Swiss Embassy in Armenia, Luys Foundation Unite to Promote Excellence in Education

Knowledge is an important factor in driving the economic, social, and cultural development of the 21^st-century economy. In 2012, the Embassy of Switzerland and the Luys Foundation established a partnership within the framework of the Swiss Government Scholarship Program. An important milestone in building Armenia’s knowledge economy, this fruitful collaboration has stimulated an exchange of knowledge and best practices across all domains of expertise.

A press conference was held on June 11 in celebration of the collaboration between the Swiss government and the Luys Foundation at Hyatt Place Yerevan. The press conference was led by Ambassador of Switzerland to Armenia Lucas Gasser, Luys Foundation Education Executive Director Jacqueline Karaaslanian, and Luys Foundation Public, Government, and Sponsors Relations Manager Elina Markaryan.

Ambassador Gasser presented the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship for the 2014-15 academic year to Samvel Hovakimyan, an exceptional young Armenian researcher who will continue his research in geology in Switzerland as a postdoctoral candidate, analyzing the formation of mineral deposits in Armenia’s Syunik region. Speaking on how he envisions his research will be practically used, Samvel said, “My proactive results will enable mining companies to expand their expert systems and direct this toward new prospective mineral exploration projects.”

Gasser also announced a new competition to the public for the first time: the Dimitri Mirimanoff Prize in Applied Mathematics, a scholarship that will be available to high school and university students in Armenia who propose the best mathematical modeling projects that solve real-world issues.

Karaaslanian spoke about excellence and collaboration as important values to instill in Armenia’s youth, and expressed her thanks

Ambassador Gasser speaking during the press conference on June 11

to the Embassy of Switzerland for its partnership toward excellence. As a forward-thinking leader who continually keeps the future of Armenia in mind, Karaaslanian seeks to secure productive collaborations and increase the number of Armenian scholars in centers of excellence worldwide. In expanding this important collaboration with the Embassy of Switzerland, the Luys Foundation has opened up yet another path to connect the scientific diaspora to Armenia.

Tatevik Hakobyan, a Luys alumnus, expressed her deep appreciation for the scholarship at the press conference. “Our young students have the most important resource: their intellectual capacity,” she said. “Luys does everything for those youth to come together and puts them on the right track. When engineer-minded and business-minded people unite, together they can create new jobs and different professional work environments. Most importantly, together we can build a promising future for Armenia.”

The Luys Foundation envisions Armenia as an active participant in setting innovative research and market trends. Through partnerships with international centers of excellence, Luys creates and unites a generation of critical, creative thinkers and builds an infrastructure that supports the transition from academic to real-world achievement for Armenia’s benefit. The incredible wealth of knowledge of Armenia’s youth will ensure that Armenia participates on an equal footing with powerful nations in this new global economy.

For more information on the Luys Foundation’s mission and its collaboration with the Swiss Government Scholarship Program, visit www.Luys.am.