East-West University School of Business and Technology, powered by Arizona State University, has been selected among the winning projects of the 4th Cintana Alliance Research Call.

The Cintana Alliance Research Call 4 brought together strong international participation. A total of 22 universities worldwide took part in the initiative, with a combined research budget of 126,000 USD. More than 300 researchers from 35 Cintana Alliance member universities contributed to the call, submitting 102 research proposals. Out of these, 16 projects were selected as winners.

One of the selected projects is EWU’s research initiative titled:
“Knowledge-Based Economy and Higher Education Reform: Institutional Strategies for Regional Innovation and Sustainable Development.”

Within this project, EWU plays a leading role. The university leads the research and coordinates collaboration with international partner institutions across four continents. The project brings together 12 professors and researchers from six universities, including East-West University, Arizona State University (USA), Private University of Fez (Morocco), and Budapest Metropolitan University (Hungary).

The project is led by Project Lead and Principal Investigator, Prof. Dr. Natia Zedginidze-Jishkariani (EWU). Dr. Janice Mak (Arizona State University, USA) serves as Co-Principal Investigator.

The research focuses on examining higher education systems through the lens of a knowledge-based economy. Using the cases of Morocco, Georgia, and Hungary, the project will explore and compare how higher education reforms support economic development and regional innovation.

The study specifically looks at how universities can act as key drivers of knowledge-based economic growth. It focuses on governance models, curriculum design, applied research, and regional engagement.

The project is aligned with the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, particularly:

• SDG 4 – Quality Education: strengthening the relevance, quality, and societal impact of higher education
• SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth: enhancing graduate employability, entrepreneurship, and innovation capacity
• SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure: positioning universities as hubs of research, digital transformation, and industrial collaboration
• SDG 17 – Partnership for the Goals: strengthening research collaboration and academic partnerships among international universities within the context of a knowledge-based economy

This achievement highlights East-West University’s growing role in international research collaboration and its contribution to innovation-driven, interdisciplinary projects that support global knowledge exchange.