Levan Davitashvili, the First Vice Prime Minister and Economy Minister of Georgia, on Friday said the Kutaisi technology hub set to open in the former Parliament building in the western Georgian city of Kutaisi would help to “reveal talent of young people and raise their qualifications, their appropriate employment and future success”.
In his address at the presentation of the initiative, Davitashvili noted the hub aimed to position Kutaisi as a “key educational and technological centre”, while also highlighting the city as “one of the most important educational cores”.
There is an international university in Kutaisi, which I think, in recent years, during the period of independence, is one of the important educational projects that is developing in the country, is being implemented very successfully and has important ambitious plans to make this city not only an educational, but also a scientific and technological centre”, he said.
He noted the Government had been promoting technology and innovation for the past decade, successfully attracting over ₾0.5 billion ($183 mln) in investments for startups, with the project involving collaboration among a number of ministries, international accelerators, and academic institutions.
The Ministry of Economy on Friday said the Kutaisi technological hub would incorporate a range of innovative components. The facility will feature an interactive scientific and technological museum, a startup accelerator, an international IT school, conference spaces, a shared workspace, and a powerful data centre dedicated to advancing Georgian artificial intelligence, electronics, robotics, drones, Internet of things, science, technology, engineering, art and maths, industrial innovations, and other experimental laboratories.
Additionally, the hub will include a VR/AR gaming laboratory, as well as meeting and training rooms for startups and IT specialists. This initiative is set to establish one of the largest technological parks in the region, with an anticipated opening in the autumn of 2025.
The hub is expected to become a major attraction for residents of Kutaisi, the Imereti region, and Georgia as a whole.