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Armenia as an International

Hub for Research & Education

A proposed template

June 26, 2023 - Dilijan

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The “Why” - Challenges and Opportunities

From surviving to thriving

  • Armenia faces existential threats and cannot rely on natural resources or immediate strategic alliances to overcome them;�
  • Armenians have a significant resource that only a few states can claim: an internationally networked Diaspora that includes scholars and experts that are world-class. Leveraging this resource can be a game-changer;�
  • In the long term, the hand that holds the pen writes history.

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The “What” - Coordination and Collaboration

Convened with the help of ASOF

  • ASOF is about long-term capacity building, over 20 years; it is about building institutions that transcend politics, building the State.�
  • ASOF is an international network of scholars and experts whose role is to help coordinate and create collaborations between existing and new programs.�
  • For Armenia, collaboration is not only needed to thrive, but to even survive. Coalition building should be at the center of any new model.

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The “How” - An effective model

Research-Education in a new connected world

  • Most projects initiated or supported by ASOF members are meant to be spin-offs, independent entities;�
  • If we want to play on the international stage and be a step ahead in the region, we need ASOF’s networking;�
  • A working example: CSIE and Robotics Center currently at Polytechnic.

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The “How” - An effective model

Research-Education in a new connected world

  • General Steps�
    • Connect with ASOF about a question of strategic importance to Armenia �or ask is developed from within ASOF;�
    • Initiate a Program or an Independent Research Center with the help of scholars from ASOF;�
    • Control assured through funding mechanisms; trust built over time;�
    • Coordination of related efforts achieved through ASOF’s network.

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The “How” - Administration & Vision

  • We need a centralized administrative structure that provides common services to all programs and centers:

Research-Education in a new connected world

Visitor program

International conferences

High-performance computing

Outreach office

Job placement office

Grant management

Technological transfer office

Foreign student program

  • We also need a locally-initiated expert body that represents the �State’s interests & vision to direct and nudge operations in the right directions.

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A Proposed Model

Funders

Private Sector

Government�Benefactors�Foundations�ASOF Patrons

Foreign Students

A Research Center

Scientific Board

Scientific Staff

Center Budget

Graduate Schools

International �Research Centers

Public

Private

Red: Flow of Funds

Blue: Transfer of services & technology

Administrative Division

set up by

Government �or private entity

Informed Strategic �State Interests

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Roadmap - More than 100 international experts

First 3-4 years — project proposals in implementation phase

International Center for Robotics

18 experts

H.AI: The Armenian Institute of Artificial Intelligence

6 experts

Center for Physical Sciences & Quantum Technologies

21 experts

Armenian Center for Economic Studies

16 experts.

Center for Political Science Research & Methodology

14 experts

Center for Ethics in Public Policy

7 experts

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Roadmap - More than 100 international experts

Projects in the pipeline…

Center for Aerospace Engineering

10 experts

Center for Intelligent Chemistry

9 experts

Life Sciences Research & Education

8 experts

Center for Regenerative Medicine

7 experts

International Center for the Humanities & Social Sciences

16 experts

Ecological Humanities

8 experts

Film Scoring in Armenia

4 experts

Centers of Translation & Languages

4 experts

Directions for Cultural Heritage Preservation in Armenia

8 experts

Interdisciplinary Reconsideration of Armenian Visual & Material Cultures

6 experts

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ASOF’s role

  • Mediator between local public and private stakeholders.�
  • Helps develop transformative projects to consider and seed.�
  • Provides fundraising services through the network of the Patrons of the Society.�
  • Can help provide external evaluation reports to the Centers.�
  • Is a pool for seed scientific personnel to support Centers as needed.�
  • Helps network Centers with international centers of excellence.

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Seed Robotics Executive Board

David Akopian

Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, The University of Texas at San Antonio

Machine-Human Conversational Systems, Mobile Positioning Technologies, Wireless Communication

Texas, USA

�

Rafi Baghdjian

Advisor to the Centre for Scientific Innovation and Education Foundation

Energy

Armenia

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Karen Eguiazarian

Professor, Tampere University, Finland, and CEO of Noiseless Imaging Ltd

Computational imaging & optics

Finland

Naira Hovakimyan (chair)

Professor, Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Control Theory, Optimization

Illinois, USA

�

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Hovannes Kulhandjian

Associate Professor Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering California State University, Fresno

Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering

California, USA

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Yervant Zorian

Chief Architect and Fellow, Synopsys Corp

Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering

California, USA