Sokhumi State University Delegation Visits the University of Lorraine (France) to Explore Cooperation Opportunities

Sokhumi State University Delegation Visits the University of Lorraine (France) to Explore Cooperation Opportunities

 

From December 8 to 12, 2025, a delegation from Sokhumi State University, led by Rector Professor Tea Jugeli and Professor Indira Dzagania, Head of the Department of International Relations and Intercultural Connections, visited the University of Lorraine in France. Together with representatives from Tbilisi State University, they participated in the Staff Week.

The University of Lorraine is one of France’s leading higher education institutions, hosting 62,000 students across all three stages of higher education and employing 7,000 staff, including 4,000 lecturers and researchers. International collaboration is a key priority: the university hosts 10,000 exchange students from 160 countries and maintains 1,400 Erasmus+ agreements

During the visit, the delegation held meetings with the faculties of Economics, Business, Law, Medicine, Science and Technology, and Engineering in Nancy and Metz. Professors Jugeli and Dzagania met with faculty members Bjorn Waliser, Ehsan Jamshidpour, Stéphanie Galliers, Jean-François Petin, and Vladan Božilović. They received detailed briefings on faculty structures, programs across all study stages, and research activities, and toured the university’s institutes and laboratories. Professor Tea Jugeli presented the history and current operations of Sokhumi State University, including its academic programs, international projects, and exchange opportunities, and answered questions from French colleagues and students.

Professor Dzagania also met with Larisa Alle, Director of the Department of International and European Relations, to discuss the university’s internationalization strategies and departmental initiatives. The meeting emphasized the long-standing and productive partnership between the two institutions

Discussions during the visit focused on expanding existing programs and developing new collaborative projects, aimed at further integrating Sokhumi State University students and staff into the European academic environment.

The visit was excellently coordinated by Mikheil Varbanov.