Project partners

University of Lodz (UOL), leader is a responsible higher education institution, focusing its actions on intercultural and social integration. The university promotes equality through diversity: people of 95 nationalities study at the University of Lodz, and each year there are almost 3000 international students studying full time or within exchange programs! The University of Lodz strives to keep high, all-European level of education as well as it successfully adjusts to the changing labour market both in the local and global context. It especially excels in social sciences (economics/business management), legal sciences and linguistics. The range of existing international cooperation includes mutual research projects, dual diplomas, and exchange of academic staff and students. In its strategy, the University of Lodz focuses on developing strong partnerships that foster long lasting and deep relationships worldwide. The University of Lodz promotes and initiates activities related to social responsibility. It was among the first universities in Poland that signed the Declaration of Social Responsibility of the University. Through a variety of projects UL builds academic community around the values of respect for cultural, religious and diverse identities as well as social sensitivity. We aim at integrating and sharing our diversity also with local community and business – in this way the university makes a difference to the social and economic well-being through the research, teaching activities and public events. 

TUMint is a 100% subsidiary of the Technical University of Munich (TUM), has been established to advance innovation and entrepreneurship at higher education institutions, within the public sector, and across sectors. We follow a systems thinking approach to unleash technology, and sustainability-driven societal transformation. Our ultimate goal is to inspire and enable people and organisations to harness innovation for the public good globally. Going beyond consulting, TUMint promotes and shapes innovation ecosystems through co-creation. Our approach relies on developing true partnerships and tailor-made solutions for our clients. As a subsidiary of TUM, we rely on and value our roots grounded in excellence in research, technology development, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Specifically, TUM’s expertise in education and research on capacity building, life-long learning, and its focus on innovation (taking ideas from labs to society), feeds into and guides our projects through close collaborations with faculty and industry experts, peer- exchanges, validation of client-driven projects, and quality assurance. In all our projects we commit to long-term and sustainable development to bring value to the stakeholders involved. We aim to make an impact by helping our clients to promote education, modern institutional structures, university-industry collaboration, digitalization, and sustainability to advance inclusive development.

Education and research with a 500-year-old tradition: MLU offers a wide range of academic subjects in the areas of humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and medicine. The oldest and largest university in Saxony-Anhalt was created in 1817 when the University of Wittenberg (founded in 1502) merged with Friedrichs University Halle (founded in 1694). Today the university has around 20,000 students and 340 professors. MLU’s academic profile in the field of the humanities is shaped by the core research areas “Enlightenment – Religion – Knowledge” and “Society and Culture in Motion. Diffusion – Experiment – Institution”. The university’s core scientific research is in “Materials Science – Nanostructured Materials” and “Biosciences – Structures and Mechanisms of Biological Information Processing”. Agricultural sciences also play a leading role and Halle’s university bears sole responsibility in Saxony-Anhalt for developing this academic profile. As a member of the Central German University Alliance Halle-Jena- Leipzig, MLU cooperates closely with other universities, and with external research institutes and industries. This is visible at a local level on the Weinberg Campus, the second largest technology park in Eastern Germany. All of the university’s natural science institutes are concentrated here. They work in partnership with companies and major German research institutes, such as the Max Planck Society and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. MLU has a broad-reaching network of partner universities throughout the world. In addition to the Weinberg Campus, MLU has three other main locations. The centrally located University Square is one of the most beautiful university squares in Europe and it is a site in Halle that is steeped in tradition. Many institutes focusing on the humanities and social sciences are located on the new Steintor Campus. Educationalists and theologians teach, study and conduct research at the Francke Foundations. In RiHEI, MLU brings onboard the office of the vice-rector for research, internationalization and transfer & head of the Dept. “Sustainable Landscape Development” which is the main transformational agent and capacity provider in the field of RiHEI.

