RA Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan received Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Armenia John Gallagher and Country Director of the British Council Armenia Office Addeh Hovasapian.
ESCS Deputy Minister Arthur Martirosyan also attended the meeting.
Minister Zhanna Andreasyan welcomed the guests and emphasized that the successful cooperation in past years is the best basis for its continuation in the current and upcoming years.
The Minister especially underlined the significance of productive collaboration between the ESCS Ministry and the British Council, citing as successful examples the assistance aimed at English teachers' training and quality assurance of education, and the program for establishing English language clubs in schools: “The British Council's participation and assistance in the development of English teaching methodologies and teacher training programs is particularly important.”
It was noted that further initiatives are intended to be executed this year under the program's framework.
During the meeting, the parties emphasized the need to implement collaborative scientific and educational programs that can create new opportunities for cooperation in the field of science and education. A reference was made to the ongoing educational and cultural reforms in RA, reconfirming the willingness to implement sector strategies.
Minister Zhanna Andreasyan emphasized the significance of the upcoming collaboration between the “Matenadaran” Research Institute of Ancient Manuscripts named after M. Mashtots and the British Library highlighting the cooperation between the History Museum of Armenia and the British Museum as a successful experience.
The parties touched upon the further expansion of relations with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland within the “Academic City” program. The discussion focused on the establishment of partnerships with University College London (UCL) to create an educational cluster within the Academic City. Zhanna Andreasyan emphasized, in this regard, the significance of the memorandum of understanding “On Cooperation between the Committee on Higher Education and Science of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia and the University of the Arts London,” which aims to provide suggestions and tools for the establishment of the Academic City Art Cluster, the creation of curricula, quality assurance, and institutional management.
During the meeting, the Minister and the Ambassador also discussed various other issues related to the potential expansion of cooperation.