Two AUA College of Science and Engineering Students Participate in the WorldSkills Armenia Competition

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YEREVAN, Armenia – Two American University of Armenia students took part for the first time in WorldSkills Armenia, a competition where young people up to the age of 23 demonstrate the level of their skills in three areas: Mechatronics, Web Design, and IT Network Systems Administration. The competition took place at the State College of Informatics on November 27-28.

Levon Stepanyan and Sergey Hovakimyan, juniors in the Computational Science Department, entered the competition in the category of Mechatronics as pilot participants, since this was the first time AUA was taking part in the event. They garnered enough points to place first and fifth, but would not be able to continue onto the next international level of the competition as their entry was “experimental.” AUA will have full status in the next WorldSkills Armenia competition.

Aram Keryan, Adjunct Lecturer at the College of Science and Engineering (CSE), led and supported the students through the entire competition process, starting from securing AUA participation in the event to preparing the students for the competition.

WorldSkills Armenia is a competition at the national level to select participants for the international phase of the WorldSkills competition. The international competition, which has been held every two years since 1950, attracts thousands of skilled and talented young women and men from more than 70 countries who compete in over 50 skill areas.

Armenia has been participating since 2012 as an associate member. The next event will take place in Abu Dhabi in 2017.

Among the supporters of the AUA Mechatronics team were Tatevik Gasparyan, Director of the National Center for Vocational Education and Training Development, an official member organization of WorldSkills International from Armenia, and Armen Gyokchyan, Director of Festo Armenia, which represents Festo, a founding global partner of WorldSkills International.

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.