Prime Minister Meets Young Inventors

Think outside the box and avoid conventional routes, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili addressed the young winners of the 2016-2017 Millennium Innovation Competition at the Zugdidi Tech Park today.

Smart Kids, the winning team, consists of eighth-graders from Senaki school whose project is titled Geological Threats. This innovative project features an exceptionally precise, reliable, and stable emergency alarm system to be used in landslide hazard areas. The winner of the 2016-2017 Millennium Innovation Competition will participate in a NASA learning course on May 1-5, 2017.

The Prime Minister congratulated the young inventors on their victory, also emphasizing that the new Tech Park will always support young talents in implementing their innovative ideas.

“The flying machine from the Eccentrics movie is the symbol of the center for innovations—unless you can think outside the box, your ideas will never really fly. You may become successful, but you will never achieve a huge success. To be exceptionally successful, we must think outside the box, and this the main purpose of this center,” the Prime Minister addressed the young inventors.

Giorgi Kvirikashvili visited the Zugdidi Tech Park, familiarizing himself with the work process, and spoke with young innovators working on different projects at the park. According to the Prime Minister, similar tech parks will open in every city to help put to use the existing human potential in the country.

“Everywhere, we will enable young people to become employers and establish businesses based on their innovations and high technology. The symbol of the Tech Park embodies the spirit that must be embraced by every young person entering this center, meaning thinking outside the box and finding solutions that will catapult new businesses. This is our goal, and I am convinced we will succeed,” the Prime Minister said.

Giorgi Kvirikashvili also spoke of the fund to finance startups, which has already supported over 60 new proposals and continues working in this direction.

“We are cooperating with international partners. The first cycle of financing has been finalized based on reviews carried out by an international board consisting of CEOs and top managers of companies from Silicon Valley, California, whom we invited to Tbilisi to deliver trainings for local startup entrepreneurs. International presence will be ensured at the following stages as well. Most importantly, however, we must promote this spirit in our citizens,” the Prime Minister emphasized. The young audience thanked the Prime Minister for opening the Tech Park, pointing out that the center will help them carry out their innovative ideas.