The first coordination meeting of the EU ERASMUS + Institutional Development Project “The Role of Universities in Regional Development” (RURD) was held at Kutaisi Akaki Tsereteli State University. The aim of the project, in cooperation with EU partners, is to increase the role of Georgia's regional higher education institutions in the development of the regions, to modernize their mission and strategic development plan, as well as to strengthen cooperation between universities and local authorities, taking into account the specifics of each region. The project involves: Georgian regional universities and 4 European partners - from Spain, Austria, the Czech Republic and Lithuania. The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Georgia and the National Center for Education Quality Development are also involved in the project. The mayor of Kutaisi  Giorgi Chighvaria took part in the meeting. 

“The role of higher education institutions is great in the development of the regions. In addition to the educational-academic processes taking place here, it is also important that universities contribute to the economic, social and cultural development of the region. To this end, there should be as close contacts and active cooperation as possible between local authorities and universities. Kutaisi city Municipality  already has this type of cooperation with higher education institutions of our city and is quite successful. "We have high hopes that in cooperation with the EU partners, the role of Georgian regional universities in the development of the region will increase and we will achieve more success together," - said Giorgi Chighvaria.