CYSCA Alumni News
Archives for 2004
COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS BUSINESS DELEGATION HAS RECEIVED A GRANT FOR $17,000
Aram Navasardyan, of the March 2003 Community Connections business delegation has received a grant for $17,000 from Eurasia Foundation towards printing of a new, expanded Armenian Export Catalog for 2003. This hard copy version will be about double the size of the CD. Jack Medzorian reported that "The AEC is getting very popular here and seems to be recognized as the best of the lot. He really deserves a lot of credit for his iniative and at the same time is bringing credit to himself, CYSCA and ECA."
GOR ZAKARIAN [1999] GRADUATED FROM DICKINSON COLLEGE WITH A BACHELOR OF ART
Graduated in Economics and International Business & Management with honors in
International Business and
Management, received Magna Cum Laude, was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa
and received the Anthony Mach Memorial Prize in Economics and the Grant
D. Fryling '04 Memorial Prize in International Business and Management.
He will attend Brandeis University International Business School where
he
will pursue a Master of Arts
degree in International Economics and Finance.
ARAMAYIS HAMBARTSUMYAN PUBLISHED A BOOK ABOUT THE VARTANANTS WAR
by Jirair Babikyan
Aramayis Hambartsumyan,a 1999 exchange student from School #198 who
stayed at his family's house has just published a book about the
Vartanants War. Hambartsumyan is now a third-year student at Yerevan
State University. The book, ___ pages, in Armenian, is for sale for $5
through Jirair Babikyan( babikyan@speakeasy.org).
CYSCA PARTICIPANT IN 1998 YOUTH INTERNET TRAINING PROGRAM
by Hayk Piloyan 5/20/2004
Participation in CYSCA Internet Training program was my first
exposure to the United States, and my first individual travel
experience. Besides having an academic focus the program was also
culturally enriching. I got acquainted with Boston, and inasmuch as
Boston is one of the oldest cities in the US I had the opportunity to
learn firsthand about the American society and American history. Even
though I had studied English for several years prior to my
participation in the program, being in an English-speaking environment
greatly improved my language skills.
I graduated from Physics Mathematics Specialized School in Yerevan
in 1999, at the age of 15. In 1999-2000 academic year I studied in
Lamoni High School in Iowa, as a participant of the Freedom Support Act
Future Leaders Exchange Program. I graduated from Lamoni High School in
2000 after which I entered the Department of Economics of Yerevan State
University. I studied at YSU for one year after which I transferred to
Tufts University in Medford, MA.
I am currently a junior at Tufts pursuing a double major in
Quantitative Economics and International Relations. Throughout my
college career I have been active in many student organizations and
extracurricular activities. In my freshman year I served as the
president of the Tufts Armenian Club,
and was instrumental in organizing the Armenian Genocide Commemoration
event for which we invited a speaker from the Sorbonne. I have also
been active in the International Club, and was a Host Advisor for the
International Orientation 2002 welcoming the incoming international and
American students and helping them with their first steps at Tufts. In
2003 I was a Peer Academic Leader for the All-University Orientation. I
am also a part of the Intercultural Conversation Program, helping
graduate international students in their cultural and linguistic
adjustment to the US. I will be spending my next semester in France
studying at the Sorbonne. Following that I was selected to participate
in the program organized by the Tufts Institute for Leadership and
International Perspective in Hong Kong, which consists of a six-week
internship and a two-week cultural program.
ARMEN ASRYAN, A CYSCA ALUMNI SUCCESS STORY
reprinted with permission from IREX(http://www.irex.am/)
CCA Alumni
Success Story
Credibility in Armenia's High-Tech???
In March 2003, embarking on his first international travel outside of Russia, Armen Asryan traveled to Boston, MA as one of ten Yerevan Business finalists to be hosted at the Cambridge Yerevan Sister City Association. During his one-month internship, Armen observed many important business practices including the importance of project management.
Placed with the Yankee Group Consulting Company & the Armenian High-Tech Council of America (AHTCA), Armen would spend the first half of his day working on SiliconArmenia High-Tech Portal - Armenia's very first vertical industry portal which aims to create business links and a dynamic network between technology companies based in Armenia, the Armenian Diaspora, and the global technology community (www.siliconarmenia.am). Throughout the second half of the day, Armen worked on expanding his own private business: Technology into Business (www.tib.am).
Upon returning to Armenia, Armen continued Silicon Armenia's contacts with the Armenian High-Tech Council of America. In July 2003, the AHTCA submitted a proposal to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and was given a $50,000 grant to complete the second phase of Silicon Armenia jointly with the Armenian Development Agency, Enterprise Incubator Foundation, Armenian Development Gateway / e-Armenian Foundation and the Union of IT Enterprises. Since then, Silicon Armenia has grown to employ three full-time and two part-time persons, with Armen working as the Content Manager of the Portal.
 After Technology into Business successfully completed the two contracts obtained from the United States, Armen and his team was able to secure two more. He had amazingly completed his first two projects in time and within budget; an anomaly in Armenia where businesses typically drag out projects by months and increase budgets as much as twofold. Besides gaining credibility from American organizations, TIB also won the tender to create the Armenian Information web site (www.armeniainfo.am) for the Armenian Tourism Development Agency (ATDA) and for the Armenian Tourism Industry.
(www.armeniainfo.am) for the Armenian Tourism Development Agency (ATDA) and for the Armenian Tourism Industry
Armen at his workstation in the Silicon Armenia office
Only two years ago Armen's Technology into Business was repeatedly rejected for projects for fear of an untimely completion − a common practice in Armenia. But today he is changing the outside world's attitudes and mentalities towards Armenia's high-tech industry; a feat that can be attributed to the credibility of both Silicon Armenia and Technology into Business. When asked why he is so successful; Armen simply replies "project management; 99% of success comes from that".
Regarding his future, Armen hopes to expand his local and global web & software development markets. Armen also recently received a major scholarship to attend Kingston University in London. There he will pursue Masters in Applied Geographic Information Systems while continuing his work on both SiliconArmenia and TIB. He also hopes to establish new partnerships in the English and European high-tech industries. One thing is for certain; Armen will work hard to continue changing the image of Armenia's high-tech industry.
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