KHACHATUR ABOVYAN ARMENIAN STATE PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY

Today the Armenian State Pedagogical University hosted Head of the Chair of Lithuanian Studies of the Faculty of Humanities at Vytautas Magnus University in Lithuania Laura Kamandulytė-Merfeldienė and President of the Lithuanian community in Armenia Olga Arzumanyan.

During the meeting of Vice-Rector of the ASPU for Personnel Matters and International Cooperation Marianna Harutyunyan and Director of the Faculty of Special Education, the parties discussed the opportunities for the implementation of new ideas for cooperation and the exchange of professors and students within the scope of the Erasmus+ Mobility program.

During the meeting, Vice-Rector Harutyunyan emphasized the fact that international cooperation comes first for the Armenian State Pedagogical University and is viewed as a major strategic direction.

Marianna Harutyunyan stated that the Memorandum of Cooperation — concluded between the two universities — allows expanding the partnership between the two institutions and predetermining new priorities, including the priorities in the special education sector.

The ASPU Vice-Rector mentioned that the ASPU has collaborated with one of the leading universities of Lithuania through the “Summer School” international program; during a visit to the particular university in Lithuania, students were introduced to the history, culture and language of the exotic country of the Baltic states.

Head of the Chair of Lithuanian Studies of the Faculty of Humanities Laura Kamandulytė-Merfeldienė noted that the Chair of Lithuanian Studies is open for any kind of cooperation and is interested in partnership in both a specific sector and the sector of humanities.

Kamandulytė-Merfeldienė expressed the desire that students of the ASPU become involved in the international program that the ASPU is carrying out and that her Armenian counterparts get acquainted with the specifics of the educational process during a visit to Lithuania.

Representatives of the Faculty of Special Education and their Lithuanian counterpart talked about the problems of persons with special needs, the modernity of special education subjects, and inquired about the scope of the educational process at the University and the sector-specific professions and courses.

President of the Lithuanian community in Armenia Olga Arzumanyan added that a Lithuanian Sunday school operates in Armenia and that it is ready to expand the scopes of the community and establish cross-cultural ties. Arzumanyan said that the school is also ready to organize Lithuanian language courses for those who wish to learn the language and to introduce them to the rich culture of Lithuania.