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MIT STUDENT: UNIVERSITIES IN ARMENIA LACK PROPER "LEARNING ENVIRONMENT"
Sona Avagyan
hetq
11:02, September 8, 2011
In the twenty years since independence, only five students from
Armenia have been accepted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT). 24 year-old Tigran Sloyan is one of them.
He has much to say regarding the state of higher education in Armenia
today - most of it not encouraging.
Every year 100-120 foreign students, 10% of the overall new enrolment,
are accepted into the prestigious school. If necessary, MIT covers
their tuition and boarding expenses.
Tigran graduated from MIT this summer with a B.A. in mathematics and
will be pursuing his Masters in Programming at his alma mater starting
this fall.
Tigran decided to attend MIT after graduating from high school
in Armenia.
He says the reason was a no-brainer - there was no university or
college in Armenia where he could seriously apply his skills and
actually attain a high quality education.
"Today, there is no need for very good professors or strong teaching
methods. It's all available over the internet. You can even listen
to MIT or Harvard lectures via the internet. What's sorely lacking in
Armenia is a true learning environment where students are encouraged
to study. When you go to university, the environment in which learning
is the top ideal just isn't there," notes Tigran.
The student says that when he walks by universities in Armenia, he sees
many young men standing outside who seem more interested in who is the
best dressed, who drives what car and who has the prettiest girlfriend.
"Such things don't exist in MIT. There you are taught to love
learning. Everyone is in competition to be the best student. In
Armenia, it's the opposite. Someone who is a good student is told
that they will become a professor. The one saying this boasts he will
become an oligarch. And who enjoys the most status in Armenia? When I
was a student in Armenia, I preferred to study at home and not waste
my time going to school where I'd invariably wind up playing football
with friends or getting into fights."
Tigran doesn't believe that in order for the educational system in
Armenia to improve, the society as a whole must first change.
He says such changes for the better should be implemented in the
education sector and that the top priority is to create a proper
learning environment in the universities and colleges.
"You have to start somewhere. In practical terms it would be
very difficult to change Armenia as a whole in order to improve
the educational sector. Rather, let's start small and improve the
situation at the universities and hope that the changes will spread
throughout society."
As a top student, Tigran has already received job offers from companies
like Google and Facebook, but he's decided to go for his Masters.
"Hey, MIT is a school where you really want to spend time," he says.
The young Armenian believes that the fact that he won two silver medals
at the International Mathematics Olympics, the only individual from
Armenia to do so since 2000, played a large role in getting accepted
at MIT.
He says that the government of Armenia must revise its disinterested
attitude toward various international Olympiads.
When it comes to the mathematics Olympiad, Armenia lags behind its
neighbours - Iran, Turkey and Azerbaijan - because those governments
are actively involved in preparing students.
"In Iran, the team to be sent is organized a year in advance and gets
intense training. That's why it's almost always in the top ten. In
Armenia, the team is put together just a month before the competition.
Sometimes they train and sometimes they don't. One month just isn't
enough time to prepare for such an event."
Right now there are three students from Armenia pursuing their
B.A. at MIT.
Tigran says they all would like to return to Armenia in a few years
but that presently the possibility for them to attain top-level
educational achievement in Armenia is non-existent.
Two of the three students are seriously into physics, but in
Armenia there are no labs or professors that can prepare them to be
groundbreakers in the field.
Tigran's goal is to set up his own firm in the field of advanced
technology that will operate in the Armenian and overall CIS market.
He is aware of the risks involved when it comes to launching a
commercial enterprise in Armenia and says it's a long-term project
of his.
Tigran is also aware that the chances of him returning to Armenia
fade the more he remains in the U.S.
He agrees that the move back will be difficult but hopes that he will
eventually return to Armenia one day.
"I would never want to launch something big in the States that would
propel this country forward. It's not my government and I don't feel
like a citizen of the government. You remain an outsider no matter
how much you dream of making it big in America."
Tigran concludes by saying that his goal is to start a business;
he's done the research and has a good idea what's involved.
When it comes to fuzzier and amorphous things like dreams - it's a
whole other matter.
"I guess you can say that my dream is to see a strong Republic of
Armenia. When I feel I have acquired the potential to lend a hand,
I will surely give it my best shot."
