TSU Leads in State Grant Competition on Applied Research

Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (TSU) is leading in the state grant competition announced by Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation in 2018 on applied research. TSU is participating in seven out of fourteen winning projects (50% of winning projects) – in five of them as a leading organization and in two – as a co-participant.

Projects in the three categories are funded under the call: a) 1st category – pilot grant for supporting the technology transfer for organization (s); b) 2nd category – grant for innovative research and technological development for consortium; c) 3rd category – proof of research concept: grant for infrastructure, training and cluster development for consortium.

The winning projects were revealed through a three-stage competition (first stage – submitting the concept of the project proposal; second stage – submitting the project; third stage – presentation of the project to the commission). Scientific supervisors/main personnel of 23 projects submitted presentations to the commission during the last stage of the competition. 8 of 14 winning projects were financed under the 1st category (3 from TSU); 6 projects – 2nd category (four from TSU with a co-participant status in two of them).

Duration of the project can be 2, 3 or 4 years, and the duration of reporting period is defined as 1 year (12 months). Requested budget from the foundation for one organization should not exceed GEL 140 000 per year and GEL 420 000 per consortium. 

The project submitted in the grant call should include: a) Training on enterprise/innovative-thinking related issues; b) Innovation, technology transfer and related research component; c) Creating the prototype, sample, software or technological product; d) Creating and formation/improving the manufacturing sample/prototype for new/improved software, materials, medical treatment, devices, construction etc. International cooperation of the project is desirable.

The grant holder is obliged to create intellectual property based on the research material: patent, copyright, trademarks intellectual property.

It is desirable to publish papers in the international peer-reviewed journal in frames of the grant call based on the research material. Such publications can be journals, books and collections, which are accessible in the scientific databases: Scimago Journal Ranking, Elsevier (Scopus and ScienceDirect), Web of Science, ERIH plus or published in the international journals funded by the SRNSFG: Transactions of A. Razmadze Mathematical Institute and Annals of Agrarian Science.