On April 22-24, 2024, within the framework of a project "OSTE stations implementation in Georgian higher educational institutions” funded by the Competitive Innovation Fund (CIF) and financially supported by the World Bank, medical education experts, Professor David Taylor and Professor Trevor Gibbs visited Tbilisi State Medical University.

Generally, the competition is aimed at targeting specific development of higher education institutions, fostering modernization of higher education programs and learning environment and strengthening the labor market linkages. 

The project has been developed in collaboration between Tbilisi State Medical University and Georgian-American University. Objective Structured Teaching Encounter (OSTE) is an innovative method of evaluating a teacher’s teaching competency. The method is oriented on improving the competency as a result of the feedback received from students and observers.

The international experts met Professor Irakli Natroshvili, Rector of TSMU, Mr. Aleksandre Buachidze, Chancellor of TSMU, Professor Rusudan Rukhadze, Acting Vice Rector, Professor Khatuna Todadze Coordinator of the project and Head of Quality Assurance Service of TSMU, Professor Gaiane Simonia, Head of Faculty Development and Strategic Planning Department and local expert, Salome Voronova Deputy Head of Faculty Development and Strategic Planning Department, Professors Giorgi Gabisonia and Shorena Tukvadze representatives from the Georgian-American University.

The main goal of the visit was to conduct training sessions for the academic staff of Tbilisi State Medical University and the Georgian-American University based on pre-prepared scenarios. The various scenarios included the participation of teachers, students, patients, and observers in a simulated environment. The evaluation of the teacher's teaching skills was conducted through the analysis of their communication. The sessions were organized at the Faculty Development and Strategic Planning Department of Tbilisi State Medical University.