Representatives of the academic and administrative staff of Yerevan State Medical University (YSMU) named after Mkhitar Heratsi participated in a two-day workshop organized by QS (Quacquarelli Symonds), a world university ranking organization.
The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, the Higher Education and Science Committee, and the “Academic City” Foundation are launching a collaboration with this organization, aiming to improve the standing of Armenian higher education institutions in international ranking systems.
The second day of the event, marking the launch of this partnership, featured a detailed presentation on the mission and vision of QS—an organization with approximately 35 years of experience in the field that ranks around 2,000 higher education institutions worldwide. During a consultation meeting titled “Supporting the Future of Higher Education in Armenia,” Jacques de Champchesnel, the company’s Director of Consulting; Isobel Rossiter, Principal Consultant; and Senior Consultants Daniel Kahn and Dara Bukhtoyarova; discussed key areas of cooperation with Armenia’s higher education system, as well as international ranking methodologies and their significance for university development and enhanced international visibility.
Particular attention was paid to the transformation of skills, jobs, and the workforce; defining Armenia’s position within ranking systems; translating research outcomes into academic reputation; and the need to leverage alumni achievements and staff satisfaction to gain international recognition.
Attaching great importance to the academic reputation of universities, they particularly emphasized the need to translate excellence in the academic and research spheres into recognition. According to them, the limited academic reputation poses a serious challenge for higher education in our country. Higher education, in the words of Isobel Rossiter, serves as a tool for economic transformation. Universities, according to Daniel Kahn, compete for global visibility in the increasing higher education market.
At the conclusion of the discussion, the experts presented a roadmap for the success of the three-year project.
On the same day—September 16—specialists from the QS ranking organization held a consultation meeting with representatives of YSMU at the Medical University. The necessity of a strategy aimed at enhancing the university’s global academic reputation was highlighted, as was the institution’s distinctive role in the fields of life sciences and medicine; furthermore, future prospects for bilateral cooperation—aimed at increasing the Medical University’s visibility and expanding its global reach—were discussed.
It should be noted that workshops within the project’s framework are scheduled to begin in April 2027. Until then, cooperation will take place remotely, with online discussions planned for January and February.
The institutions involved in these efforts are Yerevan State University, Yerevan State Medical University, and the National Polytechnic University of Armenia. The selection of these universities aligns with the logic of the “Academic City” program and the systemic reforms stemming from the new Law on Higher Education and Science.
