New Alternative Space Alterbridge: A Bridge between Education & Employment

Dare to be Alter! Dare to be the first! Dare to be that one who starts studying at Alterbridge! - These are the main messages of the educational space Alterbridge, which has quickly managed to earn people’s trust due to its innovative teaching methods, unique approach towards each student, and long-time experience and deep knowledge of the professionals employed there.

‘ALTERBRIDGE’ - the International Teaching University of Management and Communication, was founded in 2018 by the Educational Center ‘PR Academy’, which has been operating on the Georgian Education Market since 2012, to conduct consultancy services, corporate and individual training courses and certified programs in the sphere of general management, strategic communications, organizational studies, human resources and other in-demand directions.

PR Academy’s services are used by international and local organizations, small and medium businesses, non-governmental and public sector representatives, among them TBC Bank, the Parliament of Georgia, Georgian Post, Georgian Railway, National Center of Manuscripts, Ministry of Agriculture, Civil Service Bureau, and international organizations GIZ, UNDP, USAID, NDI, and UNICEF.

The main goal behind its establishment was the introduction and development of transformational teaching methods in the country, contributing to youth employment and the career advancement in the above-mentioned fields, which, considering the number of graduates and their success stories, has been successfully implemented.

Located on Tskneti Highway in Tbilisi, in a modern design building which fully satisfies the authorization standards of a higher educational institution and creates maximum commitment for research, teaching and development, Alterbridge represents a bridge between employment and education.

Among the competitive advantages are the multi-year experience of the founding and managing team, its solid reputation and recognition, and loyal staff; the best prerequisite for establishing another educational center oriented on employment and self-realization in Georgia, to create educational programs tailored to the requirements of the labor market, and to generate a competitive, qualified human resource via transformational teaching methods.

Behind Alterbridge, there is a team that knows how to achieve its goals. The Alterbridge environment is designed for students to feel free to study, work and find their alter-selves.

Alterbridge programs give students the knowledge and self-confidence they need to help them to be brave.

The educational institution teaches its students how to apply and use knowledge in practice.

Most importantly, its partner organizations are ready to welcome and employ its students. As a link between companies and human resources, based on best practices and experience, Alterbridge can offer companies highly motivated staff, with exactly the competencies they need in the workplace.

GEORGIA TODAY spoke to Affiliated / Associate Professor Mako Jaoshvili, the Vice Principal of the University, to find out more exciting details about the innovative educational platform, its teaching methods, achievements and novelties.

Mako herself is a mentor and business trainer. She is the director of two academic programs and conducts lectures at Alterbridge. Her second profession is Positive Psychotherapy consultant, and she believes that using positive approaches and a model of balance while teaching are among the most important issues for achieving tangible results.

What are the specifications of the university as a business?

The private university itself, as an idea, already means social responsibility, and it’s quite a big responsibility to establish the university and enter an academic space. During this process, our team was fully aware of what specifications and characteristics to consider when entering this market and, at the same time, to achieve our goals and ideas. Our main motivation was the long-time experience our team has gained in terms of public relations, and in the field of communication in general. Our 7-year history within the framework of the PR Academy gave us the motivation to try our abilities on a different level, contribute to the development of the field, and initiate changes and novelties in terms of academic education. Naturally, the university was the best way for this. Accordingly, at the first stage of establishing the university, we were guided by certain programs in which we are professionals and the development of which is our priority.

From the very beginning, the PR Academy brought together people who have extensive practical experience in the field of public relations and communications in general. Most of them are the main team of Alterbridge today.

For the bachelor’s program, we developed a Public Relations and Communication Psychology program, and for the Master’s program, Strategic Communication. By teaching through these programs, we consider our students as our future “ambassadors,” who will bring changes to this market and, at the same time, be the supporters of the development of our university.

What is the main mission of Alterbridge?

Actually, our mission is to be a bridge between education and employment, professional and personal development, and self-realization. The clear example of it will be what we, as a team, and our lecturers and students together, will be able to achieve. Although Alterbridge is a private university, we always adhere to the requirements of law and those norms existing in the educational field. The existence of international educational standards is very helpful to make our work even more organized.

We not only serve education, but promote the development of issues that are relevant and important to society. Naturally, the activity related to the university also includes scientific-creative and research directions. The development of management and communication are the two main directions our university offers to all interested parties.

At the university, there is also a Training Center operating, which gives students and the adults even more opportunities to develop and acquire new skills. We’ve already started collaboration with various international organizations and scientific establishments. Sincerely, we’re proud because, although the university is still newly established and we gained authorization only a year ago, we already have an impressive number of local and international partners.

