Georgian Technical University is one of the largest educational and scientific institutions in the Southern Caucasian region with a total of more than 20,000 students. It was founded in 1922 and is a leading engineering school with a powerful scientific core. At present, GTU consists of 12 Faculties, covering Engineering, Technology, Architecture, Design, Humanities, Law, Business and Social Sciences.
IDS (International Design School) is the first fully English-language Faculty of the Georgian Technical University. The goal of IDS is to integrate engineering and design.
The opening of International Design School (IDS) was initiated by one of the most famous designers in modern history – The Car Designer of the XXth. Century - Prof. Dr. Giorgetto Giugiaro, the Italian automobile stylist and founder of ITALDESIGN Group.
Programs of IDS has been prepared in full accordance to the highest international educational standards currently adopted by leading European and North American design schools. Courses at IDS are conducted by foreign and local Professors and are highly valued by both the visiting and local bachelor and master students of IDS.
International Design School offers the following Bachelor and Master Programs which every year start in the beginning of October:
For Bachelor’s Degree (Duration 8 Semesters = 4 Academic years):
For Master’s Degree (Duration 4 Semesters = 2 Academic years):
The Bachelors’ curricula cover engineering (mathematics, mechanics, health & safety, ergonomics) and liberal arts (art, philosophy, social sciences, design & society) foundation courses followed by design studios in graphics & visual communication design, product or industrial design, architectural & interior design, and other design subjects. Master students learn critical tools to assess design theory, science & technology, and work on more sophisticated projects in studio units according to their specific interests.
Our teaching approach aims at adequately preparing our students for the future and the changing demands that designers and architects are facing. This is why we also support our students in gaining technical skills. Equipped with computer workstations, model shop, Fab Lab, access to CNC manufacturing facility for CAD-CAM real-time operations, as well as a number of test chambers for building materials, our faculty provides a cutting-edge work environment.
Each student has an access to individual computer station equipped with Autodesk-licensed CAD upgradable software connected to internal network of the IDS, its virtual library, and to the Internet. Virtual library, launched in October 2014, consists of digital files stored on a server and accessible to students and staff from the IDS computers. Daily updated, as of Summer 2017 the library contained over 50,000 items including 22,000 PDF and EPUB versions of books, 15,000 copies of over 370 magazine titles (mostly specialist English-language), and 14,000 video and audio tutorials, and software. The IDS is building up a conventional library, as well.