HTI Ministry and FAST join forces to promote AI education in Armenia

On November 20, the Ministry of High-Tech Industry of the Republic of Armenia, represented by Minister Robert Khachatryan, and the Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology (FAST), represented by founding Director Armen Orujyan, signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to promote education in the sphere of artificial intelligence in Armenia.

According to the Memorandum, the parties will cooperate in the effective implementation of the “Generation of Artificial Intelligence” project.

Minister Robert Khachatryan stressed that the Ministry gives importance to the development of artificial intelligence in Armenia, noted that the implementation of the program provides an opportunity to study and form practical ideas about artificial intelligence from school age.
“Artificial intelligence is a powerful tool that can create both good and evil. If we start from school to properly guide the students in order to have positive results with the use of artificial intelligence, we can reduce significant risks. I want to thank the FAST Foundation for the initiative. Together we will try to bring the applied problems to the school so that the results are more tangible”, said Robert Khachatryan and expressed hope that the desired results will be visible in the near future.

Armen Orujyan, founding Director of FAST, emphasized this cooperation and noted that the development of technologies is very important for Armenia, which has limited resources, in order to be competitive in the international arena.
“Artificial intelligence is one of those technologies in which we can succeed if we make the right investment. For this purpose, the cooperation of sectoral organizations and the system of education is very important, so that the students of the “AI Generation” program also have the opportunity to solve real problems and undergo work practice in these organizations. I am sure that with joint efforts in a few years we will have thousands of AI specialists who will make a real difference in the long term”, said Armen Orujyan.

Araksia Svajyan, Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the RA, also noted that the “AI Generation” program has aroused great interest among schools.
“We place great importance on support programs that help implement the state policy in a more addressed and targeted way”, said the Deputy Minister.

The Memorandum aims to ensure the development and implementation of educational programs in the direction of artificial intelligence, connection between the sectoral companies and the educational system, and the formation of a generation of competitive and innovative specialists.

FAST implements the “AI Generation” program with the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the RA. The start was given in 2022, and in September of this year, it was already implemented in 16 school programs.