This is the 1830th most frequent Russian word.
начинать
"Начинать" means "to begin" or "to start."
Here, 'начинать' is used to indicate the beginning of an action represented by the verb 'учить'.
Я начинаю учить русский язык.
I am starting to learn Russian.
In this sentence, 'начинать' is used in the past tense to denote the starting point of the meeting.
Мы начали встречу в три часа.
We started the meeting at three o'clock.
The word 'начинать' here reflects a future intent to initiate an action, specifically the 'новый проект'.