Armenian universities to receive advisory services on participation  in international rankings - MESCS 

ArmInfo. Armen Simonyan, Director of the Academic City Foundation, and Ben Sowter, Deputy Director of QS, have reached an agreement to begin providing advisory services to Armenian universities on their participation in  international rankings.

As reported to ArmInfo by the press service of the Ministry of  Education, Science, Culture, and Sport (MECS), the corresponding  agreement was reached in Hungary during the "QS Higher Ed Summit:  Europe 2026" forum, dedicated to international cooperation and modern  trends in higher education development.  The Armenian side,  represented by Sargis Hayotsyan, Chairman of the Higher Education and  Science Committee of Armenia, as well as representatives from the  academic community, participated in the forum for the first time. 

On the first day of the forum, as reported by the Armenian Ministry  of Education, Science and Culture, Hayotsyan delivered a plenary  speech, "Higher Education and Research Landscape of Armenia - On the  Way of Legal and Structural Reforms: Potential Partnerships between  Armenia, Hungary, and the Rest of the EU," at the Science and  Innovation Center of Istvan Szechenyi University in Gyor, as part of  the QS Higher Ed Summit: Advanced Business Skills Forum. The head of  the Committee, according to the source, presented the current state  of Armenia's higher education and science system, spoke about the  large-scale legislative and institutional reforms implemented in  recent years, as well as their initial results.

 "Special attention was paid to one of the key projects of the  Armenian government – the 'Academic City' program, which envisages  the creation of modern university campuses and research clusters  designed to create a qualitatively new educational and scientific  environment," the Ministry noted. During the presentation, the  ministry continued, prospects for expanding Armenia's cooperation  with Hungary and other European Union countries, steps toward  integrating the country into the European Research Area, and possible  areas for further development of international scientific and  educational collaboration were also presented.

On the second day of the forum, as noted by the Ministry of  Education, Science and Culture, the Chairman of the Committee on  Higher Education and Science and the Director of the Academic City  Foundation held separate working meetings with QS representatives.  The parties discussed practical aspects of upcoming cooperation, its  technical aspects, QS tools for analyzing the global labor market and  assessing professional competencies, data on Armenian universities  used in compiling the QS Rankings, and the proposed scope of work of  the advisory group. Furthermore, the participants discussed  opportunities for expanding the participation of Armenian  universities in QS events and the prospects for holding individual  conferences and forums of the organization in Armenia. "Participation  in the QS Higher Ed Summit: Europe 2026 allowed the Armenian academic  delegation to become familiar with current global trends in higher  education, establish new contacts with leading universities and  research organizations, and study best international practices in  higher education and science," the Ministry concluded.

According to the source, representatives from 60 countries, including  the United States, Great Britain, France, Italy, Greece, India,  Japan, Georgia, and Turkey, as well as representatives from UNESCO,  the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World  Bank, heads of more than 600 universities, academics, and private  sector representatives, participated in the events. The event was  organized by QS (Quacquarelli Symonds), one of the most authoritative  international organizations in the field of university analysis,  evaluation, consulting, and ranking.