Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University is a major scientific-educational complex. 57 scientific-research laboratories, 9 republican research centres, 5 educational bases (in different regions of Georgia), physical and mathematical boarding-school, University school, scientific library, 7 museums, publishing house, printing-press, art and cultural centre function at the University. Over 30 000 students are enrolled and the total number of collaborators is approximately 5000.

Tbilisi University was founded 80 years ago in 1918, being the first University in the Caucasus, the inspirer and founder of which was Ivane Javakhishvili.

Tbilisi University opened on 26 January 1918, the day of remembrance of David the Builder - king of Georgia from 1089 to 1125.

Petre Melikishvili, a well-known chemist, merited professor, was chosen as the first rector of the University by the board of professors.

First only one faculty was opened – that of philosophy.

The first lecture was delivered on 30 January 1918 by Ivane Javakhishvili.

At the beginning of 1918 the board of professors and lecturers numbered 18, free listeners 89 and students 369.

In 1989 Tbilisi State University was named after its founder, Ivane Javakhishvili.

Since January 1992 the University has been an autonomous higher educational establishment.

After a pause of several centuries in higher education the teaching of all branches of science at a high level in Georgian at a European style University became possible against the great cultural and educational background created by the educated ancestors of the Georgian people.

The University scientific schools of mathematics (Andria Razmadze, Nikoloz Muskhelishvili, Ilya Vekua, Viktor Kupradze, Andro Bitsadze), psychology (Dimitri Uznadze) and physiology (Ivane Beritashvili) are recognised all over the world. Particularly notable are the national scientific schools of Georgian history and historiography (Ivane Javakhishvili), history of literature (Korneli Kekelidze), Georgian philosophy (Shalva Nutsubidze), study of art (Giorgi Chubinashvili), Georgian and Caucasian linguistics (Akaki Shanidze, Giorgi Akhvlediani, Arnold Chikobava), oriental and classical philology (Grigol Tsereteli, Simon Qaukhchishvili, Giorgi Tsereteli), which are known on an international scale.

On 25 April 1994 the University scientific council adopted "The Conception of University Education", according to which the University education has fully changed to a two stage instruction, the so-called "four + two". The first gives general University and special education, in the second stage the best bachelors specialize in concrete branches of science or scholarship. The first bachelors graduated from the faculty of West European Languages and Literature and the faculty of physics in 1996. The first enrollment in the master’s courses took place at the same faculties. Currently there are 56 seekers of the master’s degree at the University. Bachelors will graduate from the faculty of biology and medicine (specializing in biology), the faculty of mechanics and mathematics, and from the faculty of geography and geology.

Intensive postgraduate instruction is under way at the University faculties and at its research institutes and scientific laboratories. Intensive instruction is also given to seekers of scientific degrees.

Twenty-two boards of experts function at the University for conferring Doctor’s and Candidate’s degrees in almost all branches of learning.

The fundamental Library of the University and 9 department libraries are at the disposal of the students and researchers.

Medical education was restored at the University in 1993. A centre of clinical medicine was set up in 1995, in which the University was joined by major medical centres, such as the Institutes of neurology, cardiology, surgery, diagnostic centre, city hospital N 4 etc.

At present instruction is offered at the day department, extramural, and evening departments. The University has its own publishing house and printing-press. There also is a paid instruction department. Since 1919 the scientific edition "Proceedings of Tbilisi University" has been issued annually. At present the University publishing house prints annually hundreds of books and monographs. The weekly newspaper, "Tbilisis Universiteti", has been published since 1927.

Attached to the University is a museum of its history and of Georgian emigration, while the departments of geography and geology and of biology have museums of mineralogy, geology-palaeontology, zoology and botany.

The University has a students’ hostel with its 5 buildings.

The University has five branches: in Sukhumi, Akhaltsikhe, Ozurgeti, Sighnaghi and Zugdidi.

Basic and applied research is carried on at the University.

At the I. Vekua Institute of Applied Mathematics natural phenomena and problems arising in the national economy are studied on the basis of theoretical results, mathematical modelling and numerical realization by means of computers.

