Agrobot Center of Execllence

According to the loan agreement No. 9389-AM signed between the International Bank for Development and Reconstruction and the Republic of Armenia on 09.06.2022, in the grant tender announced within the framework of the loan project “Additional Financing of the Education Improvement Program”, the application “Establishment of a Center of Excellence for Agricultural Robotics and Mechatronics in Agrarian Engineering” submitted by ANAU has been approved by the Coordination Council of the Competitive Innovation Fund (CIF). On 06/14/2023, the Project Implementation Agreement No. 4/23-CIF was signed between the state institution “Educational Programs Center” program implementation office and the “National Agrarian University of Armenia” foundation.
The budget of the project is 118,118,950 (one hundred eighteen million one hundred eighteen thousand nine hundred and fifty) AMD.

The main goal of the project is to establish a Center of Excellence for Agricultural Robotics and Mechatronics in Agrarian Engineering (AGROBOT Center of Excellence) at the Armenian National Agrarian University (ANAU), which meets modern requirements, will provide an impetus for the reform and modernization of educational and scientific processes in this field. It will also contribute to the training of competitive specialists in the field and strengthen the university-labour market connection. By creating the AGROBOT Centre of Excellence, an opportunity will be created to train competitive personnel, implement scientific programs, and provide educational services to farmers.
The university is currently undergoing important and turning-point reforms in the direction of modernization of education, science, and management systems. Its main goal is to become a competitive, agro-technologically based educational centre. In the context of these reforms, the university emphasizes the radical reform of the current state of agricultural engineering education, as it has a highly strategic significance for our republic.
Artificial intelligence is gaining popularity in the agricultural industry and is steadily integrating robotics developed for this field. As automated technologies enter the market, we aim to answer the important questions that business leaders are asking today. This program will contribute to the further development of the agrarian sector of the RA economy through the application of robotics in the field of agricultural mechanization and its special applicability in the context of sustainable development.
In the course of regularly conducted monitoring, preparation of the institutional self-analysis report, and analysis of the needs raised as a result of surveys among faculty and students, some problems were recorded and revealed in the university, especially two of which are related to the implementation of agricultural engineering education and the presented program.
1. mismatch between professional training of university graduates and labor market demand,
2. physical and moral wear and tear of the material and technical base necessary for strengthening capacities and skills, and in some cases, its complete absence.
The re-equipment of existing engineering laboratories is the formation of a base of powerful educational technical and digital laboratories in accordance with modern requirements. It will contribute to the implementation of research-based education aimed at shaping the abilities of future engineers, to the creation and strengthening of education-research and university-labor market connections. It will be a step forward towards the practical strengthening of the student’s theoretical knowledge, the improvement of the educational and research level, and the creation of a student-centred environment, and it will also be an incentive for the introduction of new teaching methods and the manifestation of the student’s professional interests.

The specific objectives of the program are՝

To create and implement a new professional educational program – “Robotics and Mechatronics”,
To create an AgrobotLAB laboratory which will deal with agricultural robotics, where the research and development of agrobots will be carried out, as well as the development of pedagogical methods in the context of educational robotics. Here, students will develop their professional abilities and skills, it will also be a basis for students, postgraduates, researchers and professors, especially from the point of view of conducting scientific research in the field of smart agriculture development.
Create a programming laboratory – ITLab, in the classes of which training will be conducted with “Python programming basics”, “Industrial programming bases in Python”, “SolidWorks” programs. Here, students will be able to acquire programming and design knowledge, and master their practical skills and abilities.
To create the necessary conditions in the AGROBOT Centre of Excellence, where local and invited professors and specialists will regularly conduct training of robotics specialists and farmers, consulting services, and professional quality improvement events.

Agrobot գերազանցության կենտրոն դրամաշնորհային ծրագրի շրջանակներում կահույքի ձեռքբերման համար պայմանագրի շնորհման ծանուցում

Անցեք հղմամբ

Ծրագրի կառուցվածքը

AGROBOT Center of Excellence will have three main departments.
1. Agricultural robots (agrobots) development and design laboratory – AgrobotLAB,
2. Programming laboratory: ITLab,
3. Re-equipped and new educational classrooms and laboratories for agricultural engineering.

