Graduating MSM Students Complete a Capstone in Artsakh

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The American University of Armenia (AUA) is pleased to share that a team of four AUA graduating students, Lory Bouldoukian (MSM ‘22), Karine Javakhyan (MSM ‘22), Anushik Muradyan (MSM ‘22), and Lia Yeghoyants (MSM ‘22), have successfully completed a Capstone Consulting Project for ArtsakhPost, the Republic of Artsakh state-owned postal operator. The project aimed to prepare a strategic roadmap for the organization that would strengthen its economic and social role in Artsakh. The project was adopted in response to an official request from the Ministry of Territorial Integrity (MTI) of the Republic of Artsakh, which is responsible for the operations of ArtsakhPost.

Early in the project, the student team and academic supervisor, Karen Sarkavagyan, visited Stepakanakert and Askeran in Artsakh for fact-finding. During that trip, the students visited ArtsakhPost headquarters, branches and service centers, and held in-depth interviews with ArtsakhPost employees and MTI Deputy Minister Smbat Petrosyan. Additionally, the team held a focus group with youth in Artsakh on topics ranging from the role of e-commerce in their daily life to the types of interaction they or other members of their family may have with traditional and modernized postal services.

“I am delighted at the zeal the students took up this project with,” says Sarkavagyan. “Every single student in the group expressed a strong desire to go back to Artsakh and help with implementing the recommendations they came up with in their consulting project.” 

The report has been delivered to MTI, and AUA expects to receive a letter of interest for a long-term capacity-building project that will help realize the implementation of the recommendations. “We are very pleased with what AUA students produced as a set of actionable recommendations,” noted Deputy Minister Petrosyan, “and we hope this will lead to a longer engagement where AUA students will take part in what they have recommended, especially in making ArtsakhPost a social hub.”

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, graduate, and certificate programs, promotes research and innovation, encourages civic engagement and community service, and fosters democratic values.