The DEP is proud to announce that DEP MA TEFL alumni Tatevik Zargaryan and Karine Baghdasaryan were invited to publish their Master’s theses The Impact of Voki on EFL Learners’ Speaking Performance: The Influence of an E-learning Tool on EFL Learners’ Speaking Performance and The Impact of Digital Storytelling on EFL Learners’ Speaking Skills: Reinforcing EFL Learners’ Speaking Skills by Implementing Technology, with LAP Lambert Publishing in Germany.  The purpose of their respective research was to identify beneficial ways of implementing e-learning tools in a classroom, and see whether such materials would have an effect on the development of EFL learners’ speaking skills.

On Tuesday, March 13th, Mr. Christopher Anderson, Political Officer at the United States Embassy, presented a guest lecture to Dr. Syuzanna Vasilyan’s class on Contemporary Foreign Affairs.  Mr. Anderson, who holds two masters degrees, spoke on the decision making process in the United States government’s Department of State.  He explained to students the complicated process involved of decision making and the various policy areas within which decisions are made.  Following his presentation students were asked numerous questions on a wide variety of issues regarding U.S. foreign policy.

Mr. Anderson and Dr. Vasilyan	Mr. Anderson, Dr. Vasilyan and students

 Anush Tsaturyan, a beneficiary of AUA’s Turpanjian Rural Development Program (TRDP), was awarded the Women Benefactor of the Tavush Region by Prime Minister Tigran Sargsian. A 2008 TRDP beneficiary, Tsaturyan owns a sewing workshop in the town of Noyemberyan which started with one employee and now has more than ten employees. The workshop produces bed linens, clothing, tablecloths and curtains. 

The Department of English Programs is launching a new pilot English program for pre-school children.  It has been designed for children, ages 2-5, whose parents seek opportunities to raise their children bi-or multi-lingual, or those who would like to maintain their children’s English if they have lived abroad.
The English-speaking childcare specialist will visit the children in their homes for as many hours as the family signs up for.  She can work with a single child or with a group of up to three children.  The specialist communicates with the children exclusively in English as she engages them in everyday fun activities appropriate to their age, such as playing with toys, doing arts and crafts projects, singing songs, nursery rhymes, reading picture books, or sharing meals and snacks.

The School of Business and Management (SBM) and the School of Political Science and International Affairs (PSIA) are pleased to announce that based on the recommendation of their joint faculty search committee, Dr. Aleksandr Grigoryan has been appointed as Assistant Professor of Economics.

Dr. Grigoryan has been teaching Microeconomics and Macroeconomics at PSIA since 2010. With this appointment, he will also teach courses such as Managerial Economics, Economic Development and International Economics in the MBA program. Prior to joining AUA on a full-time basis, Dr. Grigoryan worked as a Senior Researcher at the Central Bank of Armenia for three years. Previously, he worked as an analyst at the Ministry of Economy for two years. Dr.  Grigoryan received his PhD from the University of Turin, Italy. He holds a distinguished master’s degree from the Institute for Advanced Studies of Vienna, Austria, and a master’s degree from Yerevan State Institute of Economics. His areas of research include microeconomics of banking, monetary policy, and development economics.

Satenik Avakian, AGBU Papazian Library Director and Berj Gatrjian, the ICTS Director who is the current AMICAL Vice-Chair attended the ninth annual meeting and conference of the American International Consortium of Academic Libraries (AMICAL) held at American University of Sharjah, UAE, from April 4–7, 2012.  The conference was centered on the following topics: getting started with institutional repositories and digital archives; innovated learning technologies; libraries and learning spaces; moving library systems and services into the cloud; academic videoconferencing.

AMICAL is a consortium that brings together librarians, instructional technologists, IT professionals, and faculty that are interested in working together to improve their library and information services, and ultimately the educational and research environments of their institutions. Around 70 people throughout Europe, Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa attended this year’s four-day meeting, which included panel discussions, rounds of lightning talks, roundtable discussions and workshops.

“This conference was very interesting and gave us the opportunity to learn many issues in regards to digital asset management and how librarians, information technologists and faculty can facilitate new forms of learning in a digital context. We were very impressed with the conference overall. It was very well organized, the keynote speakers were very well selected and we had the opportunity to share some issues we face here at AUA with others”, mentioned S. Avakian.

On Wednesday, April 11, Minister of Justice Hrair Tovmasyan and AUA President Bruce Boghosian signed an Memorandum of Understanding between their respective institutions.  The MoU is similar to those signed by the Ministry with other leading universities in Yerevan and which AUA has with other ministries, affording students the opportunity to engage in public service and gain practical experience.  The MoU aims to increase opportunities for students to do internships at the Ministry and will encourage more exchange of expertise on legal reform between the Ministry and AUA.  After the signing, the Minister spoke about the MoU and about the Ministry’s current efforts to improve the legal system and promote the rule of law in Armenia.  Pursuant to the MoU, four LL.M. students have been selected for internships this term.