Project management staff

Ara Amiryan (Project Manager)

Responsible for the overall management and organization of the project, management and implementation of ongoing monitoring, implementation of innovations, and preparation of reports. He will carry out control of the program activities and financial movement defined by the contract, technical tasks and schedule, ensuring communication with the beneficiaries, and activities aimed at publicizing the project. 2013-2015 he coordinated the “Establishment of the Agricultural and Food System Training Center” project, the budget of which was 68 million Armenian Drams, which was awarded under the grant agreement between the “Educational Program Center” program implementation office of the state institution and the “National Agrarian University of Armenia” foundation on 13/09/2013 contract was signed.

Arman Simonyan (project coordinator)

Responsible for general coordination and organization of the project, dissemination of information about the project, establishment and strengthening of relations with other similar institutions abroad, furnishing of the centre of excellence, development of other normative and legal documents and preparation of reports. He will assist the procurement specialist in the implementation of his functions, prepare the necessary program reports, maintain the original documents related to the program, and participate in the monitoring and auditing of the program. As the dean of the ANAU Faculty of Agriculture, he has experience in the implementation of the educational process.

Marine Movsisyan (purchasing specialist)

Responsible for the preparation of tender packages, evaluation of proposals and their coordination with the project manager, procurement, preparation and coordination of contracts for the purchase of goods and services, maintenance of procurement procedures and schedules, organization of procurement, and maintenance of the ledger of purchased goods. She participated in World Bank programs, supplier searches, establishing international relations, conducting negotiations, drawing up technical specifications, participating in purchasing processes (compilation and evaluation of packages), etc.

Mariam Pogosyan (project accountant)

Responsible for the implementation of financial transactions provided for in the budget, accounting of program funds, execution of banking and cash register operations, preparation of financial reports, purchase of products provided for in the program, and registration of rendered services. She has many years of experience in accounting. Has experience in preparing reports, maintaining current financial documents and more.

The expected results of the project are.

through the AGROBOT Centre of Excellence, to contribute to ensuring the quality of education and its further promotion of educational programs for the training of agricultural engineers at the university,
Through the launch of modern AgrobotLAB and ITLab laboratories, produce specialists with skills and abilities corresponding to the requirements of the labour market, who will possess modern technological knowledge and invest their abilities in solving the problems of the domestic agrarian sector, filling the existing gap of necessary qualified personnel.
Implementation of research works through the Center of Excellence, as well as restoration and expansion of education-science connection,
Strengthening the university-labor market connection through the training of specialists and other measures aimed at increasing qualifications, joint scientific works,
The re-equipped laboratories, in the context of ongoing developments at the university, will contribute to the increase of the university’s overall level of technological equipment and reputation.
Re-equipment of 3 agricultural engineering laboratories and establishment of 3 new laboratories.

Project partners`

The Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology (FAST), the non-governmental organization, “Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises” and the company “Instigate Robotics” have expressed their readiness to provide technical and narrow professional support for the implementation of this project, being convinced that the implementation of the project will contribute to the agriculture of Armenia to the sustainable development of the sector. The support will be aimed specifically at the development of the field of smart agriculture in Armenia and the reform and modernization of educational and scientific processes in that field, the training of competitive specialists in the field, the development of the new “Robotics and Mechatronics” academic program, the strengthening of the university-labour market connection and the use of smart agricultural equipment in the field. In the scope of the programme.
“Foundation of Science and Technology of Armenia” (FAST) will support the framework of organizing educational and entrepreneurial programs, which will enable the beneficiaries of the Agrobot Center of Excellence to develop and present innovative ideas, create startups and try to commercialize their ideas.
The NGO “Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises” (UATE) is ready with all its potential, personnel and experience to support ANAU in developing the field of agricultural robotics and mechatronics, which will be a stimulus for the development of the field of smart agriculture in Armenia. Starting in 2011, the UATE initiated and implemented the educational program of “Armat” engineering laboratories. According to the data of 2022, there are 631 “Armat” engineering laboratories in the territory of Armenia (including Artsakh), Georgia and India, where about 17,000 children receive engineering education. In this sense, the creation of the Agrobot Center of Excellence will be an educational environment for the people of Armat, who will gladly try their hand at the field of agricultural robotics.
“Instigate Robotics” company will carry out consulting on robotics, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) design, preparation of training laboratories, unmanned aerial vehicles, information and scientific and technical technologies, industrial robots, development of control systems, etc.

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ARMENIAN NATIONAL AGRARIAN UNIVERSITY