Data Science Workshop Organized by Zaven & Sonia Akian College of Science and Engineering

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YEREVAN, Armenia – On May 22-23, the American University of Armenia (AUA) hosted its inaugural Data Science Workshop with the participation of around 24 local scientists. The goal of the workshop was to initiate scientific interactions among groups of scientists and entrepreneurs in Armenia and abroad who work on developing cutting-edge algorithms for machine learning and big data analytics and their applications in various areas of science, economy, and commerce.

The topics covered ranged from applying theoretical and practical approaches to deep learning and AI, to research in knowledge representation and reasoning, large-scale image processing, bioinformatics, and natural language processing.

The concept initiated with discussions between Dr. Arthur Petrosian, Department Chair of Computer Science of Zaven & Sonia Akian College of Science and Engineering (CSE), Dr. Aram Hajian, Dean of CSE, and AUA President Armen Der Kiureghian in January of this year. “Looking to refocus the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science/Master of Science in Computer and Information Science curriculums toward data science, a natural first step would be for me to start meeting with active local researchers, both from academia and industry, who are working in data science and big data applications. I began meeting with them during the months of February and March, and it became apparent that they needed a platform to exchange their ideas, communicate results, and collaborate on their projects,” Dr. Petrosian said.

The event was considered a success, exceeding all expectations of the organizers both in terms of attendance numbers and in quality of presentations. By organizing the event, AUA gained additional recognition as a leader in innovation, research, and education fields in Armenia. CSE is committed to holding more events such as these in order to further establish AUA as a center for the promotion and development of research in data science and big data applications.

“Let’s put Armenia on the global map for machine learning and big data science applications,” said Dr. Petrosian. “We are hopeful that this event will contribute to the further strengthening of Armenia’s IT sector, as well as extending those strengths into additional vital areas of modern data science and big data related research,” he concluded.