Sona Avagyan
hetq
11:02, September 8, 2011
In the twenty years since independence, only five students from
Armenia have been accepted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT). 24 year-old Tigran Sloyan is one of them.
He has much to say regarding the state of higher education in Armenia
today - most of it not encouraging.
Every year 100-120 foreign students, 10% of the overall new enrolment,
are accepted into the prestigious school. If necessary, MIT covers
their tuition and boarding expenses.
Tigran graduated from MIT this summer with a B.A. in mathematics and
will be pursuing his Masters in Programming at his alma mater starting
this fall.
Tigran decided to attend MIT after graduating from high school
in Armenia.
He says the reason was a no-brainer - there was no university or
college in Armenia where he could seriously apply his skills and
actually attain a high quality education.
"Today, there is no need for very good professors or strong teaching
methods. It's all available over the internet. You can even listen
to MIT or Harvard lectures via the internet. What's sorely lacking in
Armenia is a true learning environment where students are encouraged
to study. When you go to university, the environment in which learning
is the top ideal just isn't there," notes Tigran.
The student says that when he walks by universities in Armenia, he sees
many young men standing outside who seem more interested in who is the
best dressed, who drives what car and who has the prettiest girlfriend.
"Such things don't exist in MIT. There you are taught to love
learning. Everyone is in competition to be the best student. In
Armenia, it's the opposite. Someone who is a good student is told
that they will become a professor. The one saying this boasts he will
become an oligarch. And who enjoys the most status in Armenia? When I
was a student in Armenia, I preferred to study at home and not waste
my time going to school where I'd invariably wind up playing football
with friends or getting into fights."
Tigran doesn't believe that in order for the educational system in
Armenia to improve, the society as a whole must first change.
He says such changes for the better should be implemented in the
education sector and that the top priority is to create a proper
learning environment in the universities and colleges.
"You have to start somewhere. In practical terms it would be
very difficult to change Armenia as a whole in order to improve
the educational sector. Rather, let's start small and improve the
situation at the universities and hope that the changes will spread
throughout society."
As a top student, Tigran has already received job offers from companies
like Google and Facebook, but he's decided to go for his Masters.
"Hey, MIT is a school where you really want to spend time," he says.
The young Armenian believes that the fact that he won two silver medals
at the International Mathematics Olympics, the only individual from
Armenia to do so since 2000, played a large role in getting accepted
at MIT.
He says that the government of Armenia must revise its disinterested
attitude toward various international Olympiads.
When it comes to the mathematics Olympiad, Armenia lags behind its
neighbours - Iran, Turkey and Azerbaijan - because those governments
are actively involved in preparing students.
"In Iran, the team to be sent is organized a year in advance and gets
intense training. That's why it's almost always in the top ten. In
Armenia, the team is put together just a month before the competition.
Sometimes they train and sometimes they don't. One month just isn't
enough time to prepare for such an event."
Right now there are three students from Armenia pursuing their
B.A. at MIT.
Tigran says they all would like to return to Armenia in a few years
but that presently the possibility for them to attain top-level
educational achievement in Armenia is non-existent.
Two of the three students are seriously into physics, but in
Armenia there are no labs or professors that can prepare them to be
groundbreakers in the field.
Tigran's goal is to set up his own firm in the field of advanced
technology that will operate in the Armenian and overall CIS market.
He is aware of the risks involved when it comes to launching a
commercial enterprise in Armenia and says it's a long-term project
of his.
Tigran is also aware that the chances of him returning to Armenia
fade the more he remains in the U.S.
He agrees that the move back will be difficult but hopes that he will
eventually return to Armenia one day.
"I would never want to launch something big in the States that would
propel this country forward. It's not my government and I don't feel
like a citizen of the government. You remain an outsider no matter
how much you dream of making it big in America."
Tigran concludes by saying that his goal is to start a business;
he's done the research and has a good idea what's involved.
When it comes to fuzzier and amorphous things like dreams - it's a
whole other matter.
"I guess you can say that my dream is to see a strong Republic of
Armenia. When I feel I have acquired the potential to lend a hand,
I will surely give it my best shot."