Yerevan /Mediamax/. Asya Darbinyan with a research project Armenian Refugees of the War and Genocide and Russian Imperial Humanitarianism and a team of scholars led by Knar Khachatryan with their project Urbanization and Socioeconomic Development in Armenia: A Throwback to More Than One Century, have been named the new recipients of the Vartan Gregorian Scholarship (Research Grants) Program.

“This is the second phase of the scholarship program, and I would like to note that we have had very interesting research projects submitted. In academic research, it’s all about quality, not quantity: this is the motto we rely on while selecting the best two proposals. Year after year, a growing number of Vartan Gregorian scholarship recipients will help create of new community of scholars involved in the Armenian studies, and this is very good news for all of us,” said Hayk Demoyan, Vartan Gregorian Scholarship Selection Board Member.

Asya Darbinyan, one of the two recipients of the Scholarship Program, is a postdoctoral fellow for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Stockton University. She has said:

“This scholarship will provide me with a special opportunity to bring to a successful completion the research and analysis of the extensive, yet understudied, sources on this important aspect of Armenian history and the history of humanitarianism. Considering the financial difficulties emerging scholars have to face, it will be a huge support for my project and for the continuous research in the field of Armenian studies.”

The group of young scholars led by Knar Khachatryan, Associate Professor at American University of Armenia, is the other participant of this year’s Vartan Gregorian Scholarship. Their socioeconomic approach will produce a unique systematic study of urbanization and economic history of Armenia.

“Our research will focus on providing evidence of the disproportional regional development of the Armenian economy over the period of 1900-2015.This scholarship will give us an opportunity to undertake a quality scholarly research on a high priority area for the Armenian economic and social development,” noticed Knar Khachatryan.

Aurora Humanitarian Initiative announced the Vartan Gregorian Scholarship (Research Grants) Program in the fall of 2018 to support early-career scholars and researchers studying unexplored questions of the 20th century history of Armenia.

The annual scholarship program awards up to USD 30,000 in grants to Armenian researchers under the age of 40 from Armenia and abroad.