The main directions of research at the Institute of High Energy Physics involve experimental study of the interaction of elementary particles with nucleons and nuclei in the high-energy area; creation of new systems of information processing; theoretical studies in the quantum theory, elementary particles and physics of the atomic nucleus.

Tbilisi State University is a well-known scholarly centre of development of the humanities. It has become traditional to deliver lectures abroad, to send postgraduates, professors and lecturers on educational and scientific missions to foreign Universities (Jena, Atlanta). Joint scholarly collected papers are published. The scholarly journal "Georgica" comes out in Germany in collaboration with Tbilisi University and three more universities: Jena, Saarbrücken, Konstanz (Germany).

With an emphasis on the humanities, some International conferences and symposia have been held in Tbilisi University. Most notable among them are psychologists’ International conferences (1979, 1986), symposia on Georgian Art (II -1977, IV-1983, VI-1989), International conferences on problems of teaching the Russian language and literature (1980, 1984, 1988), questions of German literature (1983, 1989), Classical philology (1969, 1975, 1980, 1990, 1995, 1996) and international private law (1985), as well as on religion and ethics (1990), International Kartvelological symposia (I-1987, II-1988, III-1995).

International scientific conferences devoted to the most significant problems of the present day have been held at the University. They are: "The Caucasus, Problems of democratization" (1995), "Law Reform in Georgia" (1995), "University Reform in Georgia" (1995), "The Caucasus in the Context of World History" (1996). The following scientific and educational centres abroad are direct partners of Tbilisi University: the Universities of Saarland, Bamberg, Göttingen, and Jena (Germany); Emory University, Brevard College and Williams College (USA), University of Lodz (Poland); University of Malaga (Spain); University of London (Great Britain); The Budapest Eötvös Lorand University (Hungary); the Universities of Bilkent, Trabzon and of Ankara (Turkey); University of Nantes (France); Bristol Polytechnic Institute and University of Warwick (G.B.); the Universities of Rome ("La Sapienza"), of Palermo and of Venice (Italy); the Universities of Saloniki and scientific centres of Greece; Orchus University (Denmark); Teheran University; CERN (Switzerland), etc. There also are contacts with a large number of Universities of the former Soviet Union and scientific centres, particularly the Universities of Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kiev, Yerevan, Baku, etc.

Tbilisi University has close scientific and educational contacts with many Universities of the world (Russia, USA, Germany, France, England, Turkey, Iran, Spain, etc.).

Since 1934 the University has a tradition of electing foreign scientists and public men as its honorary doctors. At different times the academic council of Tbilisi University had elected as its honorary doctors: Nikodim Kondakov (Russia), Ananias Zajaczkowski (Poland), David Lang (England), Hans Vogt (Norway), Rene Lafon (France), Franz Bolk, Karl Horst Schmidt, Gerd Hummell (Germany), Georgias Iakovu (Greece), Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (Iran), George Shultz (USA), Husamettin Cindoruk (Turkey), Rolph Knipper (lawyer, Germany), Nikolai Suvorov (chemist, Russia), Vladimir Kotlyakov (geographer, Russia), Howard Aronson (USA), Julius Asfalg (Germany),Petro Kononenko (philologist, Ukraine), Henry Haar (biochemist, England), Gunter Hotz (mathematician, Germany), Aleksandr Samarski (mathematician, Russia).

Students are widely engaged in scientific-research work. Regular meetings of the societies are held as well as annual conferences. The 57th scientific conference was held in 1996.

The University students are engaged in amateur art perfomance. Exhibitions of students’ works in art are often held. In 1997 "Students’ days" were held with great success. Students achievements in sport are notable. They take part in Universiads and various competitions.

In 1996 the team of the University chess-players won the world championship at the chess olympiad. Many champions of the World, Europe and Georgia study at the University.

Dr. N. Skhirtladze

Head of Educational - Methodics

Board of Tbilisi State University

1 Chavchavadze ave. Tbilisi, 380028

Tel: +995-32/22-02-41

Tel/Fax: +995-32/22-11-03

E-mail: erekle@tsuiro.edu.ge

Acad. Roin Metreveli, the Rector