PhD students from the Department of Anthropology of Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (TSU) will get full funding for their overseas fieldwork. Moreover, they will undergo practical training at the University of Bergen (Norway). Students will be enrolled in three programs within the framework of the project NorGePart, a Norwegian-Georgian Partnership Program for Research-Based Educational Collaboration in Anthropology. The project focuses on developing joint educational activities and promoting student mobility on BA, MA and PhD levels.

The PhD students selected for the first program will get funding for three-month ethnographic fieldwork abroad after completion of which they will pay a three-month research visit to the Anthropology Institute of the University of Bergen. The PhD students selected for the second program will visit the Department of Social Anthropology of the University of Bergen for three months to discuss PhD research issues with the Institute’s academic staff and undergo consultations, as well as participate in Bergen’s summer school, use the University library and material-technical base, attend and actively join various academic events organized by the Institute. The third program envisages participation of students in joint summer school arranged by TSU and University of Bergen, where students will have two weeks to familiarize themselves with key methods of anthropological research and gain practical experience in fieldwork.

Ketevan Khutsishvili, TSU Professor and Project Manager, said that the programs open up unique opportunities to students on the path of their professional development. “All the three programs are extremely important for students. But funding of fieldwork for PhD students of our doctoral program is a special novelty. Overseas fieldwork costs much and this project opens up a unique opportunity in this regard. Upon submitting their research projects, our PhD students will get full funding and spend three months in the research region of their interest. Afterwards, they will stay at the University of Bergen to work on research materials under the guidance of our colleagues and prepare international publications,” Ketevan Khutsishvili noted.

The project “NorGePart, a joint project implemented by TSU Institute of Ethnology and University of Bergen, is financed by the Norwegian Agency for International Cooperation and Quality Enhancement in Higher Education (DIKU). A number of important programs were implemented in the framework of the project over the past years.

“We have developed a joint MA course “Anthropology of Post-Socialist Societies” within the framework of the project. In 2019, we conducted the first joint summer school on methodology. During five days, Georgian and Norwegian students had an opportunity to conduct joint fieldwork and attend lectures. Also in 2019, two PhD students from our doctoral program underwent a three-month internship at the University of Bergen,” Professor Khutsishvili added.

The purpose of the joint project NorGePart is to deepen cooperation in the field of social and cultural anthropology, to develop educational programs and attract as many students as possible.

Deadline for submitting applications to participate in the programs expires on February 15.