ESCS Minister Zhanna Andreasyan received Vice-Dean of the Institute of Education (IOE) at University College London (UCL), responsible for quality management, education programs and support for pedagogical innovation, and partner of the “Academic City” program, Norbert Pachler. ESCS Deputy Minister Araksia Svajyan and Director of the “Academic City” Foundation, Armen Simonyan, also attended the meeting.

Issues regarding the enhancement of the international competitiveness of pedagogical education and the modernization of educational content were discussed in the context of higher education reforms in the Republic of Armenia, as well as the further work on the formation of the academic city's educational cluster within the framework of consultancy support from UCL.

Zhanna Andreasyan highly appreciated the delegation's meetings with sectoral higher education institutions and organizations, which will contribute to mapping the opportunities and challenges of pedagogical education and reflecting them in the concept of the academic city's educational cluster.

The Minister underlined the Government's commitment to implement the framework of reforms in the higher education sector, which was initiated to facilitate institutional changes. In this regard, Zhanna Andreasyan placed particular importance on enhancing the quality of pedagogical education, since it is directly reflected in pre-school, general, vocational and higher professional education and other important areas of public life.

Addressing the issue of human resources in the sector, the Minister stressed the need for consistent measures to be taken to increase the attractiveness and competitiveness of pedagogical work, to engage young people, and to retain the best professionals, both by fostering the advancement of teachers' professional knowledge and teaching skills and competences, and by creating productive research opportunities in the field of pedagogy.

Zhanna Andryasyan also highlighted the significance of universities making the best use of opportunities for international collaboration, such as through the Bologna Process, within the framework of Erasmus+ programs, as well as engaging leading international expert potential, including the diaspora, as active participants in the execution of the envisaged process.

During the meeting, Norbert Pachler presented an overview of the delegation’s visit to Armenia, as well as the considerations and proposals formulated, following meetings with representatives of state universities of the Republic of Armenia, public schools in Yerevan and the regions, relevant state and private sector initiatives, and individual stakeholders.

He attached particular importance to ensuring students have a consistent experience and a high-quality university life, the development of an engaging educational program, the training and capacity building of teaching staff, as well as the establishment of centres of excellence in pedagogy.

Norbert Pachler stated that their visits and advisory meetings aimed at supporting the establishment of an educational cluster in the academic city will persist throughout the year to best outline the roadmap for further activities.