ArmInfo. Armen Simonyan, Director of the Academic City Foundation, and Ben Sowter, Deputy Director of QS, have reached an agreement to begin providing advisory services to Armenian universities on their participation in international rankings.
As reported to ArmInfo by the press service of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sport (MECS), the corresponding agreement was reached in Hungary during the "QS Higher Ed Summit: Europe 2026" forum, dedicated to international cooperation and modern trends in higher education development. The Armenian side, represented by Sargis Hayotsyan, Chairman of the Higher Education and Science Committee of Armenia, as well as representatives from the academic community, participated in the forum for the first time.
On the first day of the forum, as reported by the Armenian Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, Hayotsyan delivered a plenary speech, "Higher Education and Research Landscape of Armenia - On the Way of Legal and Structural Reforms: Potential Partnerships between Armenia, Hungary, and the Rest of the EU," at the Science and Innovation Center of Istvan Szechenyi University in Gyor, as part of the QS Higher Ed Summit: Advanced Business Skills Forum. The head of the Committee, according to the source, presented the current state of Armenia's higher education and science system, spoke about the large-scale legislative and institutional reforms implemented in recent years, as well as their initial results.
"Special attention was paid to one of the key projects of the Armenian government – the 'Academic City' program, which envisages the creation of modern university campuses and research clusters designed to create a qualitatively new educational and scientific environment," the Ministry noted. During the presentation, the ministry continued, prospects for expanding Armenia's cooperation with Hungary and other European Union countries, steps toward integrating the country into the European Research Area, and possible areas for further development of international scientific and educational collaboration were also presented.
On the second day of the forum, as noted by the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, the Chairman of the Committee on Higher Education and Science and the Director of the Academic City Foundation held separate working meetings with QS representatives. The parties discussed practical aspects of upcoming cooperation, its technical aspects, QS tools for analyzing the global labor market and assessing professional competencies, data on Armenian universities used in compiling the QS Rankings, and the proposed scope of work of the advisory group. Furthermore, the participants discussed opportunities for expanding the participation of Armenian universities in QS events and the prospects for holding individual conferences and forums of the organization in Armenia. "Participation in the QS Higher Ed Summit: Europe 2026 allowed the Armenian academic delegation to become familiar with current global trends in higher education, establish new contacts with leading universities and research organizations, and study best international practices in higher education and science," the Ministry concluded.
According to the source, representatives from 60 countries, including the United States, Great Britain, France, Italy, Greece, India, Japan, Georgia, and Turkey, as well as representatives from UNESCO, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Bank, heads of more than 600 universities, academics, and private sector representatives, participated in the events. The event was organized by QS (Quacquarelli Symonds), one of the most authoritative international organizations in the field of university analysis, evaluation, consulting, and ranking.
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