AUA Travels to Rome for the 10th Annual AMICAL Conference

2 min read

On June 12-15, 2013, the American University of Armenia (AUA) participated in the 10^th Annual AMICAL Conference hosted by the John Cabot University in Rome, Italy. Director of the AGBU Papazian Library Satenik Avagyan, Director of Information and Communication Technologies Services Berj Gatrjyan, and Program Chair of the MA in Teaching English as a Foreign Language Program Irshat Madyarov attended as representatives of AUA. The four-day conference included workshops, discussions, and keynote speeches on the theme of “New Media, New Literacies, New Models: Library-IT-Faculty Collaboration in a Learning Intensive World.”

AUA has participated in this conference nearly every year for the past nine years, and even hosted the 2009 conference. Avagyan explains, “The AMICAL consortium is so unique because it encourages collaboration between faculty, library staff, and IT staff in every member university. AMICAL supports the creation of emerging models for new kinds of collaborative information services. At AUA we have come to learn a lot from each other through this collaboration.”

AUA representatives led a discussion about the free e-tablet program that AUA hopes to establish in the near future, thereby engaging members of universities from all over the world in a dialogue about the role of technology in education. Says Avagyan, “This is a very small consortium, including only about 20 universities. Because of that, every voice is heard.”

The American International Consortium of Academic Libraries (AMICAL) is a coalition of American-model liberal arts institutions located outside of the United States which aims to facilitate access to library resources and promote professional development and collaboration between librarians, IT staff, and faculty.

Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia and affiliated with the University of California. AUA provides a global education in Armenia and the region, offering high-quality, graduate and undergraduate studies, encouraging civic engagement, and promoting public service and democratic values.