Erasmus+ National Kick-off Day 2024 at the ESCS Ministry
On June 20, the RA Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports hosted the 'Erasmus+ National Kick-off Day 2024' event organized in cooperation with the Erasmus+ National Office in Armenia. The purpose of the event was to present the main goals and expected results of the projects submitted by Armenian universities and VET institutions that received grants from the Erasmus+ program in 2023, as well as to hold discussions aimed at identifying the main challenges.
Artur Martirosyan, the RA Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports, and Ambassador Vasilis Maragos, Head of the European Union Delegation to Armenia, delivered opening remarks at the event.
According to Mr. Maragos, the Erasmus+ program, which already benefits around 5,000 participants, is not only essential in terms of RA-EU cooperation but can also contribute to the diversification of Armenia's economy. "Diversification is probably just a technical word, but in reality, we are talking about making Armenia more resilient. Investing in human capital is essential in order to have a knowledge-based economy and also a knowledge-based society. This also involves education in democracy and media literacy, and it is also about how a citizen can be an active citizen. Knowledge and education are essential in this respect," the ambassador noted.
Referring to the volume of financing, Mr. Maragos added, "Our current portfolio includes more than 350 million euros of ongoing projects. We recently announced a new Resilience and Growth Plan; we have announced 270 million euros of grants. Part of this will also be used to leverage investments."
Mr. Artur Martirosyan noted that the Ministry attaches importance to the implementation of the Erasmus+ program in terms of higher education reforms, human capital development, and RA-EU dialogue. Just like Horizon Europe in science and Creative Europe in culture, the Erasmus+ program is an effective tool for Armenia-EU cooperation in higher education, the goals of which are in line with the targets set by the 2021-2026 RA Government Program and the RA State Education Development Plan until 2030.
In this respect, the deputy minister highlighted the importance of promoting Armenian universities' participation in the Erasmus+ program. "It is very encouraging for us that this year 8 programs received funding as opposed to 4 programs selected last year, and in the case of 6 of them, Armenian universities are the consortium coordinators."
In the first part of the event, the director of the Erasmus+ Office in Armenia, Lana Karlova, presented the 'Capacity Building in Higher Education' action projects, highlighted the increase in participation indicators of Armenian universities, and briefed the audience on the 8 programs selected in 2023.
Subsequently, the coordinators of the aforementioned projects participated in the panel discussions, also involving representatives of higher educational institutions, policymakers, non-governmental organizations, representatives of the business sector, and other stakeholders.