KHACHATUR ABOVYAN ARMENIAN STATE PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY

September 1 is observed in Armenia as Day of Knowledge and Schooling. The start of the new academic year was also marked at Armenian State Pedagogical University (ASPU).

The educational institution that has a history of over a century, continues its sacred mission of shaping an educated and knowledge-based society. ASPU students will continue to combine national and international experience in pedagogy to become leading specialists in a variety of fields that are in demand in the labour market.

In addition to its multidisciplinary and already traditional specialties, this year the University also had applicants for a number of new specialties, some of which were reopened, including "Arts and Crafts", "Special Pedagogy", and "Occupational Therapy".

As Gohar Hovyan, Dean of the Faculty of Special and Inclusive Education, said ‘thanks to great efforts, ASPU will again train and prepare occupational therapists, and this move is of great importance in the context of universal inclusion.’

"In Canada and in the United States, Occupational Therapy is one of the most important professions which is in great demand. Assessing visitors’ needs, role and importance of teamwork, rehabilitation measures, environmental adaptation; all of this has long been in demand in the civilized world, and the reopening of the specialization at the Faculty was a necessity," she said.

The Dean of the Faculty also highlighted the admission to the "Special Pedagogy" specialty, adding that by combining a number of specialties in the field, an attempt is being made to solve the issue of relevance to the labour market.

This year, the Faculty of Art Education also had applicants to a new specialty. Students majoring in "Arts and Crafts" will receive a teaching qualification. The specialty will fill the shortage of specialists in the "Art" subject in schools.

Thus, the new academic year was celebrated at ASPU with a festive mood and an important message that knowledge is the supreme value and the cornerstone of scientific and educational advancements.