AUA Global Outreach Expands as University Signs MoU with ChinaHay to Bring Chinese Students to Armenia

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YEREVAN, Armenia – On September 29, 2015, the American University of Armenia (AUA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ChinaHay, the Armenian community of China, to provide scholarships for Chinese students to study at AUA. Henri Arslanian, President of ChinaHay, and AUA President Dr. Armen Der Kiureghian met in Akian Gallery on Tuesday morning to sign the MoU and solidify the collaboration.

The joint effort puts AUA on the higher education map in China, promotes the university’s global outreach, and creates a precedent for international recruitment from Eastern Asia. Beginning fall 2016, ChinaHay will commit to covering the living costs, healthcare, and air travel of at least one Chinese student. AUA will then provide a Merit Scholarship to aid in the payment of the student’s international tuition fees.

AUA and ChinaHay are jointly drafting scholarship marketing documents and designing a social media marketing campaign for their target audience in China. The first initiative will be specific to the recruitment of students for AUA’s graduate programs.

Arslanian remarked, “We are very proud to offer such a scholarship to our Chinese friends as a token of appreciation for the generosity and openness of the Chinese nation towards Armenians over the past centuries. We believe in the power of education and hope that this scholarship will encourage talented Chinese students to come to Armenia to pursue graduate studies. The Armenian Community of China is based on the pillars of independence, transparency and governance and we are proud to partner with a like minded organization like the American University of Armenia with which we share similar values and vision.”

AUA students come from all over the world, and on a daily basis get to enjoy the university’s many research centers and state-of-the-art facilities, including the newly renovated AGBU Papazian Library and the modern Paramaz Avedisian Building with fully equipped classrooms. In addition to offering 8 master’s degrees, AUA launched its undergraduate degree program in 2013, after which the number of applicants from outside of Armenia tripled from the 2012-2013 school year. With this MoU, AUA’s graduate programs will also see the benefits of increased international enrollment and diversity of student body.

AUA Provost Dr. Randall Rhodes, who was present at the signing, commented, “AUA is well positioned to attract students from China and other East Asian nations due to its location at the cultural and geo-political crossroads of the old Soviet Union and Iran. International students can explore these regional issues, live in a very safe environment, and study at a United States accredited university.”

Also in attendance at the signing was Gor Sargsyan, Director of the Confucius Institute in Yerevan, AUA Director of Admissions Arina Zohrabian, Professor and former Provost Dr. Donald Fuller, Director of Communications Zarmine Zeitountsian, and other members of the university community.

ChinaHay is the official name of the Armenian Community of China. The initiative began in 2006 when a small group of Armenians decided to organize a social and online platform for Armenians living in China. The objective is to connect individuals of Armenian descent based in the Greater China region and bring them together with the idea of recreating the community feeling that has always been important to all Armenians across the world. Using technology and the Internet to connect, the community gets together in various cities across China.

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.