Lucky 15 Armenian entrepreneurs to meet Elon Musk at Draper University training course
11:28,
YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. Armenian entrepreneurs will have the chance to study in the Silicon Valley sponsored by the government, Deputy Minister of High Tech Industry Armen Abroyan told ARMENPRESS.
“Anyone above the age of 21, who has some entrepreneurial experience, perhaps having founded an organization or is a co-founder and have a new idea and think they will be able to advance it with this project can apply”, he said.
The deadline for submitting applications is January 27.
“There is great interest for this project. Even accomplished entrepreneurs are applying, something which is very exciting”, Abroyan said.
The 7-week training course will be held at the esteemed Draper University in California, USA.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Co-founder of Pandora Media Tim Westergren, as well as executives from AirBnB, YouTube and other corporations will share their experiences with the beginning entrepreneurs during the trainings.
Abroyan said they have a goal of making Armenia a regional high tech hub, and in this context they highlight educational initiatives, among others. The deputy minister attached importance to this particular program, noting that it will enable to connect Armenia will global-level tech centers.
“This isn’t simply an educational program, this gives the chance to gain experience and establish contacts, build relationships with investors: it is very important to find ways to advance your own ideas”, he said.
Abroyan says the joint program was agreed upon during Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s visit to the Silicon Valley in 2019. The Armenian PM had met with the Drapers, the founders of the university.
The lucky 15 entrepreneurs from Armenia will be selected by a commission delegated by the Draper University and the Armenian High Tech Industry Ministry. The commission will take into account the ideas, potential and other components while considering the applications.
“Armenia has been mostly focused on solving engineering problems, science and engineering idea was developed, but the component of transforming this idea into a business and expanding it was weak. We believe that entrepreneurial skills will be very useful for our specialists,” the deputy minister added.
After completing the training course, the participants will share their skills and experience with students and beginning entrepreneurs from across Armenia within two years.
Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan