Interview of Artur Yavruyan, Director of the Business School of Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University (RAU) to Mediamax Agency and Banks.am portal

- In global classification of business education, two main models are usually singled out: the “traditional” one (German) and the “new” American one. Which model became a basis for establishment of RAU Business School?

- I should admit that you are the first to ask me this question. I am glad that Mediamax not only knows about existence of business education models, but also know their differences. But let’s disclose the differences of these models so that our conversation does not take place in “one-to-one” mode. 

The traditional (or German, European) model of business education is based on clear-cut differentiation of academic and postgraduate education, where the business school is an establishment for postgraduate study, which provides the students the chance to gain the missing knowledge (including practical), which are necessary for activity in business environment.

The new (or American) model is based on the fact that the business school is a center for business education, which one can enter after the high school (as a higher educational institution) and pass the entire cycle of education (graduate, post-graduate and doctoral study). Also business schools in the American model take up the role of generators of new ideas, innovative approaches in business education, scientific research, etc. 

As of today, we keep to the “traditional” model. I very much hope that the time, when we will be able to proudly announce transition to the “American” model, is not far off, but in order to do that, we will have to first establish a solid base of high quality scientists in the necessary fields and become a regional center for business education.

- How concordant are your educational programs with the constantly changing requirements of the labor market? Do you carry out monitoring of the school graduates’ employment?

- It is yet early to speak of such monitoring. The first ceremony of awarding diplomas to graduating students of Swiss Business School SBS and our RAU MBA program will take place on May 11. However, in the process of teaching our MBA programs we had the chance to be happy for our students, who either had not had jobs before that and were hired before completing education or received more interesting offers from employers.

I believe we have managed to unite the best teaching potential of Armenia in the sphere of business education around our school. By the way, the interest of employers for the graduates of our Business School is to a certain degree conditioned by the teaching methods, mainly the dominating practical classes in the process of education, which generate skills, which can be immediately implemented in everyday work.

Many students have expressed their interest towards MBA first of all due to these very approaches towards education. We strive to maximally deviate from the “lecture” style of teaching and to maximally (no less than 60% of the course) get closer to the interactive education. During our classes, teachers (exclusively specialists with a solid baggage of theoretical knowledge and no less impressive experience of their practical application) apply the most popular method of cases in business education. Students often participate in simulations, analysis of situations, which have taken place in reality, etc. We constantly update the course and try to do everything possible for the program to improve, to become more interesting and productive for the students.

- Would you, please, present the main directions of your partnership with University of Glasgow and SBS Business School?

- We are at the stage of signing an agreement with University of Glasgow, so I do not yet have the right to speak of partnership. I can only express hope that the agreement will be signed in the nearest future and according to the initial arrangement we will offer our graduate and post-graduate students a joint project with a double diploma and study of particular subjects in RAU and the remaining part in Glasgow.

Swiss Business School SBS, within the framework of our cooperation, offers the chance to receive education under MBA programs with specializations on “Marketing” and “Finances and Banks” in Armenia. The program involves local specialists, who undergo accreditation in the Swiss Business School, as well as teachers, invited from Switzerland. By the way, now we are enrolling for the third group, and this fact proves the viability of this program and the interest towards it from the part of our students.

- The first question, which comes up today during discussions of alternative educational projects, is the deprivation of socially insecure layers of the population in terms of paid education.

- The issue is really very urgent and painful. Unfortunately, I should state that it is far easier for us to receive financial support for education abroad than a scholarship for education inside Armenia. This is sad and this indicates that corporate thinking is not developed in the business environment of our country yet.

I want to be an optimist and I will express an opinion that the situation, due to the example of a few companies with international capital, has the tendency towards improvement and I very much hope that we will see the Armenia, where heads of companies would gladly allocate certain percentage from their profit for increasing qualification of their employees and for preparation of new personnel for their companies. To that end we offer MBA courses, where the students (current or future heads of companies) study the subtleties of human resource management, gain the skills of organization management and many other quite useful disciplines, which help them competently organize their business or work in their organizations with maximum efficiency.

- The academic year is nearing its end. How was this year significant for your school?

- This year we signed a few agreements and outlined introduction of a few educational projects in September, which should be of interest for our potential students.

We signed an agreement with one of the best schools in the world on training home service personnel “English Nanny and Governess School”, which is one of the founders of “Nanny Association-America” and the “International Nanny Association”. Today we offer training for professional nannies and simply women, who want to receive professional knowledge for children care. I am sure that this knowledge will be useful both for professionals in the given sphere and for all representatives of the finer half of the human kind. Now we are accepting applications from candidates.

Admission process for the “School of TV and Radio Hosts” is open. I can say with pride that we managed to organize a course, which maximally meets the requirements of the employers of the modern media market. We have managed to come to agreements with 6 TV and 4 Radio Companies to organize our students’ internships in their companies. We have elaborated a course, which provides the students with a number of subjects (and consequently skills). I am sure that we will be able to be happy for our students on air and be proud of their professionalism.

A few short-term courses and trainings for famous Armenian companies have been carried out. A few corporate courses have been organized.

Agreements have also been reached with a few foreign educational institutions on introducing in Armenia various education projects, the need for which is out of question.