Banks.am is finishing up the series of articles dedicated to the education programs of Luys Foundation. In the first and second articles, we presented the article of Jacqueline Karaaslanian, Executive Director of Luys Education, and comments of the companies sponsoring the Foundation.

Today, the representatives of the Foundation talk about how the private companies and individuals can support Luys programs.

The Luys community of scholars is grateful for the sustained investment by the private sector. Together we develop the pool of professional talents so necessary to the growth and development of the country.

Luys Foundation’s mission is three-fold:

Learn: Create and unite a generation of critical, creative thinkers by increasing the number of Armenian students attending the world’s leading universities, and providing financial support as well as mentoring to eligible students.

Do: Build an infrastructure that harvests the knowledge, experience and connections of Luys students and offers programs that support the transition from academic to real-world achievement for Armenia’s benefit.

Co-create: Realize the co-creative potential of the Armenian world and use this to drive innovation and sustainable practice in emerging fields, ultimately advancing Armenia and the world at large.

Luys alumni are now working in every sectors of the economy and making a difference in Armenia.

Each of the companies that contribute to our scholarship fund, support a few students at a time, and together they provide support to an average of 150 Luys scholars every year. Companies benefit directly by getting to hire people who have been prepared and coached by the top Scientists and business Experts in the world, these are the professors of Harvard, MIT, Oxford, Cambridge, Toronto University, Ecole Polytechnique etc...


The graduates of Luys Foundation
Photo: Photolure

This means that collectively we also raise the public knowledge of what are the new trends and demands of the world and international markets. We raise the quality of our collective and public’s expectations. This gradually makes us competitive on international standards quality and scale.

Supporting young Armenians to get the world’s top university education and best practice has a positive ripple effect on our own local universities. They are all in the process of up-grading the quality of the education they provide. Let’s not forget that 90% of our alumni also teach at various local universities in addition to their full time jobs.

Another ripple effect is that we are slowly and surely regaining trust in the future for ourselves domestically but also  internationally with the Diaspora and foreign investors. Our local progress in providing quality and high working standards encourages people to trust again, be productive and create new business opportunities in the country.

Let’s not forget the public and government sector. Our alumni are bringing a new breath to a range of necessary reforms that have been on-going and still need more experts. It is a demanding task for a country to transition into a new democracy and it certainly is not an overnight process. Here again our young professionals are actively contributing and making a difference.

Here are 5 questions that I imagine our present and future sponsors may wish to ask.

1.    Why it is important that private and pubic companies join and support LUYS?

Sponsorship to Luys provides a unique opportunity for corporations to create a new valuable resource of innovative minds and highly qualified professionals in all domains.

Luys scholars are acquiring cutting edge knowledge and the skill to be flexible. They embrace the rapid changes, do not fear them. This is a key trait of our young generation.

Rapid changes in the world demand up-dated knowledge and the important skill to know how to address the unknown as it emerges. This is a reality of our modern economy and that is very different from the past decades. As soon as we are all engaged in using a new technology another more powerful tool emerges that radically changes all the rules we just adopted. Look at how expensive it used to be to make a call abroad. Now we do not think about it, skype allows us to work with many places at the same time, for hours and at nearly no cost. The Luys scholars learn how to welcome the challenges and turn them into opportunities.

Partnering with Luys is also an opportunity for corporations to bring their own business challenges and concerns to the attention of a resourceful young generation eager to innovate along with them. Luys Scholars provide an abundance of ideas, technologies, and generate scenarios for the future that can positively influence the strategic decisions and moves of a company.

2.    What kinds of companies join Luys?

Luys welcomes any company, private or public that wishes to contribute to the growth of Armenia and get access to young talents, new markets or untapped niches. This can range from consumer electronics, to telecommunications and financial services, computer science and artificial intelligence as well as media companies, publishing or advertising.

3.    Benefits to sponsors

Sponsors will have access to a pool of thinkers who are at the forefront of modern thoughts in a rich range of fields and in leading institutions around the world.

Every summer through the Develop Armenia Together Program Luys facilitates interactive demonstrations, brainstorming, technology review sessions, knowledge transfer.

Luys provides a fertile meeting place for companies to explore collaborations with one another and outside possibilities. It creates a rich resource to recruit student talents for internships and or full-time employment.

4.    Luys creates new environments to encourage exchange of knowledge and expertise

The unique formula of the Luys Develop Armenia Together Program. Luys engineers the transition from theory to real life implementation. Luys scholars design impactful project along with local communities around the country.

•    The Luys Knowledge Fair program. Scholars teach master-classes that highlight today’s cutting edge academic developments.

•    The luys Start Armenia Fund, the program grants money to the best start-up proposals by its alumni

•    The Luys Career Fair; this program maps the landscape the need of local companies and the pool of talents needed in Armenia.

•    Luys on-going forums, ideal environments for its Scholars and Sponsors to network.

5.    How does an individual or a company become a sponsor?

Please contact Jacqueline Karaaslanian, JK@luys.am or call 060 707700 to explore different levels of sponsorship and participation.