George Sharvashidze has been director of the Academic Fellowship Program at the Open Society International Higher Education Support Program (HESP) since 2003. Prior to joining HESP he served as a president of the International Institute for Education Policy, Management and Planning; international task force leader at the Higher Education Reform Project; first deputy and deputy minister of education of Georgia; and head of the Foreign Affairs Department at the Georgian Ministry of Education. He was also a senior scientific worker at Tbilisi State University.
Sharvashidze holds a PhD in the field of higher education management. Recent publications include Private Higher Education in Georgia (UNESCO, IIEP, Paris, 2005) and Educational Reform, Curriculum Change, and Teacher Education in Georgia (UNESCO, IBE, Geneva, 2004).