Erasmus+ BOOST Project: AUA Participated in Project Management Meeting and Training Session at KTH, Sweden
2 min readSTOCKHOLM, Sweden – On February 18-22, 2019, representatives of the American University of Armenia (AUA) took part in an Erasmus+ BOOST project management meeting and training session on grant proposal writing, partner engagement and fundraising activities held at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden.
Led by AUA Assistant Vice President Anahit Ordyan, the AUA team comprising Gayane Barseghyan, Assistant Professor at the Manoogian Simone College of Business & Economics (CBE), Tatevik Vardanyan, Grants and Projects Manager at the Acopian Center for the Environment, and Astghik Atanyan, Recruitment Coordinator at the Turpanjian School of Public Health (SPH), actively participated in the workshops, exchanged experiences, and presented the University’s best practices towards institutional internationalization.
Overall, 27 professionals from seven partner country institutions from Armenia, including the Armenian State Pedagogical University, the Shirak State University, the Vanadzor State University, the National Information Center for Academic Recognition and Mobility, and the RA Ministry of Education and Science took part in this BOOST project activity.
Among the sessions covering the Swedish National Strategy on Internationalization, guidelines related to drawing the Logical Framework Matrix for Erasmus+ program applications, and KTH academic programs and practices in recruiting international students, of special interest was the support by Swedish Institute (SI) of projects on democratic, equitable and sustainable development in developing countries. The region of Eastern partnership countries, including Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus, continues to be a priority region of interest for SI.
The Management meeting with the European partners was dedicated to reviewing the draft national strategy presented by Robert Sukiasyan, Head of the Higher and Postgraduate Professional Education Department of the RA Ministry of Education and Science.
When in Stockholm, the AUA team seized the opportunity to also meet with AUA alumni living and working there, to learn how they are doing, to update them on the University’s recent developments, and to encourage them to stay engaged with their alma mater.
Lilit Makaryan (MBA ‘11), Product Manager at Nordnet Digital Investment bank, and her husband Erik Ghonyan, a programmer at Spotify, hosted the AUA team for this small alumni reunion. Makaryan noted, “Choosing AUA was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life. It gave me the knowledge, the skills, great friends and the inspiration that changed my life. Meeting the AUA visiting team made us so happy and reminded me of AUA’s welcoming, warm, and supportive environment.”
Arus Shahinyan (MA TEFL ‘14), employed at the Swedish Public Employment Agency, stated, “It was my sister Mane Margaryan who was applying for admission to the College of Science and Engineering and encouraged me not to miss my chance of studying at AUA. We applied together in the same year and graduated together. In the course of learning, I especially valued that at AUA thinking out of box was much encouraged and appreciated.”
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.
