Certificates awarded to students completing YSU-Fastex course

YSU Rector Hovhannes Hovhannisyan signed a memorandum of cooperation with Vigen Badalyan, founder of Fastex, back in April, with the aim of implementing educational and research-based supplementary programs to promote the development of the blockchain and digital currency sectors.

Congratulating the participants, the rector of YSU emphasized that the course requirements were quite strict, and as a result, only the best students were awarded certificates.

Appreciating the cooperation with Fastex, he stated: "There is a high demand for specialists skilled in blockchain technology worldwide. Today, qualified professionals are needed in almost every sector, so it is undeniable that the best will find their rightful place. As Vigen Badalyan mentioned during one of our meetings, the best participants of the course will have the opportunity to get a job at Fastex."

Vakhtang Abrahamyan, the CEO of Fastex, pointed out that the students participated with great enthusiasm in this new initiative. 

"This is just the beginning of our joint initiatives. We have a lot of plans for the future, including a master's educational program and collaborative research," he emphasized.

Karine Avetisyan, Head of the Chair of Actuarial and Financial Mathematics at YSU Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics, mentioned that work is currently underway on the development of the master’s program "Blockchain and Digital Currencies". She expressed hope that admissions for the program will be announced next year.

"Before developing the master's educational program, it was decided to organize courses focused on blockchain technology and digital currencies at the Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics. There was significant interest, but only those who passed the interview stage were selected. The whole world is transitioning to a toolkit based on blockchain technology, and considering that both financial and non-financial sector organizations are adopting these technologies, companies of all types need specialists proficient in them," emphasized Karine Avetisyan.

Arevik Arushanyan, a student in the "Financial Mathematics" master's program at YSU Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics and a participant in the course "Basics of Blockchain Technologies: Use of Crypto Applications", noted that during the course, they gained fundamental knowledge and a comprehensive understanding of how Web3 works, as well as learned about cryptocurrencies.   

"The course was also interesting because we met prominent figures in the sector who presented the application of these tools both in marketing and in Web3 programming. I am also interested in the master's program, which is currently in development," said the student, emphasizing that she is currently interested in the securities market and how portfolios are managed. According to her, it will also be quite interesting to explore cryptography.

During the two-month course held within the framework of the memorandum of cooperation, the instructors covered topics such as blockchain technology and the fundamentals of cryptography, DeFi (decentralized financial applications) and the characteristics of digital assets, the risks present in Web3, security mechanisms and their applicability, as well as the legislative regulations in the field.

The courses were led by specialists with extensive international experience in the Web3 field, such as Vakhtang Abrahamyan (CEO of Fastex), Vardan Khachatryan (Chief Legal Officer and Member of the Board of Directors at Fastex), Aram Jivanyan (Advisor at Fastex), Karen Terjanyan (Chief Designer at Bahamut Blockchain), Pavel Aramyan (Program Lead at Bahamut Blockchain), and Armen Baghdasaryan (Partnership Manager at Fastex). In addition to the main instructors, students also had the opportunity to attend lectures by guest speakers.

The cooperation between YSU and Fastex provides university students with the opportunity to regularly undergo professional internships at Fastex, while the top-performing students of the master’s program "Blockchain and Digital Currencies" will be awarded a nominal scholarship provided by the company.