The blackboard in one of the large lecture rooms in the Armenian State University of Economics (ASUE) is bursting with mathematical equations. One glance is enough to notice that all students come from different age groups, from high school to senior university students.
All 44 students passed tests and interviews to join “Unit 1991” training course organized by FAST Foundation. For over a month now, they have been attending free-of-charge data science and artificial intelligence lessons.
Photo: Mediamax
In the framework of the joint program of the Foundation for Armenian Science and Technologies (FAST), the Defense Ministry of Armenia and Hi-Tech Cyber Security Center, students learn coding and obtain skills necessary for army service in addition to studying mathematics.
The participants of the course will be conscripted in the summer of 2020. Attendance does not guarantee selection for the army “Unit 1991”, as the Ministry of Defense will organize admission to the unit separately. The training course consists of regular classes, which begin 6 months prior to every round of conscription.
Photo: Mediamax
“Unit 1991” training course teachers have told Mediamax about the selection of lesson topics and specifics of teaching for the course, and the students have shared their expectations.
Math for machine learning
Professor of Mathematics, post-graduate student of Yerevan State University (YSU), Senior machine learning engineer at Krisp Vazgen Mikayelyan covers the theoretical part of the training course.
Mathematics for machine learning is a subject aimed at teaching the students only the topics they will need for further work in the field of machine learning.
Photo: Mediamax
“The program for this course is actually taught at universities for around three years. We have accommodated it for “Unit 1991”, picking only the parts which are relevant for the course and which have practical significance. My subject contains four main topics: linear algebra, analytic geometry, mathematical analysis, and probability theory. The first two are underway and the students seem very interested,” said Prof. Vazgen Mikayelyan.
Vazgen MikayelyanPhoto: Mediamax
This is the first machine learning program in Armenia to give so much space to mathematics. The teachers pointed out that having proper math knowledge is the most important part because coding is just a tool.
“Good math knowledge is key. It will help our students solve military and defense issues in the future,” added Prof. Vazgen Mikayelyan.
He is certain “Unit 1991” students are going to become good specialists. “Many of them know more than I did when I started studying machine learning,” he noted.
Coding and practical mathematics
AI experts from FAST Nshan Potikyan and Sergey Mirzoyan teach “Unit 1991” students coding and practical mathematics.
In the next few months participants of the “Unit 1991” training course will learn Python and corresponding libraries.
Sergey Mirzoyan and Nshan Potikyan Photo: Mediamax
According to Sergey Mirzoyan, given the results his new students have achieved, they are learning quite quickly and the scheduled pace can be maintained.
“We have only dipped our toes in the subject but what I can see already from the students is very encouraging. I hope that when we complete the course, we will have people who can get involved in real projects,” he said.
Sergey Mirzoyan Photo: Mediamax
“The students have a strong sense of responsibility because the training course is aimed at strengthening the defense of Armenia and they can contribute to that in the army if they get into “Unit 1991”. If we compare the university course with this one, the “Unit 1991” students are more involved and responsible. They try to study everything profoundly; they are very serious about it. I believe they are very likely to succeed. If you care about something, you are more likely to get positive results from your work,” added Nshan Potikyan.
Nshan Potikyan Photo: Mediamax
Some of the students already know what kind of work they want to do during the army service, so the course gives them the opportunity to study the fields of their choice.
Different levels of knowledge and specifics of the approach
14 participants of the “Unit 1991” training course are still in high school, 28 are university students, 1 is a college student and one is a university graduate.
Photo: Mediamax
According to Vazgen Mikayelyan, it complicates the teachers’ work, but they have accommodated the lessons to keep them comprehensible and interesting for all students.
“Obviously, sometimes they might get bored, but the exercises we prepared challenge the students who are familiar with the topic, so the solutions are not obvious. Additionally, we added some topics which are not included in the university course but which are very useful in machine learning,” noted Prof. Mikayelyan.
Vazgen MikayelyanPhoto: Mediamax
According to Nshan Potikyan, the teachers aim to guide the students to success through the topics picked for the course, so they don’t get confused.
Photo: Mediamax
Sergey Mirzoyan added that the selection of “Unit 1991” students was done in several stages so they are the cream of the crop by their potential, and the teachers’ job is to exercise individual approaches in order to secure a high standard of knowledge for all students.
Marie Taryan
Photos: Emin Aristakesyan
Video: Gayane Yenokyan
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