The International School of Economics at Tbilisi State University (ISET) is a graduate school of economics in Tbilisi

Tbilisi

Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...

 in Georgia

Georgia (country)

Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

 and an autonomous part of Tbilisi State University

Tbilisi State University

Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University , better known as Tbilisi State University , is a university established on 8 February 1918 in Tbilisi, Georgia. TSU is the oldest university in the whole Caucasus region...

. The school was established in 2006 and offers a two-year master's program in economics, modeled after similar programs in Moscow

New Economic School

New Economic School, NES is a graduate school of economics in Moscow, Russia.-Alumni and students:...

 and Kiev

Kyiv School of Economics

The Kyiv School of Economics is a university in Ukraine focused on economics. The university, founded by the Economics Education and Research Consortium and the Victor Pinchuk Foundation, offers master's programs in Financial Economics, Economic Policy and Economics of Firms and Markets...

. As the only graduate school of economics in the Caucasus it admits students from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. ISET is supported by the government of Georgia, BP

BP

BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...

, CERGE-EI

CERGE-EI

CERGE-EI is an academic institution that provides an American-style PhD program in economics, a US-chartered Master of Arts program in Applied Economics , and the UPCES study abroad program. CERGE-EI also conducts research in theoretical and policy-related economics...

 Foundation (Czech Republic), the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Open Society Institute

Open Society Institute

The Open Society Institute , renamed in 2011 to Open Society Foundations, is a private operating and grantmaking foundation started by George Soros, aimed to shape public policy to promote democratic governance, human rights, and economic, legal, and social reform...

, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency

Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency

The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency is a government agency of the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Sida is responsible for organization of the bulk of Sweden's official development assistance to developing countries....

, the World Bank

World Bank

The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...

, the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan

State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan

The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan is the state-owned fund managing financial assets generated by oil and natural exploration and development in Azerbaijan. It's located on Neftchiler Avenue in Baku.-Overview:...

 and the Central Bank of Armenia

Central Bank of Armenia

The Central Bank of Armenia is the central bank of Armenia with its headquarters in Yerevan. The CBA is an independent institution responsible for issuing all banknotes and coins in the country, overseeing and regulating the banking sector and keeping the government's currency reserves...

. ISET was set up after the former Georgian prime minister Zurab Zhvania

Zurab Zhvania

Zurab Zhvania was a prominent Georgian politician, having served as Prime Minister of Georgia and Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia as well as Minister without Portfolio. Zhvania assumed premiership on 18 February 2004 and remained on the position until his death on 3 February 2005...

 in a letter to the World bank requested help in "creating our own capability to train young economists in modern economics as it is taught all over the world".

Some of ISET's graduates now pursue PhD. studies at the top places around the world (Stanford University

Stanford University

The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

, Washington University in St. Louis

Washington University in St. Louis

Washington University in St. Louis is a private research university located in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1853, and named for George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all fifty U.S. states and more than 110 nations...

, CERGE-EI

CERGE-EI

CERGE-EI is an academic institution that provides an American-style PhD program in economics, a US-chartered Master of Arts program in Applied Economics , and the UPCES study abroad program. CERGE-EI also conducts research in theoretical and policy-related economics...

 in Prague, or University of Chicago

University of Chicago

The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...

).