From 1–4 September 2026, representatives of Ilia State University participated in the four-day ARIVE Training of Trainers (ToT) programme hosted by Petre Shotadze Tbilisi Medical Academy in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Ilia State University is a member of the international consortium implementing the ARIVE Erasmus+ project, which aims to strengthen research education through virtual, interdisciplinary and international collaboration. The training was led by Prof. Rob Bongaardt and Prof. Etty Nilsen from the University of South-Eastern Norway and brought together representatives of ARIVE partner institutions. The programme focused on research supervision and facilitation, motivation and psychological safety, interdisciplinary teamwork, feedback, and team-based virtual research learning.

Representing Ilia State University, Dr. Elene Zhuravliova, Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Medicine, and Dr. Ivane Abiatari, Head of the School of Medicine, participated in the programme together with other academic staff from the Faculty. Through interactive workshops and practical facilitation exercises, participants explored approaches that will support the implementation of ARIVE’s Virtual Research Semesters, including team formation, co-creation of research questions, interdisciplinary reasoning, responsible use of AI, feedback and reflection.

The Training of Trainers is an important step towards developing a shared approach to research supervision across the ARIVE consortium and preparing academic staff to support students and early-career researchers in collaborative, interdisciplinary and international research environments.

For more information, visit the ARIVE project website: ariveproject.com