“The Economics of Nature. Can Georgia afford Economic Growth without Taking Care of its Nature?” was the title of a panel discussion jointly organized by GIZ and ISET, and examined an important issue facing the country.

Given Georgia’s dysfunctional educational sector, it is impressive how many Georgians excel intellectually. For example, ISET regularly sends some of its graduates to the best Ph.D. programs in the world, proving that many Georgians succeed in realizing their intellectual potentials despite unfavorable conditions. At the same time, we notice that a considerable share of students who get enrolled at ISET are not well-endowed with essential knowledge and competencies, lacking, for example, presentation skills, writing proficiency, and resourcefulness in discussion and argumentation.

Back in 2005, the Georgian government introduced the Unified Entry Examinations (UEE) for admittance into universities. Before the UEE, each university had its own set of entry examinations and examiners, which opened the system to abuse and corruption. With the introduction of the UEE, the government of Georgia managed to make the system fairer and more transparent.

Transparify, an organization that examines the financial transparency of think tanks throughout the world, has declared ISET a global leader and granted it the Transparify Award.

On May 14, 2016, ISET will hold Admissions exams in English and Mathematics. Exams will be held simultaneously in Baku, Tbilisi, and Yerevan.