Alumni Highlights - Khatuna Burkadze

The Research Center of the Business and Technology University has announced the “Scientist of the Year” to promote scientific research activities. Dr. Khatuna Burkadze, Professor of BTU and the Chair of the Doctoral Program – Digital Governance and AI in the Public Sector, has become the “Scientist of the Year”.

A specially created group of scientists and international experts have selected the “Scientist of the Year” in innovations and digital transformations. The scientific activities of the candidate evaluated by them include various criteria. These are the number and quality of scientific works performed at a high scientific level, generally recognized publications, and research citation indexes, contributing to research development and popularization. The purposes of the “Scientist of the Year Award” announced by the university are to popularize scientific research, stimulate them, and recognize and appreciate the achievements of the researchers.

Since 2008, Dr. Khatuna Burkadze has been working on innovation and digital transformation studies, which aim to identify the characteristics of the strategic, ethical, and legal frameworks of digital transformation and develop recommendations concerning innovative approaches for transforming the main areas of public administration in a digital era. This process promotes the development of digital governance, highlights the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) by using automated approaches, and defines appropriate strategic visions for digital transformation. However, it is necessary not only to explore the opportunities but also the challenges. Innovative approaches are required to implement an effective cyber security policy, which is essential to protect critical information systems and ensure the sustainability of digital governance. In this regard, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), within the Fulbright Fellowship, Dr. Khatuna Burkadze was a principal investigator of the research project. It aimed to define the responsible behavior of state and non-state actors in cyberspace. MIT published some of the research findings. 

At the same time, she is the author of the “Chatbot Consul” initiative that focuses on introducing an automated approach to consular relations to ensure continuous communication with citizens. She has explored strategic, ethical and legal frameworks of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Her work on international trends of digital transformation has been included in the database of the U.N. World Health Organization, and the definitions of two new types of diplomacy: digital and cyber diplomacy have been published in the 21st Century Diplomacy column of the Fletcher Forum. Also, she is actively working on the use of artificial intelligence in the areas of education and foreign and security policy. Dr. Khatuna Burkadze is the co-author of the Guideline for the Development of Strategic and Legal Frameworks of AI. Also, the Ministry of Education, Science and Youth of Georgia and the Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation have awarded Professor Burkadze for her contribution to science.