“We have enormous untapped potential in the regions.” – Mkhitar Hayrapetyan at the opening of Tech Week

On July 4, the Minister of High-Tech Industry of the Republic of Armenia, Mkhitar Hayrapetyan, participated in the opening ceremony of the “Tech Week 2025” technology event held at the Charles Aznavour Cultural Palace in Vanadzor and delivered an opening address.

The Minister expressed gratitude to the organizers of the event, whose efforts will transform Vanadzor into Armenia’s technological capital for three days.

“This is truly an important achievement for Vanadzor, and such events must be organized more frequently in this wonderful city. This is an event whose results we are all obliged to capitalize on to the fullest and, over time, turn Vanadzor into a technological cluster. Vanadzor is one of the few cities in Armenia that has this potential,” said Mkhitar Hayrapetyan.

After that, a panel discussion was held with the Minister’s participation on the topic: “The lack of opportunities to develop in the regions as a systemic problem: the real steps of the state and business towards retaining and developing IT and digital potential in communities.” During the discussion, Minister Hayrapetyan addressed what he called the greatest challenge in all respects—the limited resources of human capital—emphasizing the need to use them more effectively. He also underlined the importance of technological development in the regions:

“There is a hidden, undiscovered wealth in the regions that is still silent, but it exists. Therefore, the main task of the state and the private sector is to find these talents, to discover them, to make targeted investments, and to involve them in these processes,” said Mkhitar Hayrapetyan, adding that the regions are at the core of the vision for technological development.

As part of Tech Week 2025, the DevHacks technology hackathon organized by Layerswap was also launched. During the hackathon, teams of 3–5 people will work on bringing their innovative ideas to life over 48 hours.

The participants of the hackathon were welcomed and wished success by Deputy Minister of High-Tech Industry Ruben Simonyan:

“It is inspiring to be at the Vanadzor Technology Center, where the Engineering Week has been held for many years. It is very impressive for me to see so many young people with bright, determined eyes, ready for this challenge. Hackathons create a wonderful platform for collaboration and competition, as well as an opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge in practice,” said Ruben Simonyan, emphasizing the importance of holding such events in the regions and expanding them to other provinces of Armenia.

A welcoming speech was also delivered by Sargis Karapetyan, Executive Director of the Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises (UATE). He spoke about his own experience of participating in hackathons, emphasized the importance of such initiatives, thanked the organizers, and wished success to the participants.

Within the framework of Tech Week 2025, the “Wings” ideas competition will also be held to support the socio-economic development of Lori region. The competition is designed for professional teams from various sectors, from technology to agribusiness and tourism. In the first stage, 7 teams will be selected to prepare their projects with the support of mentors.

More than 300 participants have already registered for the workshops planned within Tech Week 2025.

Tech Week 2025 is one of the most significant events on Armenia’s high-tech calendar. From July 4 to 6, Vanadzor will host representatives of the Armenian technology community, bringing together industry leaders, company executives, experienced and aspiring entrepreneurs, students, and all those interested in the world of technology.

Over the course of three days, more than 60 speakers will present at the conference, including company founders, executives, technology entrepreneurs, investors, and other key figures in the sector.