"I have always been interested in public health and medicine as a profession, but after this meeting, I am certain that I will direct my career in this path. This is mainly due to the lecture and professional interaction given by the health specialist within the Traveling University - apart from the topic, I asked him a lot of professional questions, and that is why this meeting turned out to be so important and memorable to me, and, it can be said, crucial from a professional standpoint." - Mariam Kukuladze, 15 years old, a participant of Traveling University.

Mariam is a student at Chibati Public School (Lanchkhuti,Guria), and she tells us about the experience gained within the EU-funded Traveling University:

“This project piqued my interest, as well as the interests of other students who attended the meetings. Even today, we discuss the topics and issues mentioned there.

We learned a lot about business, pandemics, history, and we heard stories of interesting people.

This meeting within the Traveling University was my first opportunity to be in the role of a university student. At the same time, the lecturers promised us that the Traveling University would visit our school again. And we are looking forward to meeting with them again. " - says Mariam.

The lecturers of the Traveling University are specialists from various fields, and in addition to a specific topic, they also share professional experiences with students:

“During the meeting, one of the lecturers asked an interesting question, to which we all responded in the same way. Later, this fact bothered me greatly and made me think about many things. The question was about our plans after graduation: will we move to another country or city or will we return and take care of the development of our village?!

Everyone expressed a desire to go abroad, or at least to another city with better living conditions.

After receiving the answers, we discussed this issue and how special our role is in the process of rural and thus country development. Obviously, after thinking about it, I had a different perspective on the topic and felt a responsibility that I must continue to take care of my village after graduation."

The Traveling University is a part of the “Local Investments in Networks for Knowledge and Skill-share” (LINKS) project implemented by the United Nations Association of Georgia (UNAG) and Open Society Foundation Georgia (OSGF). The project is funded through the EU’s larger “Skills4Jobs” program, which aims to support vocational education and labor market development. 

Read more information about the Traveling University