Quick chat with Dr. Yervant Zorian, Chief Architect at Synopsys and founder of Armenian Virtual College, speaker at the WCIT 2019 in Yerevan.

Can you tell us a bit about Armenian Virtual College?

"AVC is an online teaching platform that started 10 years ago. For the Armenian diaspora, it is a source of Armenian education that teaches language, history and culture. Through these online courses, we aim to teach Armenian to both Armenians and non-Armenians. We have up to 24000 users. We also offer E-books which are currently being used in 37 schools as a teaching method with interactive multimedia. In order to reach all corners of the diaspora, the courses are available in numerous languages such as Eastern and Western Armenian, French, Spanish, English and more. Overall, this is a huge program.

Currently we are also deviating from the Armenian programs to offer scientific subjects, specifically to schools in Armenia. The lack of specialised teachers and laboratories in Armenia inspired us to create augmented reality laboratories as to give access to students all over the country."

You are also a Chief Architect at Synopsys in Silicon Valley and the President of Synopsys Armenia. As a leading figure in the IT sector, do you think Armenia could become at the forefront of the IT industry in the next 10 years?

"Personally, I have been working with IT in Armenia for the past 25 years. IT, as you know, encompasses many different sectors and Armenia leads in numerous ones. For instance, in microelectronics we are one of the biggest innovators and we are slowly rising in other fields as well, such as animation. Therefore, I think Armenia already plays a huge role in this industry and will continue to advance to become one of its main driving forces."

A big thank you to Dr. Zorian for promoting Armenianism in all its forms, an example for all of us to follow!
 

Ramgavar Mamoul