Another exciting detail about the university is that within the framework of the Master’s Program, we’ve elaborated so-called Micro Masters, which has also been approved and certified abroad. It represents an additional opportunity for those who have limited time, or couldn’t manage to pass entrance exams in summer. Through our Micro Masters, students can receive academic knowledge in a relatively short time, per semester. In general, our programs stand out for the fact that the elements of practice are integrated in each teaching course, and naturally, this one is no exception.

Apart from this, we actively work in terms of professional development. We’ve recently received accreditation in the field of professional training and retraining of a public servant of both 4th-3rd rank and 2nd-1st rank. Regarding our teaching methods, a characteristic niche that we’ve managed to occupy: we know how to manage the profession and how to establish effective communication through training. Programs consist of 70% practice and 30% theory.

We allow our students enrolled in the Master’s Program to get involved in various projects and be initiators of activities themselves, to get maximal knowledge which will be useful for them in the workplace. It’s a brilliant opportunity for them to test their abilities and grow both personally and professionally. For this purpose, we also actively use coaching techniques and principles, meaning that students give each other exact questions to verify the other party’s responsibility in the decision making process. This approach is helpful for developing the important skills of asking questions in the right way, active listening and observation, which are important for them in future during collaboration and negotiation with business partners.

Do you have any limits in getting the students?

We do not have age limitations. In terms of training format, even schoolchildren and adults can take on our teaching courses. Regarding the academic education level, of course, in this case, students should have a general education and have passed the entrance exams. One of our important directions of strategic development is integration into international programs, including exchange programs. We want to further develop the direction of psychology, which is quite important for communication. This direction is an integrated part of our bachelor’s program, such as the learning courses, Person’s Psychology, Social psychology, Psychological Aspects of Leadership and other disciplines.

At the same time, we’re introducing a separate post-graduate direction, the Existential Psychology. At the preparatory stage the webinars will be launched in spring. The program itself lasts five years and is aimed at students becoming a professional existential psychotherapist. After completion of three years of the program, a student receives a Psychology Consultant diploma. The selection process is implemented on the basis of an interview. This program will launch in summer.

Further, we’re in negotiations to cooperate with one of the leading private universities in Poland, as many programs and our vision coincide; there are many aspects in which will be exciting and beneficial for both sides. The university expressed interest in collaboration with us, which makes us proud. This partnership will also include exchange programs, and will provide additional opportunities for our students to study abroad and self-develop. In general, we’re planning on expanding partnerships with educational institutions throughout the region, which will be mutually beneficial for the youth of its countries.

How have studies been affected by the pandemic?

Of course, we adhere to regulations, and studies are being conducted remotely. We were something like pioneers in this direction. In spring, when the pandemic reached Georgia, we immediately switched to remote teaching. Another important direction of ours is the innovative education center, within the framework of which we developed a project ‘The Challenges and Opportunities of Online Learning,’ and we are actively using our experience in this direction. Many of the participants of our trainings are school teachers, and our experience in this field turned out to be useful for them in their professional activities. It happens that sometimes we have certain knowledge, but we are afraid of novelties. Practical work is important at this time. At our innovative education center, our slogan is ‘We learn by doing, we improve the result,’ meaning that the fear of novelties can be overcome by practice. We just show them different approaches and methods. Our skills were useful in this process.

As for my second profession, Positive Psychology Consultant, it really helps me not only to adapt to the changed conditions of working due to the pandemic situation, but also to use its instruments as a lecturer, mentor or trainer during online teaching and managing processes.

We had quite a busy month in December in terms of online trainings and webinars for those interested in personal and career development, and of course, this active work will continue in the coming months. Alterbridge has a lot of exciting future plans and our team will continue their dedicated work to implement them.

On December 18, at the initiative and with the organization of the International Teaching University of Management and Communication Alterbridge, an online webinar was held on the topic: “Management of Institutions in a Pandemic - Best Practices.” The purpose of the event was to share best practical examples, to support universities, vocational colleges, educational centers and institutions in the country.

Here, I should also mention two interesting masterclasses for our students held by our foreign colleagues: one was regarding the negotiation strategies by Dr. Joshua N Weiss, negotiation and conflict resolution expert and the co-founder of a negotiation program at Harvard University, while the second dealt with organizational changes during the pandemic and post crisis period, conducted by Klaus Wittkuhn, founder and managing partner of Performance Design International, with whom we have collaboration through the workshops of USAID/HICD 2020.

As far as you see, despite challenges like this pandemic, our team remains fully motivated to share their knowledge and experience with students. 2021 and lots of new challenges are ahead. Now, this is what I teach my lecture or training course participants: start by overcoming the barrier that frightens you the most; give up your comfort zone; do not be afraid of difficulties. Because exactly this is what gives us the courage to develop; this is how we grow personally, and this is how we form our own alter-me. Alterbridge gives such an opportunity to us all, if only we are ready for better changes. Let's start together!