Armenia ranks among countries where the production of agricultural and bio based products are among the key economic sectors, where the agricultural scientists, bioscientists and biotechnologists are among the most demanded professions. The production of safe, high quality food products ensures/is of great importance to/ the country’s agrifood security. It is therefore essential that the future specialists be well equipped with knowledge and skills to meet the modern labour market requirements. Today there is an obvious gap between the education and enterprises, the MA/MSs programmes in general are not harmonized with the requirements of the actively growing agro-food and bio-based products sector.
ABIONET (ABioNet – Armenian Network of Excellence in Bio-Products Science and Technology) is an ERASMUS+ Key Action 2 Project funded by the European Union. The Project was launched on 5-9 February 2018 in Thessaloniki, Greece. The Project Coordinator is Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki (ATEI), the duration of the Project is 36 months (2017-2010).
EU Partners
Iniversita Degli Studi Di Teramo (Italy)
Universidade Catolica Portuguesa (Portugal)
Technische Universitaet Dresden (Germany)
Partners
Yerevan State University
Armenian National Agrarian University
Gavar State University
Shirak State University after M. Nalbandyan
The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, RA
The main objective of ABioNet project
The main objective of ABioNet project is to fill the gaps and strengthen the links between education, entrepreneurship and innovation, which is based on strategic priorities of developing the country’s education, science and agriculture.
One of the key components of the Project is developing and piloting a joint Master programme with interdisciplinary modules targeted at professional capacity building. The good practices of the EU and consortium countries involved in the Project are essential. Another component of the Project is setting up a joint network with set up resources within a single platform, as well as ensuring the mobility of students and staff between Armenian HEIs and EU partner universities. Equipping the research laboratories with basic and advanced equipment, the short-term and long-term training courses (for both students and staff) envisaged in the frame of the Project will contribute to modernizing and improving the knowledge and skills of students in the field of food and bio products.
The expected outcomes of the ABIONET Project will be:
needs assessment of Armenian universities from the perspective of teaching resources, including curricula content and structure
developing or setting up Master Programs in the field of agri and bio products science and technology, based on the narrow specialization of each respective university, following the best practices of EU universities
establishing multidisciplinary network and promoting effective collaboration between local and European universites engaging university departments, laboratories, enterprises
ensuring student and staff mobility
developing start-ups through the joint efforts of Armenian and EU students
modernizing the research labs with basic and advanced equipment and facilities tailored to the needs of the Master Program, based on needs assessment
developing joint Master Program module between Armenian and EU universities.
The specialized university which educates narrow specialists in the area of agricultural and bio products and technology in the Republic of Armenia is Armenian National Agrarian University (ANAU). In accordance with the Project guidelines, the ANAU Working Group (WG) established within the framework of ABIONET, has implemented the monitoring and needs assessment of Master Programs currently applied, however still subject to further development. It is noteworthy that following the Skype meeting in June, during which joint deliberations with EU partner universities were held, the priority was given to the Master Program on “Animal and Plant Origin Food Safety and Expertise”, and as a result it was selected from among the ANAU education programs for development and improvement purposes. All the details regarding both the structural and modular components of the academic program will be elaborated in the upcoming working meeting in Dresden.
It is to be noted that introducing a modular Master Program at ANAU will be a first-time experience, strategically important for both the university and for future specialists in the field of agriculture in the Republic of Armenia.
Gayane MARMARYAN- ABIONET Local Coordinator ANAU, Doctor of Sciences, Docent at the chair of Biologies and Biotechnologies.
Contacts
74 Teryan Str., 0009, Yerevan, RA
I building, room #127
Tel./Fax +37412 58-58-08, +37412 56-74-11, Int 401, 402
E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]