KHACHATUR ABOVYAN ARMENIAN STATE PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY

A two-day conference organized within the framework of Tempus MAHATMA Project (MASTER IN HIGHER EDUCATION MANAGEMENT: DEVELOPING LEADERS FOR MANAGING EDUCATIONAL TRANSFORMATION) kicked off at Armenian State Pedagogical University today. The aim of the conference is to sum up the activities in 2015 and outline plans and actions for 2016.

During the two-day meeting, the conference participants will discuss topics of the upcoming training, the process of establishment of Professional Association of Educationalists and the course of project implementation, as well as project management and dissemination of results.

After greeting the participants, ASPU Rector Ruben Mirzakhanyan singled out the most important issues to be discussed during the two-day event. He also signified the extension of the MAHATMA Project, focusing on the main actions which need to be finalized before the end of 2016.

Among the priorities, Mr Mirzakhanyan stressed the following requirements of the project which were singled out by the ASPU as the project coordinator - MA in Educational Leadership and Management, continuous improvement of the educational program, promoting exchange of students and professors for the introduction and exchange of best practices, establishment of Professional Association of Educationalists, etc.

The Rector also wished the conference participants fruitful and effective work and expressed a hope that the Pedagogical University will become the platform which will not only contribute to the effective implementation of the project, but will also help integrate professionals from ASPU and its partner universities into the education sector and international professional community.

Mkrtich Avagyan from the Pedagogical University added that they all witnessed significant processes in the previous year; considering the importance of the project, it was extended for another year. “I am sure you will appreciate the joint work done within the framework of the Mahatma Project which helps reform leadership- and management-related issues in Armenian and Georgian institutions of higher education,” Mr Avagyan said.

Ruzanna Minasyan, a member of the MAHATMA Project Management team, a representative of the ASPU International Cooperation Department, presented a report about the activities carried out in 2015, as well as the plans for 2016, terms of their implementation and the upcoming training.

MAHATMA is a three-year multi-country joint project aimed at promoting transformation of higher education management in Armenia and Georgia through introduction of a new Master’s programme/professional development courses in higher education management. The project Coordinator is Armenian State Pedagogical University.