Kutaisi International University (KIU) is the largest campus-based public university in the South Caucasus region. KIU has accepted first cohort of students in 2020 into English language, international standard Bachelor programs and has ambitious goals to expand the scope and fields of the academic programs in the coming years. As one of its top priorities, KIU continuously strives at creating internationally competitive and intellectually demanding teaching and research environment. KIU is aiming to become an international research and education hub in the region. The research strategy of KIU includes development of the state-of-the-art facilities and modern research infrastructure. KIU’s strategic development plan envisions establishment of a Hadron Therapy Center (HTC). This research center will offer its facilities for the scientific research in particle physics, radiation physics and biophysics, as well as support operations of the Proton Therapy Clinic, coupled with the faculty of Medicine at KIU. The aim of Kutaisi International University (KIU) is to gradually develop into a hub of innovations and technology in the region. The University’s mission is to build human capital that will support development of innovations and new technologies. The students of KIU will be equipped with the skills that will meet labor market demand. The KIU curriculum provides opportunities to its students to enrol in internship programs developed and implemented in support with the private sector and employers. Boosting innovations and supporting entrepreneurship in the region will be achieved through a cluster hub that KIU is developing in the future. KIU’s innovation ecosystem supporting activities are aimed to: Provide structural support of innovations by nurturing start-ups; Foster long term value creation to generate future businesses; Inspire corporate culture KIU through its entrepreneurial strategy and activities covering research, training and tech transfer aims to contribute to the establishment of a sustainable innovation ecosystem in Georgia and the wider region through the connection of people, disciplines, organizations and sectors. In 2021, KIU has established KIUInnovate – innovations ecosystem platform that supports KIU’s ambition to become Georgia’s leading entrepreneurial university and build innovations ecosystem in Georgia. Therefore, to succeed in their mission, KIU is in high need of RiHEI’s proposed work programme.

TSU Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (TSU) is the first national university in Georgia and the first higher education institution in the South Caucasus region. It established formal education in the country, created the local intellectual workforce and paved the way for human development and democracy. For over 100 years TSU has granted degrees to men and women and promoted the ideals of equality, justice and progress. The mission of TSU is: To establish comprehensive national and international academic values and to support intellectual, cultural and socio-economic development of the society; To produce and further new knowledge; To sustain and further on research capacity and innovation tradition; To train competitive staff;To have an exemplary offer of student-centered-, fuller-, longer- and further education (LLL); To maintain an honorable and distinguished position in international Higher Education Community. TSU shares the ideals promoted by the Magna Charta Universitatum and its values are based on critical, creative and progressive thinking, the principles of academic freedom and academic ethics; open, dynamic and transparent relations. TSU is the oldest and the biggest public institution of higher education in the South Caucasus. It cooperates closely with various branches of the government in the format of targeted funding for vulnerable groups, infrastructural development, support in internationalization (by providing financial assistance for running joint degree programs), etc.

GSU (Gori State University) is a remote higher educational institution located in Shida Kartli region. Our mission is to prepare specialists equipped with the theoretical, methodological and practical knowledge, oriented on the local and international labor market, who with their life style and successful activities will promote the transition of the modern society into a highly developed, just, democratic, moral and highly conscious society. The University specializes in the fields of social sciences, business and law; education, exact and natural sciences; humanity. For the purpose of implementing the mission, Gori State Teaching University conducts its activities in the following directions: Provides with affordable, high quality vocational and academic (Bachelor, Master) education which corresponds to the interests of the region and the country; Provides creating and developing safe, reliable and encouraging surrounding for studying, teaching, scientific research, creative and administrative affairs; Implements Life Long Learning (continuous education) system by offering and implementing vocational education programs according to the demand of the society; Develops partnership relations with Georgian and foreign leading educational institutions, encourages the mobility of students, vocational students and academic staff. Currently, we have approximately 2000 students studying at three faculties, faculty of Social Sciences, Business and Law; Faculty of Humanities; Faculty of Education, Exact and Natural Sciences; In 2022 Gori State Teaching University successfully passed the institutional authorization process. We have 36 accredited bachelor, master and doctoral educational programs in various disciplines. Recently, GSU has a direct strategy to include young people from remote/rural areas (mentioned in their Strategic Development and action plan strategy) and to actively mobilise capacity to create jobs and foster a better inclusion. However, their implementation mechanisms are not fully updated yet and this is where RiHEI comes into place.