On April 8-9 2021 National Erasmus+ Office in Armenia (NEO-Armenia) hosted Zoom Webinars aimed at introducing to the beneficiaries Erasmus Mundus and Jean Monnet Actions, informing about the recently launched Erasmus+ Call for Proposals 2021, the conditions for participation, as well as the opportunities for cooperation with local, regional and international partners.

The two-day online webinar audience represented viewers (201 Day 1, 122 Day 2) from 15 countries: Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Jordan, Belgium, Italy, France, Germany, Portugal, Estonia, Romania, and the United States.

“I would definitely encourage you to come up with proposals and partnerships looking into the specific areas of green and digital transformation. We are now at a high political level discussing with all the interlocutors in Armenia the concepts of the “Green Deal” and now in this new Covid-19 context the “Green Recovery.” We need to explore and identify new opportunities for cooperation under these broad green and digital agendas and to support the recovery of our economies and societies,” said the Head of Cooperation Department of EU Delegation to Armenia Mr. Gonzalo Serrano, in his opening remarks.

Mr. Artur Martirosyan, RA Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, acknowledged the important role of the Erasmus+ Programme in enhancing and strengthening the collaboration between the EU and the Neighboring countries via education, training, culture and youth projects. “By participating in Erasmus+ supported Actions university staff members and students get an excellent opportunity to exchange with their peers and counterparts in Europe, to learn from and collaborate with each other, and most importantly to become global citizens by broadening their visions and mindsets.”

NEO-Armenia Coordinator Ms. Lana Karlova went over the International dimension of Erasmus+ 2021-2027 Programme scheme which is only partly reflected in this first call: in Erasmus Mundus Actions and Jean Monnet Activities.

The spectrum of international actions available in the new programme will expand to new fields, in particular Vocational Education and Training (VET), Virtual exchanges and Sport, in addition to higher education and youth. Some of these actions will be available as of call 2021, some will start later. The geographical scope of these non-higher education actions is still to be defined.

Next up in the webinar, Ms. Despina Christadoni, Project Officer from Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), presented the details of the recently modified Erasmus Mundus Action and the new funding framework it provides.
Erasmus Mundus Action aims at fostering excellence and worldwide internationalisation of higher education institutions (HEIs) via study programmes – at Master course level – jointly delivered and recognised by HEIs established in Erasmus+ Programme and Partner Countries, including Armenia. With the Erasmus+ funding Armenian HEIs can enhance their capacities to modernise and internationalise their curricula and teaching practices, and develop new joint transnational study programmes at Master level based on international experience in quality assurance, accreditation and recognition of degrees and credits. Armenian HEIs can act either as coordinators or partners in the mentioned Action. 

Ms. Salome Bilanishvili, Head of International Relations Office of Ilia State University, Georgia, presented the university’s long experience in the development and implementation of “IMCEERES” – Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree Programme in Central and East European, Russian and Eurasian Studies. IMCEERES aims to give students a thorough knowledge and understanding of historical and contemporary developments in the society, politics, economics and culture of this large and diverse area.  

The last speaker of day one of the webinars was Mr. Ruben Topchyan, Director of National Center for Professional Education Quality Assurance, Erasmus+ Higher Education Reform Expert (HERE-Armenia). The HERE-Armenia team member reminded the participants that Institutional Accreditation is a regular mandatory process both for private and public HEIs operating on the territory of Armenia and is a prerequisite for Academic Programme Accreditation. Given the new law on Higher Education and Science, Mr. Topchyan also discussed the Programme Accreditation Perspectives.

Mr. Tigran Samvelian, Head of the European Department of RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs, opened Day Two of the Erasmus+ Info Webinars 2021. Mr Samvelian highlighted the recently ratified “EU-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA)” which values ​​cooperation between the two countries in the field of education and training, with a focus on vocational and higher education. It provides for a deeper understanding of the European integration processes, strengthening of the academic dialogue within the framework of the EU-Eastern Partnership, participation in relevant EU-funded programs. Erasmus+ program can contribute to the effective implementation of the CEPA actions aimed at strengthening the EU-Armenia higher education sector.

NEO-Armenia Coordinator Ms. Lana Karlova looked over the Jean Monnet Projects implementation in Armenia since 2015 presenting relevant statistical data.

Ms. Anna Khvorostiankina, Jean Monnet Module Coordinator from Brusov State University, together with Ms. Kristina Gevorgyan, Jean Monnet Module Coordinator from Yerevan State University, provided practical recommendations on preparing successful Jean Monnet proposals relevant to the objectives of the Call for Proposals 2021.

The Sessions on Day Two also focused on Jean Monnet Activities that aim at promoting excellence in teaching and research in the field of European Union Studies worldwide.
The invited guest speakers from Georgian, Ukrainian and Kazakh HEIs facilitated the exchange of experience in Jean Monnet project implementation.

Ms. Ekaterine Kardava, Jean Monnet Module Coordinator from Caucasus University, Georgia, gave a brief overview of her experience in formulating project ideas, goals, objectives and relevant activities for Jean Monnet Module and Project proposals.

Ms. Zhanar Medeubaeva, Head of the Department of Regional Studies of L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Kazakhstan, and Ms. Irine Kurdadze, Director of Institute of International Law from Tbilisi State University, Georgia, shared their experience in holding Jean Monnet Chairs on “European Diplomacy” and “Understanding EU Policy for Equality” – three-year teaching and research posts. 

Ms. Oksana Holovko-Havrysheva, Head of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Ukraine, talked about JM Centre of Excellence “Western Ukrainian Research Center for European Studies” which is a multidisciplinary research center in European Studies aiming to build a model of fruitful cooperation between the university, the policy-makers, and the wider society in order to adjust the social life, democracy and education standards to best European practices. Ms. Holovko-Havrysheva also provided some tips on drafting successful Jean Monnet Chair proposals.