On March 16, 2018 the President-elect of Armenia Dr. Armen Sarkissian visited Synopsys headquarters in Mountain View, Silicon Valley.
Synopsys President and co-CEO Dr. Chi-Foon Chan and Synopsys Armenia President Dr. Yervant Zorian welcomed the President-elect Dr. Sarkissian and congratulated him on his new responsibility. They also expressed their determination to continue the fruitful efforts aimed at advancing the high-tech industry in Armenia. “Armenia is the home to one of the largest Synopsys R&D sites with strong engineering expertise and highly successful educational models. The business-academia-government cooperation is crucial for developing the IT ecosystem. Synopsys is committed to continuing its contribution to advance the high-tech industry in Armenia and we are looking forward to working together on making Armenia an important regional center for microelectronics,” said Dr. Chi-Foon Chan.
“It’s impressive what Synopsys does in Armenia,” said the President-elect Dr. Armen Sarksissian. “Synopsys’ investment in technological education is a significant contribution in advancing Armenia’s high-tech economy. The educational model implemented by Synopsys in cooperation with universities is a good example to expand on.”
The visit commenced with a dedicated meeting where Dr. Chi-Foon Chan gave a corporate overview presentation about the company’s achievements mentioning that the company currently has over 12,200 employees and its annual revenue reached ~2.7B. Talking about Synopsys’ products he added: “We are proud having the Synopsys technology at the heart of innovations that are changing the way we live and work. The Internet of Things. Autonomous cars. Wearables. Smart medical devices. Secure financial services. Machine learning and computer vision. These breakthroughs are ushering in the era of Smart, Secure Everything―where devices are getting smarter, everything’s connected, and everything must be secure. Synopsys has the world’s most advanced tools for silicon chip design, verification, IP integration, and application security testing. Our technology helps customers innovate from Silicon to Software, so they can deliver Smart, Secure Everything.”
Dr. Sarkissian was then invited to an insightful tour accompanied by Dr. Chi-Foon Chan and Dr. Yervant Zorian.
On the same day a special IT forum organized by AGBU – Silicon Valley was held at Synopsys.
Dr. Yervant Zorian, who is also the AGBU-Silicon Valley Chair and AGBU Central Board Member moderated the town hall event. In his opening remarks, he mentioned: “The new President-elect combines the talents of an experienced statesman, an innovative scientist, and a successful entrepreneur. Therefore, it is not surprising that, as a President-elect, he requested to communicate with the IT community that cares deeply about Armenia, in Silicon Valley, where innovation and entrepreneurship intersect. It is not surprising also that the AGBU Silicon Valley organized the event given its long commitment to the advancement of technology ecosystem in Armenia, and that the forum was hosted at Synopsys, given the prominence of its IT R&D center in Armenia.”
During the event Dr. Armen Sarkissian shared his vision about the IT development opportunities in Armenia. He explicitly stressed the importance of joining Armenia and Diaspora efforts to make Armenia a hub for new technology, and the need to build its future, based on innovation in the fast changing world.
The topics raised during the 3 hours long discussion, ranged from technology to education, to science and health. At the forum with 200 participants the President-elect was eager to hear from the young generation about their plans, thoughts, and concerns. Dr. Sarkissian was very attentive to every question and input, demonstrating his openness to hear from the leaders of tomorrow.
The President-elect expressed his will to use his position to advocate for a more open Armenia for the benefit of the Armenian residents and the Diaspora. He was clear that he has an inclusive Armenia-Diaspora agenda and called forum participants and community for action to care about each other and work together to attract investment, foster education, and advance science. The powerful evening left attendees enthusiastic about the future of Armenia and ready to contribute to its prosperity.
Earlier this year, in February, Dr. Sarkissian had been introduced to Synopsys Armenia from an insightful tour during his visit to its campus in Yerevan, where the meeting with the local IT community in Armenia was held. The visit agenda also included a meeting with Synopsys Armenia Educational Department students and professors.
