November 17, Dilijan. UWC Dilijan, an international boarding school in Armenia, and Samsung Electronics, a world leading technological company, have signed an agreement to launch Samsung Innovation Campus in Dilijan, Armenia. The initiative is aimed at making a contribution to Armenia by enabling Armenian youth to develop their IT skills and learn the concepts related to Mobile Programming.
Technological advancements are key to economic development, which in its turn is empowered by talent. As a leader in technology, Samsung Electronics has the know-how and resources to support this forward-looking project via its corporate citizenship program, while UWC Dilijan, which is firmly integrated in local and regional communities, has the facilities, auxiliary structures and partner organizations to lead its implementation.
The goal of the Samsung Innovation Campus is to contribute to the development of Armenia by equipping young people, through education, with skills that will not only improve their digital literacy, learning abilities, creativity and imagination, but also enable conditions for their future interest in pursuing Mobile Programming and spreading innovative IT technology in the country.
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The launch of the Samsung Innovation Campus is scheduled for January 2022. The initiative will focus on 14-16 year-old Armenian children. The program of activities, initially around the town of Dilijan and adjoining areas, will be a pilot with a potential to be scaled up. It is built around the delivery, over the next three years, of a combination of online sessions and in-person boot camps for 150 children over a period from January 2022 through the summer in year one and from October through the summer in the years after.
Due to the impact of UWC Dilijan, which was founded in 2014, Dilijan, a town of about 20,000 people, has seen transformational development and is becoming a model for regeneration and urbanization. The college represents a significant international presence in Armenia and in the region. With its world-class campus and an international community of students and teachers, UWC Dilijan aspires to have global, regional and local impact.
Samsung Innovation Campus will be implemented with the support of UWC Dilijan’s partner organisations – Dilijan Community Center (DCC), that would help with outreach to the local schools.
“We plan to provide the education platform to help young people of Armenia to leverage their unique technical talents and abilities in the IT field and train them in developing their own Mobile applications. We are proud to contribute to the spread of innovative IT technology education in Armenia and to train future high-level IT specialists in close cooperation with United World College Dilijan,” said Mr. DH Kim, President & CEO of Samsung Electronics CIS RHQ.
“Founded in 2014, UWC Dilijan is a young institution, but with its world-class campus and an international community of students and teachers, UWC Dilijan aspires to have global, regional and local impact. Our cooperation with Samsung opens a new page in our capacity to contribute to the development of digital skills of young people in Armenia, crucial for the modern economy. We are aware that we have a lot of work to do to deliver this initiative, but we are ready,” said Gabriel Ernesto Abad Fernández, Head of UWC Dilijan.
About UWC Dilijan
UWC Dilijan is the first international boarding school of the UWC education model in the region. The college opened in 2014 in the Armenian town of Dilijan and currently has 220 students enrolled from more than 80 countries and 36 academic staff members from 15 countries.
UWC Dilijan represents an exciting extension of the UWC movement into the Caucasus region at the junction of Asia and Europe. Established in 1962, the UWC educational movement now comprises 18 international schools and colleges, national committees in more than 155 countries, and a series of short educational programmes.
UWC Dilijan was initiated and masterminded by impact investors and entrepreneurs Ruben Vardanyan and Veronika Zonabend with the support of other Founding Patrons. The college was built with generous donations from over 330 benefactors. Its admissions policy aims to make enrolment available to anyone, regardless of socio-economic background, on the basis of demonstrated need. Over 80% of students receive full or partial scholarships.
The UWC Dilijan academic programme – The International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme (DP) – is an assessed programme for students aged 16 to 19.
UWC Dilijan has six generations of alumni from 2016 to 2021; many of them continue their education at leading universities worldwide – Princeton, Yale, Harvard, Columbia, UCL, Duke, Berkeley, McGill, University of Edinburgh, Minerva School at KGI and many more.
About Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies. The company is redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, digital appliances, network systems, and memory, system LSI, foundry and LED solutions. For the latest company news, visit Samsung Newsroom.
About Samsung Innovation Campus
Samsung Electronics operates various technology-based education programs to nurture young talent that is capable of leading society in the future. One of these programs is Samsung Innovation Campus (SIC), which helps young people from all over the world learn about key technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT), as well as preparing them and providing opportunities for them in their careers. SIC currently operates in 23 countries around the world, and approximately 160,000 students have gone through a SIC program as of 2020.
About Dilijan Community Center
Dilijan Community Center (DCC) was created on the basis of the Dilijan Youth Center, founded in 2014 by the philanthropists Ruben Vardanyan and Veronika Zonabend. It started as a platform to engage students from UWC Dilijan College with the youth in Dilijan. Over the years it expanded the scope of its activities and implemented numerous educational and leisure programs, capacity building training and cultural events. DCC has become the pulsing heart of community activities for Dilijan and neighbouring villages.
