Armat and Arman are new engineering brands of Armenia
YEREVAN, June 1. /ARKA/. After a rebranding all the engineering laboratories at Armenian schools are now called Armat, deputy director of the Union of Information Technology Enterprises (UITE) Hayk Chobanyan told journalists today.
Engineering laboratories, first launched in 2014 are designed for school children of 5-12 grades. In 5-6 years they are likely to become mandatory for all school children to teach them programming, robotics and 3D-modeling. In a couple of years the number of engineering labs across the country is expected to surge to 1,200.
"Today we announce the opening of 100 laboratories, rebranded as Armat,' Chobanyan said.
According to him, Armat is translated from the Armenian as "roots." It is an abbreviation of two words: Armenian and mathematics.
"In the next five years we should occupy our own place on the technological map of the world, providing the children in remote rural communities with an opportunity of choosing modern specialty,' said Chobanyan.
To stimulate the children and to raise their interest in engineering, UITE has also developed a new brand ‘Arman; for robots. Arman will become a logo for laboratories and possibly a character of video games or cartoons that kids will develop.
According to Deputy Minister of Economy Emil Tarasyan, Arman is very likely to need a girlfriend soon, because girls are showing increasing interest in the labs.
"This project will create a new generation of children free from old stereotypes who will be able to demonstrate their technical and leadership skills, the flexibility and analytical thinking not only in the sphere of high technologies, but also in other sectors of the economy," Tarasyan said.
Director of Ucom telecom provider Hayk Yesayan said Armenia has always been at the forefront of engineering solutions.
"We joined this project long time ago. We are attracted by its intention to develop interest in children towards engineering education. The demand for qualified engineers in Armenia is quite high now,' Yesayan said.
The project is being run by UITE with the assistance of the government of Armenia.
UITE was founded in 2000 to protect the economic interests of IT companies and promote IT research. -0-