Course aimed at improving analytical and professional skills of YSU students is summarized

The course, which was held in three phases (May 12-14, June 23-25, December 1-3 of this year) was designed for undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate students of the YSU Faculty of International Relations and young researchers of IAS.  

The course titled "Armenia and Values in the EU Policy and Decision-Making Process" was aimed at improving and developing the analytical and professional skills of the students studying at the YSU Faculty of International Relations. Within the scope of the course, national security policy, the internal and external policy of developing military doctrines and foreign policy concepts and decision-making processes (based on the experience of European countries and the USA) with the involvement of high-quality and professional specialists with extensive professional experience were presented to the students.

Theoretical, practical, as well as individual and group analytical works and discussions were also held in order to develop students' practical skills.

Vahram Petrosyan, Director of YSU Institute of Armenian Studies, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, emphasized the importance of meetings and courses in a similar format, which are aimed at improving the analytical and professional skills of YSU students.

Naira Gevorgyan, Head of the Armenian office of the "Friedrich Ebert" Foundation emphasized the importance of the cooperation established between YSU Institute of Armenian Studies and the Armenian office of the "Friedrich Ebert" Foundation, expressing hope to further strengthen it.  

The participants stated that the course was useful not only in terms of enriching their knowledge but also establishing strong business ties between listeners and speakers. According to them, courses of this kind should be organized frequently, since they provide students with the opportunity to participate in discussions and talk about various issues in a more relaxing environment, outside of the teacher-student relationship. Apart from that, it was also important to hold seminars-discussions in foreign languages, to hear opinions from speakers specialized in certain fields, as well as to receive answers to interesting questions. The participants of the course also emphasized the role of informal educational initiatives in the orientation and establishment of specialists.

At the end of the course, Vahram Petrosyan, Director of YSU Institute of Armenian Studies and Sargis Grigoryan, Head of the Department of Armenian-Kurdish Relations, summarizing the results, emphasized that the active participation of YSU students in the elective phase (students who passed the elective stage participated in the course) and the three-phase course proves the importance and high demand of the program, which foreshadows the prospects of professional improvement and skills development of future international scientists and political scientists.

The course was organized within the framework of cooperation between YSU Institute of Armenian Studies, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of RA, Ministry of Defence of RA, YSU different divisions, other Armenian higher education institutions and foreign scientists.

Get acquainted with the topics of the lectures presented in the framework of the course on the directions of RA foreign policy, theoretical and practical functions, and the peculiarities of diplomatic representations here.