Coordination Meeting of the ARMDOCT Project with the Participation of Partner Universities

Coordination Meeting of the ARMDOCT Project with the Participation of Partner Universities.

On June 17, the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia held a coordination meeting within the framework of the ARMDOCT project with the participation of partner universities. The coordination meeting was chaired by Deputy Minister of RA MESCS, Karen Trchunyan. The meeting was attended by the Chairman at Supreme Certifying Committee, Karen Keryan, Coordinator of the Erasmus+ National Office in Armenia, Lana Karlova, as well as representatives of the Armenian partner universities — institutional leaders and coordinators.

The four working groups, composed of researchers from universities and research institutes and formed within the framework of the Erasmus+ Capacity Building ARMDOCT project, are currently developing requirements for admission to the third level of higher education, teaching and research, credit based grading system and integrity on the basis of the decree of the Deputy Minister of RA MESC (N 44-Լ, 16.11.2021).

The participants clarified and confirmed the expectations from the project. They reaffirmed that the priorities of the RA Education, Science, Culture and Sports in Reforming Doctoral Education (DE) in Armenia are in line with the agenda of the ARMDOCT project and the Salzburg Principles.

Deputy Minister Karen Trchunyan said: “doctoral education reforms must be accompanied by sustainable mechanisms for ensuring quality and monitoring of the third level of higher education, modification of licensing requirements, so that only institutions that meet the minimum requirements can implement doctoral degree programs “.

Karen Trchunyan, when speaking about the criteria for supervisors, noted that in order to have and expect quality scientific work many of the requirements should be reviewed. Also, it should be clarified who can supervise a postgraduate research work.

Director of Research Centre of Eurasia International University, and Coordinator of ARMDOCT Project, Arevik Ohanyan, presented the work carried out until now and the expected results. She added that the draft version of the above-mentioned requirements is being finalized in working groups and will be submitted to the in the near future.

A. Ohanyan said: “our studies show that almost all third-level programs in Armenia target one sphere, and the experience of interdisciplinary programs is not widespread. Also, various types of collaboration, including program, faculty, institutional or inter-university, and inter-sectorial are limited” and then she added that a relevant legal basis has been established for the above-mentioned cooperation within the framework of the project. In addition, a number of pilot doctoral programs will be implemented in the near future, involving organizations and international partners of the private or public sector.

Karen Trchunyan once again underscored introduction of long-term target programs to promote cooperation between universities, research organizations and the industry sector. The deputy minister added that in Armenia industrial, academic and scientific organizations do not do joint research, hence the introduction of joint industrial doctorate programs will be an innovation.

At the end of the meeting, it was decided to give an opportunity to the project member universities and research organizations to introduce pilot models of the third level of higher education programs through the formation of doctoral schools of cooperative networks (consortiums) and development of collaborative doctoral programs (including joint industrial PhD programs).

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