AUA Welcomes WPI Students and Their Supervisor

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YEREVAN, Armenia — On March 12, the American University of Armenia (AUA) welcomed 15 students from Massachusetts’ Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and their instructor, former Peterson Family Dean of Arts and Sciences and Professor Dr. Karen Kashmanian Oates. Joining them were eight AUA students and their instructors, Assistant Professor in the Zaven P. and Sonia Akian College of Science and Engineering Dr. Hrachya Kocharyan and adjunct lecturer in the Acopian Center for the Environment Norayr Ben Ohanian, to embark on their collaborative journey as part of the AUA-WPI 2024 study abroad program.

During the WPI students’ initial visit to AUA, they engaged in a series of enriching activities, including a meeting with University President Dr. Bruce Boghosian, a tour of campus, and a reception with the AUA community, during which AUA and WPI students shared their experience in the joint study-abroad program. The students also presented their preliminary project proposals, setting the stage for the final weeks of their work. AUA Dean of General Education Dr. Sharistan Melkonian highlighted the results of the fruitful collaboration, noting: “We are pleased to welcome the WPI students and Dr. Kashmanian Oates to AUA and to welcome back the AUA students who spent seven weeks at WPI earlier this semester. The students will be working together on six community-based projects here in Armenia, and we are excited to learn about the results of their work later this semester.” 

WPI students arrived in Armenia within the framework of the fifth year of partnership between AUA and WPI. Over the course of seven weeks, the students will conduct fieldwork, implementing collaborative efforts on several projects that address community-based issues in Armenia. Earlier this semester, AUA students spent seven weeks at WPI, preparing to work on their projects, and taking additional courses at the Institute. 

Dr. Kashmanian Oates highlighted the diverse range of projects, spanning various sectors of Armenian society, undertaken by the students: “It is a pleasure to work with AUA students who, just like our students, aim to make an impact in their communities. Our partnership with the faculty and administration at AUA has the reward of educating these youth for future success.” The projects tackle existing issues in various sectors of Armenian society, aiming to foster solutions through innovation and critical thinking. Projects include considering the unused potential biogas across Armenia from biowaste; proposing an automatic rainwater collection, storage, and distribution system; promoting the utilization of a diabetes training program; optimizing the benefits of Orran’s Arts and Crafts workshops; and pinning down the remote sensing tools that can be used to identify landfill fires. 

Ben Ohanian reflected on the students’ work, adding: “By working on these projects together as peers, the AUA and WPI students will not just be contributing to their projects. This collaborative environment provides an opportunity for them to share their know-how while also developing skills that will be useful to them in their future careers.” In his turn, Dr. Kocharyan mentioned: “There are so many positive aspects of Interactive Qualifying Projects. The students solve problems that impact Armenia and improve our country little by little. AUA students work on a project unlike anything they have worked on in the past, and with people they did not know before, which forces them to think outside the box and makes them a more rounded person. Finally, we host American students who fall in love with our country and will definitely become our ambassadors abroad.”

The students will continue their work in Armenia and prepare to present their final project results on April 29.

Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia, affiliated with the University of California, and accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission in the United States. AUA provides local and international students with Western-style education through top-quality undergraduate and graduate degree and certificate programs, promotes research and innovation, encourages civic engagement and community service, and fosters democratic values.