On May 3-5, Vilnius University hosted the workshop “Institutional Regulatory Framework of Doctoral Education: Vilnius University experience” within the framework of the Erasmus + ARMDOCT capacity building project. More than 40 representatives from RA Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, EU and RA partner universities, research institutes (including institutional leaders and researchers) attended the workshop.

The visit targeted three of the Salzburg principles, namely fostering the diversity of doctoral programmes, innovative structures and mobility. The workshop was opened by the Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy of Vilnius University Arunas Poviliunas, the Chairman of the Supreme Certifying Committee of the Republic of Armenia Karen Keryan and the ARMDOCT Project Coordinator Arevik Ohanyan.

By welcoming the participants of the workshop, Arunas Poviliunas emphasized the importance of undertaking doctoral education reforms taking into consideration the international compatibility, noting that Vilnius University is a reliable and willing ARMDOCT partner in this regard: “The Salzburg Principles encourage undertaking third-cycle higher education reforms launched in Armenia, as well as ensuring the synergies between the European Higher Education Area and the European Research Area. The activities undertaken at the national level before and planned for the future will, by no means, lead to development, the diversity of doctoral programmes, and the implementation of innovative structures, one of which may be the doctoral school itself.”

According to Karen Keryan, there is no other alternative to the reforms of the third cycle of higher education in Armenia, since it is necessary to keep pace with the world of science and internationalization. He mentioned the importance of the ARMDOCT project and other projects aimed at reforming doctoral education and co-financed by EU, by noting that since the launch of the ARMDOCT project a huge amount of work has been done by the working group. Speaking of the current challenges of doctoral education, K. Keryan is concerned about the age of the scientists in Armenia and the fact that the majority of postgraduate students do not defend their dissertations: “The average age of the scientists in Armenia is rather old: the problem of generational change is vital, and postgraduate students play a cornerstone role in generational change. Therefore, becoming a postgraduate student should be made as attractive as possible, with regard to both content and finance. The education of the postgraduate students should prepare them to become scientists and lecturers of tomorrow. Beginning with the admission process and ending with the defense of the dissertations, it is necessary to make changes, to set new quality standards, to create new opportunities. As a result, there will be better planned research, a high percentage of dissertation defenses, as well as high-quality dissertations in Armenia.”, said the Chairman of the Supreme Certifying Committee.

By introducing the activities carried out within the framework of the ARMDOCT project so far, as well as the expected outcomes, Arevik Ohanyan noted the following: “According to the Salzburg principles, the diversity of the third-cycle education programmes should be a key priority (including joint doctoral programmes offered, for instance, by two universities from different countries). Through implementing innovative structures, it will be possible to foster interdisciplinary education, the development of transferable skills, as well as opportunities for geographical, inter-subject, interdisciplinary and international mobility through the sustainable collaboration of HEIs, research institutions and other partners. Our studies show that almost all third-cycle programmes in Armenia target one field, the practice of interdisciplinary programmes is not widespread, the cases of inter-university, university-NAS institutes, university-industry collaborations are limited. Within the framework of the ARMDOCT project, not only a relevant legal base will be created for the above-mentioned collaborations, but also exemplary doctoral programmes will be implemented with close collaboration of the consortium members.” Summing up her speech, A. Ohanyan expressed her hope that within the framework of the project new future-oriented doctoral programmes will be created, which will be attractive for international students, too.

During the workshop, there was also a panel discussion with the participation of the Representatives of the Government of Lithuania, European universities, and the Chairman of the Supreme Certifying Committee of the Republic of Armenia. The discussion was aimed at revealing the best practices in organizing doctoral education, the ways of localizing them in Armenian HEIs, as well as undertaking reforms at national and institutional levels.

During the workshop, the participants had the opportunity to visit and take part in experience exchange meetings at the doctoral schools of Vilnius University and other structural units (incubators, libraries, research centers, laboratories and others).

It should be noted that by the coordination of Eurasia International University of Armenia, the representatives of 15 member institutions of the project, including 4 EU and 8 RA education institutions, 2 scientific-research institutes, as well as the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports have united to reform the third cycle of higher education in Armenia and to revise the national policies, legal regulations, and institutional procedures. The ARMDOCT project is the initiative of French University in Armenia, based on the practices of the “Implementation of a quality assurance system of the third cycle of higher education in line with the European integration to promote internationalization of research” (C3QA) project and the main outcomes.