Armenia to sign contracts with two prestigious international  universities to establish arts cluster in Academic Town 

ArmInfo.The Armenian government will sign contracts with two prestigious international universities  to establish an arts cluster in Academic City. The decision to engage consulting services through a single-source procurement was made by the Cabinet of Ministers at its meeting on March 12.

As Zhanna Andreasyan, Minister of Education, Science, Culture, and  Sports of the Republic of Armenia, noted, two issues related to the  substantive work necessary for the formation of the "Academic City"  arts cluster were presented at the government meeting today.

"On both of these issues, we are establishing cooperation with the  most prestigious universities in this field, which will help in the  development of the arts cluster concept and its implementation. To  this end, we have held discussions with two universities, and today's  decisions already allow us to move on to signing contracts.

The first is the University of the Arts London, which ranks first in  international rankings as the best university for undergraduate art  and design programs, and has been second in the QS rankings for this  field for many years. Furthermore, the University of the Arts London  has undergone its own process of reorganizing, gradually merging, and  integrating six separate institutions, and in this regard, it has  very important practical experience that will significantly assist us  in implementing the Academic City program, the minister said.

The second agreement will be signed with the Royal Conservatoire of  Scotland, a world leader in performing arts education and a unique  institution offering educational programs in both the performing and  performing arts.

"Since 2016, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland has ranked sixth in  this sector for the ninth time," Andreasyan said.

According to her, working with the two aforementioned universities  will provide an opportunity to create content that meets the highest  international standards within the Academic City arts cluster,  thereby making education in Armenia competitive for both Armenian and  international students, who will certainly be able to study in  Armenia.

The head of the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture clarified  that the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland will be responsible for the  music component, and the contract is expected to be worth up to  371,325 British pounds sterling. The University of the Arts London  will be responsible for all other areas included in the arts cluster.  The contract is worth up to 368,778 British pounds.

"The cooperation is planned in three stages, over a period of  approximately 24 months. This includes conceptual development, as  well as capacity building, as it is crucial to develop local capacity  with the participation of international partners," said Zhanna  Andreasyan.

The minister recalled that the Armenian government already has  reputable international partners with whom it is collaborating to  form the "Academic City" educational cluster.

"An agreement with the Institute of Education at University College  London is in progress, and they are here now, and the work continues.  I should also remind you that we have been working on a technology  cluster with the Technical University of Munich. We have completed  the first stage of work here. We are also currently negotiating with  the University of Cambridge regarding a classical cluster, and I have  the impression that we will also submit an agreement with them for  the government's consideration in the near future," said Andreasyan.  Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, in turn, noted that thanks to these  agreements, international partners work not so much with the  government as with universities and the students themselves, which is  very important.