The Rector of Tbilisi State University, Academician Jaba Samushia, opened the event dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the joint Master’s Program in Public Administration of TSU and Speyer University of Administrative Sciences (Germany).

The joint English language, interdisciplinary Master’s Program in Public Administration of TSU and Speyer University of Administrative Sciences (Germany) with international accreditation has been operating at the Faculty of Law of TSU since 2009.

During the event, Georgian and German authors and supervisors of the program handed over diplomas to the graduates of the Master’s Program in Public Administration.

TSU Rector Jaba Samushia thanked his German and Georgian colleagues, representatives of Speyer University and the German Embassy for their participation and support of the project. “Thanks to their support, Tbilisi State University has a very interesting program that has been working successfully for 15 years and will hopefully be the visiting card of our universities for years to come. This program makes it possible to transfer knowledge and experience that is available in Germany in the field of public administration, so that our students can get a European education,” said Jaba Samushia. According to him, the program has about 200 graduates who are successfully working both in Georgia and abroad, in public and private institutions. “This is the new generation that will gradually take over the management of the Georgian state,” he added.

The event was attended by the Rector of the German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer, Holger Mühlenkamp, ​the Deputy Ambassador of Germany in Georgia Tanja Hutt, representatives of the TSU Faculty of Law, Georgian and German authors and supervisors of the Master’s Program in Public Administration, Professor Giorgi Khubua, Professor Karl-Peter Sommermann, Professor Andreas Knorr, Georgian and German program participants, lecturers and graduates.

The Rector of the German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer, Holger Mühlenkamp said that the joint Master’s Program in Public Administration is an example of cooperation between institutions, adding that the cooperation between the universities has resulted in many useful activities in the field of science, including strengthened contacts with colleagues. He expressed his willingness to continue the program successfully in the future.

The Program in Public Administration is the first internationally accredited master’s program in Georgia - the first accreditation was granted in 2015. The international re-accreditation of the program took place in 2021 and, again, the program received international accreditation for a period of seven years.

The academic staff of both TSU and Speyer University are equally involved in the implementation of the program. Upon completion of the program, a TSU diploma will be issued, which will indicate cooperation with the University of Speyer.

As part of the Master’s Program in Public Administration, students will complete a two-month internship in public or international organizations of European countries, as well as participate in a two-week summer school, during which students will visit various German state institutions, the European Parliament, the Council of Europe and other structures.