A new business school is set to open in Yerevan this October. The School will try to fill up a gap in the business education segment by offering a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) degree through a part-time, continuing education format. The idea of the School comes from Mr. Abel Aghabengian, a former economic advisor to Mikhail Gorbachev, and is modeled after a similar program that has been operating in Russia for the last 3 years.
The Founding Dean of the new School, Mr. Radik Vanunts (in picture), believes that the shortage of specialized managers in Armenia is the main reason behind the economy’s lack of competitiveness. In an interview with H1 T.V. channel news on 24 June 2008, he stated that “in Armenia, the business owner, the chief executive officer, the chief financial officer, the person in charge of marketing, etc. is usually the same person. This is not a professional way to run a business. We continue importing goods, including from Turkey, just because we don’t know how to produce them in an efficient way.”
Mr. Vanunts is a multifaceted person. He has earned a considerable part of his managerial experience working in non-competitive sectors. Since August 2003, he has been in charge of Mars Electronics, an Armenia-based company catering to the Russian defense industry. The company was acquired by the Russian government as part of the “assets-for-debt” swap plan according to which the outstanding Armenian debt to Russia was cancelled.
The 50 years old and Yerevan-born businessman has also invested in the hospitality industry. He is an owner of Latar hotel complex that is located on the outskirts of Yerevan. The hotel is named after the village of Latar, now in Turkey, from where Mr. Vanunts family originates. His strong attachment to the ancestral village led him to produce and direct a 1-hour short movie called Homeland (Ergir) that depicts the pilgrimage of an Armenian man to Latar, the destroyed and spoiled homeland, on the occasion of his 20th wedding anniversary. The film was projected outside competition at 2007 Golden Apricot Yerevan Film Festival. Interestingly, it seems that Latar - that is the hotel complex - is where the new School will be based.
The proposed DBA program will be composed of 12-15 modules of 15 days each, and taught over a period of 3 years (4-5 modules per year). Like many executive DBA programs, the School will consider applications only from candidates who posses at least 5 years of professional experience, in addition to a university degree. To ensure that quality standards are kept high from the beginning, Abel Aghabengian will personally screen the candidates and select the first batch of 20 students.
Moreover, the teaching staff will mainly (around 85%) come from abroad, probably from Russia, and the language of instruction will consequently be Russian as Mr. Vanunts considers Russian management education superior to that of Europe (?!). This belief is based on his personal experience; Mr. Vanunts has done most of his studies in Russia except a brief stay at Munich Management Academy (Germany); a management training and coaching center.
As for the financial aspects of the new program, they have not been fully disclosed or maybe settled yet. The program in Russia costs approximately 30 thousand euros (10 thousand per year) but students do not bear the entire expenses; they receive scholarships and financial aid from their employers. According to Armenpress news release of 26 May 2008, Armenian businessmen based in Russia have already donated “heavily” to help realize the project but the School will need additional sources of support.
Mr. Vanunts is a multifaceted person. He has earned a considerable part of his managerial experience working in non-competitive sectors. Since August 2003, he has been in charge of Mars Electronics, an Armenia-based company catering to the Russian defense industry. The company was acquired by the Russian government as part of the “assets-for-debt” swap plan according to which the outstanding Armenian debt to Russia was cancelled.
The 50 years old and Yerevan-born businessman has also invested in the hospitality industry. He is an owner of Latar hotel complex that is located on the outskirts of Yerevan. The hotel is named after the village of Latar, now in Turkey, from where Mr. Vanunts family originates. His strong attachment to the ancestral village led him to produce and direct a 1-hour short movie called Homeland (Ergir) that depicts the pilgrimage of an Armenian man to Latar, the destroyed and spoiled homeland, on the occasion of his 20th wedding anniversary. The film was projected outside competition at 2007 Golden Apricot Yerevan Film Festival. Interestingly, it seems that Latar - that is the hotel complex - is where the new School will be based.
The proposed DBA program will be composed of 12-15 modules of 15 days each, and taught over a period of 3 years (4-5 modules per year). Like many executive DBA programs, the School will consider applications only from candidates who posses at least 5 years of professional experience, in addition to a university degree. To ensure that quality standards are kept high from the beginning, Abel Aghabengian will personally screen the candidates and select the first batch of 20 students.
Moreover, the teaching staff will mainly (around 85%) come from abroad, probably from Russia, and the language of instruction will consequently be Russian as Mr. Vanunts considers Russian management education superior to that of Europe (?!). This belief is based on his personal experience; Mr. Vanunts has done most of his studies in Russia except a brief stay at Munich Management Academy (Germany); a management training and coaching center.
As for the financial aspects of the new program, they have not been fully disclosed or maybe settled yet. The program in Russia costs approximately 30 thousand euros (10 thousand per year) but students do not bear the entire expenses; they receive scholarships and financial aid from their employers. According to Armenpress news release of 26 May 2008, Armenian businessmen based in Russia have already donated “heavily” to help realize the project but the School will need additional sources of support.
