Education in the limelight of IT companies’ leaders

Review of June 15-22 IT and telecom events.

Education and qualification improvement were in the focus of IT companies’ leaders who gathered for a meeting in Tsaghkadzor. Bilateral contacts should be established to develop industry and education, according Vache Kirakosyan, head of the IT department at the Armenian Economy Ministry. “Enterprises with rich resources are working to this end. Synopsis and National Instruments apply interesting schemes for cooperation, while minor companies have to anchor hopes with badly-educated university graduates Education system should be reorganized to develop technologies in Armenia,” he said.

June 24, 2010

PanARMENIAN.Net - According to Sourcio CEO Hovhannes Avoyan it’s important to create a favorable atmosphere in universities: to encourage the students and the teaching staff. “It’s not a secret that a large number of students study to get a diploma. I offer to maintain the amount of financing of higher education institutions but cut the number of students by half,” he said.

The Armenian government approved the conclusion of international experts' commission on re-equipment of Yerevan Physics Institute into national research laboratory. Institute Director Ashot Chilingaryan stressed that around AMD 570mln are foreseen for the transformation of the institute into national laboratory, while around $100mln are required for the entire project on development of a new infrastructure of nuclear medicine in it, including $50-70mln for the accelerator (cyclotron) construction.

The Armenian Ministry of Education and Science jointly with Tatev Scientific and Educational Complex have launched an electronic library of Armenian textbooks and guidance manuals in Internet: spyurq.dasagirq.am (or http://dasagirq.am). Minister of Education and Science Armen Ashotyan said that the funds allocated from the budget for providing textbooks to Armenian schools of Diaspora can be used more efficiently, if these textbooks are disseminated via Internet. Along with traditional methods of education, the Ministry will be using innovation technologies. The project will allow Diaspora’s children to learn and improve their Armenian.Besides, a program of teachers’ retraining based on innovation technologies will kick off soon.

For his part, CEO of Tatev Scientific and Educational Complex and Zangak-97 publishing house Sokrat Mkrtchyan noted that textbooks selected by the Ministry of Education for Diaspora’s schools will be placed on the website. Zangak-97 jointly with other publishing houses also offered the Ministry of Education to temporarily place electronic versions of their textbooks on the website to provide users with the opportunity to estimate and discuss them impartially. According to Sokrat Mkrtchyan, it will allow creating equal conditions for all publishers.

Besides, new educational internet platform will be created in Armenia within 3 years. The government will soon announce platform developers competition, with World Bank allocating USD 50 thousand crediting in the initial stage of the project. Educational platform to be developed will allow teachers create their own educational material (for example video lessons) and put it on the internet, thus taking Armenian-language education to a new level.

VivaCell-MTS has assigned AMD 1,086,000,000 as support to the initiatives promoting the Armenian culture worldwide. “Our culture defines who we really are, it shapes our identity. It is the most valuable treasure a nation should preserve and cherish through generations,” VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian said.

COMSTAR-UTS company, which is in MTS group of companies, announced the launch of process of offering COMSTAR’s products and services under MTS brand. There will be two brands – MTS and MGTS – at the Russian telecommunications market within MTS group of companies (which is comprised of MTS, COMSTAR-UTS and MGTS) by the end of 2011. Thus, COMSTAR-UTS brands will be gradually replaced by MTS brand in Moscow and regions.

To promote national internet content development, ArmenTel CJSC (Beeline trademark) has offered all persons and organizations concerned to allocate their websites in the internet. Owners of web resources will be given an opportunity to use expanded outgoing ADSL channel as well as announce their websites in the internet. 256 kbps outgoing internet channel capacity will be provided. Resource owners will be responsible for maintenance of 24/7 information availability and provision of website contents in accordance with RA legislation.

Gayane Mirzoyan / PanARMENIAN News