Transferring Western Knowledge to Armenia Yerevan State Medical
University and University of Southern California to Sign Agreement on
Academic Partnership

YEREVAN, MARCH 26, NOYAN TAPAN. A tripartite agreement establishing an
academic partnership between Yerevan State Medical University (YSMU)
and the University of Southern California (USC) will be signed between
the two universities and the USAID-funded Competitive Armenian Private
Sector (CAPS) Project on March 29.

The initiative aims to upgrade and re-align pharmaceutical education
curricula to be more responsive to the employer market, offer modern
teaching methods and form long-term professional relationships to
transfer knowledge from western institutions to those in Armenia.
Developing linkages between U.S. and Armenian Universities will help
improve the overall quality of pharmaceutical education in Armenia.

According to a report provided to NT, in the context of the
partnership agreement, Michael Wincor, Associate Dean, Globalization
and Continuing Professional Development and Associate Professor of
Clinical Pharmacy at the USC School of Pharmacy and Medicine, will
conduct a needs assessment of the program. This initial visit will
entail a review, evaluation of and recommendations on course offerings
in the existing Master’s Program in Pharmacy.

"The CAPS Assessment of Skills and Knowledge Needs in the
Pharmaceutical Industry has revealed a gap between the skills and
knowledge that exist versus what is required within the pharmaceutical
sector. It is anticipated that the academic partnership initiative
will eventually bridge the knowledge gap and substantially reduce
labor migration." Anush Shahverdyan, CAPS Workforce Development
Specialist suggested.

YSMU Vice-Rector of Professional and Continuing Education Dr. Gevorg
Yaghjyan is sure that the present project will contribute to the
development and implementation of the Master’s program in Pharmacy.