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Uncovering the State of Play of Faculty Professional Development in Georgian Higher Education Institutions
17-Mar-2022
Uncovering the State of Play of Faculty Professional Development in Georgian Higher Education Institutions

On March 10, PMC Research Center held a presentation and public discussion on the findings of its research entitled “Uncovering the State of Play of Faculty Professional Development in Georgian Higher Education Institutions,” which explored the professional development opportunities for academic staff at Georgian public higher education institutions (HEIs), analyzed their implementation and effectiveness from the perspective of the HEIs and academic staff, and revealed the ways through which these can be advanced to better serve the development goals and priorities of HEIs and faculties.

The paper briefly reviews the existing literature on the evolution of faculty professional development (FPD) and its role in fostering universities’ academic and institutional transformation and in revitalizing academic staff capacity. The review also describes the common structures and practices in relation to FPD, and aspirations for its implementation.

During the presentation, Keti Tsotniashvili, Associate Consultant at PMC Research and author of the research, presented the key findings of the paper, while Irina Abuladze, Education Sector Development Consultant at Asian Development Bank (ADB), moderated the event. 

“Purposeful planning and implementation of professional development activities for academic staff is one of the main mechanisms for academic and institutional transformation of universities. Appropriate support for academic staff at both the institutional and system level is also crucial for this transformation to succeed,” noted Tsotniashvili.

The presentation was followed by a panel discussion of Marine Chitashvili, Professor of Psychology at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Lika Ghlonti, Coordinator of Erasmus+ National Office Georgia and Elene Jibladze, Deputy Director at Levan Mikeladze Diplomatic Training and Research Institute. The participants discussed global and local challenges faced by HEIs, the support mechanisms available to make better use of existing resources and capabilities, the steps universities should take to create more opportunities, and how best to measure the sustainability of a professional development system as well as the effectiveness and efficiency of universities.

The event gathered representatives of HEIs, policy makers, researchers, and members of the general public interested in the topic. 

The study was conducted by PMC Research Center, under the project “Public Policy Discourse and Dialogue Platform” with the support of PMCG.