Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi (Georgia)
(Chairholder: Prof. I. Khomeriki)

UNESCO/IOC Chair in Oceanography was established at Tbilisi State University, Georgia in 1997. Its goal is to promote education and training in Oceanography and related fields. For that (i) Centre in Oceanography has been established at Tbilisi State University, (ii) co-operation has been established between the Centre and the University Departments of Meteorology, Climatology, Oceanograpgy and Geology. Collaboration with outside partners, both regional and international, has been established as well. The Chair promotes a number of research programmes and projects, which serve as the basis for on-the-job training of advanced students, including Ph.D. students. Two full professors and four researchers and lecturers are involved in its activities.

The following courses have been established :

1. Oceanology (for undergraduate students) with the following specific subjects: ocean dynamics, geology and geomorphology, ocean modelling, hydrography and navigation, coastal protection.

2. Marine Ecology (for graduate and post-graduate students).

3. Fundamentals of Marine Geophysics (an ad-hoc course for selected students participating in the TTR programme of IOC).

In total, until present 46 students and young specialists have been trained through the Chair (10-12 persons per year).

In 2000, the Chair hosted two senior IOC representatives. They held an information meeting and took part in discussions on Oceanographic Data Management. A decision was made to establish the National Oceanographic Data Centre.

In the summer-early autumn period, the Chair gives short courses (one to two months long), such as on (i) Climate Change and its Influence on the East Black Sea Coastal Management, (ii) Sea-level Change Processes in the Black Sea, etc. Four specialists provided training to 13 students. One of the objectives of these courses is to familiarize the students with the modern methods of research based on GIS. Through the international Training-through-Research (TTR) Programme, 5 students and young specialists have been trained (1998-2002).

In 2001-2002, several specialised short (one week to one month) courses have were introduced, some accopmpanied with field training, such as: (i) Black Sea Coastline Observational System, (ii) Coastal Management, (iii) Geophysical Methods in the Regional and Marine Geological Research, (iv) Geophysical Studies in the Black Sea and Eastern Mediterranean. Two summer training courses have been co-organized by the Chair for the Tbilisi University students, (i) in Practical Oceanography and (ii) on Multi-disciplinary Studies of the Black Sea Estuaries. On the average, 10 students are trained annually.

The Chair participates in the following regional and international projects and programmes: Black Sea - GOOS (of IOC); Black Sea Sediment Fluxes (of IOC); Training-through-Research (TTR) programme (of IOC); Black Sea Ecosystem Processes, Prediction and Operational Data Management (under a regional NATO programme).