YSMU and University of Southern California to sign agreement on
Academic Partnership
armradio.am
26.03.2010 17:52
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, 2009.
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.
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.