AFISHE Project Kick-off Meeting Held
January 25, 2023
On 25 January 2023, the kick-off meeting of "Development of Aquaculture and Fisheries Education for Green Deal in Armenia and Ukraine: FROM EDUCATION TO ECOLOGY" (AFISHE) Erasmus+ CBHE jointly implemented by International Scientific and Educational Center of NAS RA, Armenian National Agrarian University and Scientific Center of Zoology and Hydroecology of NAS RA was held at Round Hall of Presidium of NAS RA, where around 50 representatives from state departments, universities, international structures and European partner universities participated in the offline and online formats.
Reminder: The overall goal of this project is to decrease the negative impact of aquaculture and fishery industry on the environment in Armenia and Ukraine through the designing and development of Master’s degree programs in aquaculture and fisheries, that is benchmarked to high-quality similar programs in Europe and responsive to national and regional needs, and strengthening the university-enterprise-research cooperation (concept "from education to ecology"). The project coordinator is ANAU.
Armen Sargsyan, Director of ISEC NAS RA, gave an opening speech, who, welcoming the participants, noted that it is a great honour to start the opening meeting of the Erasmus+ capacity building AFISHE program on fisheries and aquaculture and host representatives from Portugal, Croatia and Slovakia, Ukraine and Armenia to cooperate in improving the capacity of the fisheries and aquaculture sector in Armenia and Ukraine.
"We are excited to get started on this important project and believe, it will have a lasting impact on the fishery and aquaculture sector in the participating countries. We encourage all stakeholders to get involved and make the most of this opportunity to build capacity and drive positive change in this important industry," noted A. Sargsyan, also highlighting: "In order to reinforce and reaffirm our intentions, today we are also going to sign a collaboration memorandum with ANAU for the successful collaboration within the frameworks of this project and in general".
Ruben Harutyunyan, Academician-Secretary of Division of Natural Sciences of NAS RA, RA Environment Deputy Ministers Tigran Gabrielyan and Aram Meimaryan, Arman Khojoyan, the RA Deputy Economy Minister Arman Khojoyan, Vardan Urutyan, Rector of Armenian National Agrarian University, Lana Karlova, Programme Coordinator of Erasmus+ National Office in Armenia, Svitlana Shitykova - Programme Coordinator of National Erasmus+ Office in Ukraine participated in the meeting, as well as directors of research organizations of NAS RA, HEI representatives and the representatives of Sumy National Agrarian University and NUWEE.
RA Environment Ministry represented by Deputy Minister Tigran Gabrielyan also welcomed the idea of introducing a new educational program, which will surely be a basis for training experienced managers of aquaculture and fish economy. "Each process aimed at the development of knowledge, abilities and skills of environmental education is another step towards our vision of having a more protected, stable and dynamically developing environment of tomorrow," said RA Deputy Environment Minister T. Gabrielyan.
RA Economy Deputy Minister Arman Khojoyan also welcomed the participants, emphasizing that the fishery is one of the fastest developing field in Armenia. He highlighted the importance of increasing the attractiveness and education quality in the field, stressing that even more tangible results can be achieved if the field is equipped with high-quality specialists who will be guided by the latest methods and technologies.
Rector of Armenian National Agrarian University, Vardan Urutyan, also made a speech of welcome, who emphasized the need to implement the program for the further development of the sector, noting that within the framework of the program, a new master's educational program will be developed jointly with ISEC NAS RA, based on the expertise and existing research of the Scientific Center of Zoology and Hydroecology of NAS RA. He expressed his willingness to provide with all the necessary conditions and resources for the effective implementation of the project.
Congratulating the participants on the occasion of the project start, Director of the Scientific Center of Zoology and Hydroecology of NAS RA, Sargis Aghayan noted: "This is a unique opportunity when scientific organizations and universities can unite their efforts, promoting research-based and science-oriented education. Jointly with our partners we will strive to do our best to implement this program. This partnership is a broad platform for new project contribution and interaction".
In the second half of the day, representatives from European partner universities from Portugal, Croatia and Slovakia, as well as from Ukraine, participating in the meeting remotely, presented their experiences of aquaculture and fish management educational programs in order to exchange best practices.
Garegin Hambardzumyan, Project Coordinator, presented the planned activities and the expected results within the framework of the project until 2024.
The first day of the meeting concluded with active discussions on the benchmarking of the curricula and syllabi within the project, the development and improvement of new learning outcomes and modules in line with the Bologna process on aquaculture and fisheries.
RA Economy Deputy Minister Arman Khojoyan participated in the kick-off meeting of the AFISHE Erasmus+ capacity building program held at the RA National Academy of Sciences aimed at the "Development of Aquaculture and Fisheries Education for Green Deal in Armenia and Ukraine:
Arman Khojoyan noted that the fishery is one of the fastest developing field in Armenia. He highlighted the importance of increasing the attractiveness and education quality in the field, stressing that even more tangible results can be achieved if the field is equipped with high-quality specialists who will be guided by the latest methods and technologies.
Public Relations and Career Department of ISEC NAS RA
