KHACHATUR ABOVYAN ARMENIAN STATE PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY

In 2016, Armenian State Pedagogical University after Khachatur Abovyan and Pázmány Péter Catholic University (Budapest, Hungary) signed a cooperation agreement, which aims to promote cooperation and academic exchange between the universities in question. The agreement was ratified by the rectors of the two educational institutions – Ruben Mirzakhanyan (ASPU) and Szuromi Szabolcs (PPCU).

Within the framework of cooperation, a delegation of the Hungarian university led by Dr. Fodor György, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Pázmány Péter Catholic University, recently visited the ASPU.

An ASPU delegation led by Rector Ruben Mirzakhanyan paid a reciprocal visit to PPCU from 21 to 24 October.

On the sidelines of the visit, the ASPU delegates attended the solemn ceremony of granting academic titles at the Hungarian university and then participated in the opening of a Chair of Armenian Studies at the PPCU. The only Chair of Armenian Studies in Hungary was inaugurated by ASPU Rector Ruben Mirzakhanyan.

Doctor Balint Kovacs, a lecturer at PPCU and Professor of Armenian Studies, was appointed Head of the newly-opened Chair. Armenologists Vahe Tashchian and Elka Hartman also work at the Chair.

In Budapest, ASPU Rector Ruben Mirzakhanyan also had a meeting with

Cardinal Péter Erdő, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest and Primate of Hungary, former rector of Pázmány Péter Catholic University, and Szuromi Szabolcs, current Rector of PPCU.

During the meeting, the interlocutors discussed projects to be implemented within the framework of cooperation, touched upon historical relations between Armenia and Hungary and the activity of the newly-opened Chair of Armenian Studies at PPCU.

Ruben Mirzakhanyan also delivered a lecture at the Hungarian university on the theme “Education System in Armenia.” The ASPU Rector was awarded with the Pázmány Péter medal - the highest award of Pázmány Péter Catholic University.

Within the framework of cooperation between the two universities under question, two students from ASPU will study one semester at PPCU under Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility project. Likewise, students from PPCU will arrive in Armenia to attend courses at ASPU.

The agreement signed by the two universities earlier in 2016 also aims to boost scientific and educational cooperation, provide student and faculty exchange programmes, as well as promote cooperation in the field of Armenian Studies between ASPU and PPCU.

Starting September 2016, students of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Pázmány Péter Catholic University were given an opportunity to major in Armenian Studies and more than a dozen students from PPCU have already given preference to that specialty. Starting 2017, the university will also offer MA courses in Armenian Studies.

Thus, the cooperation between the Armenian and Hungarian universities in scientific and educational sectors, the establishment of the Chair of Armenian Studies at the Hungarian university and the planned MA courses in Armenian Studies are an important step in the development of Armenian Studies in Europe.

As a matter of fact, a lot of Centres and Chairs of Armenian Studies have been closed in the world in recent years or are on the verge of closing for various reasons. A primary task for us is to prepare and train foreign specialists majoring in Armenian Studies. Therefore, the opening of the Chair of Armenian Studies in the Hungarian university will open up a new chapter in the development of Armenian Studies.

Pázmány Péter Catholic University (PPCU) is a state approved higher educational institution run by the Catholic Church and governed by the Hungarian Catholic Bishops’ Conference. PPCU was founded in 1635. During the years of Ottoman occupation, the most tragic years for Hungary, Archbishop of Esztergom Péter Pázmány established the university, which proved to be of epochal significance in the history of education and religious culture in Hungary. Péter Pázmány was convinced that the university was the only way to guarantee the survival of the nation's moral and intellectual culture.