The FINANCIAL — In 2009 Caucasus University (CU) sent 65 students to its partner universities throughout the world on the basis of dual and exchange programmes.
“CU is the first university, not just in Georgia, but in the whole of the South Caucasus educational sphere, to have sent such a large number of students abroad. From the 65 students 21 were sent to Georgia State University (Atlanta, Georgia), Chester University (UK) and Tallinn University of Technology (Estonia) for one or two academic years in the frame of dual degree joint programmes; the remaining 44 students taking part in exchange programmes with leading universities of the USA, UK, Turkey, Latvia, France, Lithuania, South Korea, Estonia, Austria, Germany, Japan, and Portugal,” Tinatin Gugberidze, Marketing and PR manager of CU, told The FINANCIAL.
Gugberidze underlined the advantages of the educational system which Georgians can presently get abroad. “The educational system abroad, and especially in western countries, is a very well structured unit, which is comprised of modules which are needed for the training of the best human resources. Especially when concerning education in the field of business administration,” she says.
“It’s very well known that business skills and business studies’ methodology were primarily introduced in the west, the United States is a particularly leading country in these terms, as the first School of Business was established at Harvard University. As we know economic and business literacy is crucial for a country’s development and prosperity, the future generation, trained and educated abroad will contribute its upgraded and up-to-date knowledge of the field for the further development of Georgia. Therefore the more students we send abroad, the more knowledge they will bring to our country, and this knowledge will serve their country, in terms of business climate amelioration, the growth of different sectors representing the integral parts of the economy, and the attraction of more investors,” Gugberidze says.
Caucasus University has both Dual Degree and Exchange Programmes available to its students. Caucasus University has a dual degree exchange programme for bachelor degrees with Georgia State University (USA), and Chester University (UK) for Caucasus School of Business, European Public Law organization (Greece), and Tallinn University of Technology (Estonia) for Caucasus School of Law, as well as the Dual MBA programme with Grenoble Graduate School of Business (France).
At the same time Caucasus University has a wide network of partner universities in almost all continents of the world.
Last week Mrs Sandra Roelofs Saakashivili, First Lady of Georgia, visited Robinson College of Business. A luncheon was given in her honour. Invited guests included 21 sponsored Georgian students from Caucasus University who are currently studying at Robinson College of Business.
“This is the largest number of sponsored students from any country,” Fenwick Huss, Dean of Robinson College of Business, says.
Two doctoral, one master, 14 dual BBA, and 5 exchange students were presented to the First Lady. The First Lady addressed the students in the Georgian language. She praised them for their scholarship and reminded them of the role they will play in building the economy of the former Soviet republic.
“We are very impressed by your achievements. You know how important it is for Georgia to have good managers. This is a key issue for Georgia,” Mrs Roelofs-Saakashivili, says.
Mrs. Roelofs-Saakashvili talked about her experiences as a professor of the French language at Caucasus University. She underlined the importance of US-educated managers for a country like Georgia. She expressed her hope that all of the Georgian students would have a deep impact on transforming Georgia’s economic landscape.
The First Lady was hosted by Bijan Fazlollahi, a professor in Georgia State’s Robinson College of Business and Director of Robinson’s Center for Business Development in Transitional Economies. Mr. Fazlollahi helped establish the Caucasus school more than a decade ago and since then has directed many programmes there. In 2004, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili named Dr. Fazlollahi an honorary citizen of Georgia.
Mr. Fazlollahi plans to attend the graduation ceremony in Tbilisi on Oct. 14 where he will award the first Ph.D. to Boris Lezhava. “The Ph.D. programme has extended the capacity of Caucasus School of Business from a teaching establishment to a teaching and research institution,” he says.
Written By Madona Gasanova
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