Creative Spark is a British Council programme aimed at developing enterprise education. 

Several higher education institutions and creative organizations from Armenia have joined the programme this year. The Creative Spark grant winners are as follows:

- Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology,

- Armenian National Engineering Laboratories at NPUA, 

- American University of Armenia,

- V. Brusov University of Languages and Social Sciences, 

- State Academy of Fine Arts, 

- National Polytechnic University of Armenia (NPUA), 

- Simonian Educational Foundation (TUMO Studios).

Mediamax will provide updates on the implementation of the programme in cooperation with the British Council. 

Our first story comes from Khachatur Abovyan Armenian State Pedagogical University

What is required to start a business? 

This question has been asked multiple times over the last few weeks in Abovyan Pedagogical University, which received the grant jointly with Brusov University. It isn’t that the students are struggling to come up with an answer. They just repeat the question to stay focused on it. For the linguistics and pedagogy students this way to present the question was unfamiliar only in the beginning. Gradually, it grew expected and even popular. They discuss it three days a week in their group of 15 students.

Armine Ispiryan (in the middle)

Photo: Mediamax

“When I heard about this course for the first time, I decided to attend, although I was asking myself: what is the point, if I’m studying foreign languages and preparing to become a teacher?” said Armine Ispiryan, a student at Abovyan State Pedagogical University.

A Michelle Obama fan as well, Armine highlighted that she realized something important during the very first class: everything she learned she would use later in life.

Photo: Mediamax

“We are taught things that on the surface might interest only entrepreneurs. Actually, these things concern us all. For instance, I learned team work during this course. I learned that it is extremely important to share your ideas with your teammates and to trust them,” said Armine.

We are learning to trust our team 

There are 15 students in the class. All of them signed up voluntarily. The course accepts anyone interested in entrepreneurship. The instructors are three teachers, all specializing in foreign languages. They conduct the classes in English.

The instructors too attended courses before teaching the entrepreneurial skills. The retraining lasted from the 8th to the 13th of January, and what the teachers learned in those 5 days was completely new to them.

Liana Torosyan

Photo: Mediamax

“To be honest, this is a very unusual course. When we found out we would be teaching it, my first thought was: “But we are English teachers, we have nothing to do with business!” Now I can tell it was really great to take the retraining and learn so many new things,” said Liana Torosyan, a professor with the Romance and Germanic Languages department.

Photo: Mediamax

“At first it seemed that enterprise and a linguistics university can have nothing in common, but it became clear in the process that the idea was not to teach specific business knowledge, but to help students obtain some basic skills. We have bright minds in the university, who can set the tone in their respective fields in the near future,” added Susanna Davtyan, another instructor. She believes that the idea is working.

Photo: Mediamax

These are the tools students need today

Instructor Nushik Hayrapetyan considers the course a successful experiment, because they had no idea what would come of it when they were starting, but in the end, it was a success.

“Now the students from our course have valuable skills. For instance, they know how to prepare for a job interview or implement their ideas in practice. These are the most relevant tools for students today,” said Nushik Hayrapetyan.

Avet Vardanyan is one of the attendees. The 19-year-old student is thinking of starting a business. He decided not to disclose any details, but he did mention that his enterprise would combine design and advertising.

Avet Vardanyan

Photo: Mediamax

“This course has broadened my mind. I’ve become more creative, and although I was never interested in entrepreneurship, I am now. I am putting together ideas like Lego pieces and I’m certain the result will be good,” Avet noted excitedly.

4th course student Iskuhi Hovnanyan carried on his thought, saying that the most important thing she learned during the course was team work. 

Photo: Mediamax

“Obtaining the skills of team work was our target. We also learned to talk about our ideas for a startup and to trust our teammates, if we want to succeed,” said Iskuhi, who studies English language and literature.

Creative Spark is a five year initiative designed to support international university and institutional partnerships to develop enterprise skills and creative economy across seven countries in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan), South Caucasus (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia) and Ukraine through UK support. 

Due to the success of year one of the Creative Spark, the British Council announced it would fund a further 12 international partnerships. Each partnership will receive a maximum of GBP 40,000.

The applications for the grant will be accepted here from April 1 to May 12, 2019.  

Lusin Mkrtchyan

Photos: Emin Aristakesyan 

The series about “Creative Spark” on Mediamax.am is supported by the British Council.