SAN JOSE, Calif. — The American University of Armenia (AUA) is cultivating Armenia’s next generation of entrepreneurs, technology leaders, and world-class researchers, said AUA President Dr. Bruce Boghosian on Monday, December 10, while speaking at ArmTech Congress 2012 about the university’s latest initiatives to foster the development of a knowledge-based economy in Armenia.
This year’s ArmTech conference, hosted by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University, brought together more than 120 technology executives, entrepreneurs, academic researchers, venture capitalists and senior Armenian government officials to discuss and explore the development of Armenia’s technology sector.
Boghosian outlined AUA’s current and new programs during a panel focused on the state and direction of research and development in universities, research institutes, and laboratories. Bringing the focus to higher education in Armenia, he introduced AUA’s new Master of Science Degree in Economics and Bachelor of Science Degree in Computational Sciences, emphasizing the potential impact of these two programs on the development of business, technology, and entrepreneurship in Armenia.
“With the bachelor’s degree in computational sciences, we are leveraging Armenia’s existing expertise in physics and mathematics, and combining it with software development to help Armenia produce scientific and engineering software for the world,” explained Boghosian. “Our master’s degree in economics, meanwhile, will prepare business leaders and economic professionals to help guide sustainable economic growth in Armenia and strengthen its position in the global and regional economy.”
Boghosian illustrated how these changes have already begun taking shape in the halls and classrooms of AUA, with students coming together to imagine and create new and innovative businesses.
“We have had two business plan competitions in the last month,” he said. “Some of our students have gone further and actually started new high-tech companies. For example, the latest AUA student startup is called Verium, and it is working on cryptographic solutions to combat counterfeiting and identity theft.”
