They were mentored by Tamar Rukhadze and company representative Ketevan Gelashvili. The goal of the project is to plan a training course for car dealers and adapt it to an academic environment.
Within the framework of ReINNOVA, the sixth pilot project was implemented in cooperation with the transport educational program and the company “Greenway Georgia”. Students Avtandil Akhalkatsi, Gela Zhghenti, and Aleksandre Tskifurishvili worked on the topic – “Technical inspection of automobiles - research related to the problem of relevant human capital in the field” - under the mentorship of Valery Djadjanidze and the guidance of the company’s representative, Zakaria Gabetsadze.
As Boris Gitolendia said, the research and innovation support program of the Georgian Technical University - ReINNOVA is based on the unique British experience, and the goal is to promote the development of student’s practical skills and close cooperation with the business sector.
“The program is focused on representatives of the business sector who are thinking about developing a new product or service or are in the process of creating it. Business companies that are involved in the project, after renewing and signing the memorandum of cooperation with the university, will present a brief description of the real problem. Working on business cases and using internal university mechanisms, academic staff with relevant qualifications and experience will be selected. They will be involved in the project and, together with the relevant student teams of the pilot study program, will present their version of the real business project within 3 months. The main evaluation criterion is innovativeness and the possibility of practical application”, - noted the dean of the Faculty of Transport Systems and Mechanical Engineering.
The goal of the ReINNOVA project is to strengthen the ties between the Georgian Technical University and entrepreneurial business industries, to promote the high involvement of employers in the learning process, and to promote the training of competitive, qualified specialists in the labor market.
ReINNOVA envisages the strengthening of the project piloting and production practice training module in six educational programs of the transport systems and mechanical engineering and construction faculties of the Georgian Technical University, which is implemented through the development of the practical component in the training programs, training seminars, joint research activities, and other innovative mechanisms.
The grant project is implemented with the financing of the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia, the Competitive Innovation Fund of Georgia (CIF), and the financial support of the World Bank.
The project partner is Keele University (Great Britain). The ReINNOVA project is coordinated by the Technology and Grant Projects Office of the Georgian Technical University.
