Saturday, October 11 2014

I sincerely wish to see Azeri students attending Dilijan International School one day. I am sure that this day will come and want it to come as soon as possible, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said while opening UWC Dilijan on Saturday.

He said that today Armenia is known in the world not for its oil or gas but for its Matenadaran, high-tech achievements and UWC Dilijan.
"This is why future belongs to us and we must be confident," Sargsyan said.

He welcomed the fact that the school has a good professional team of specialists from different countries. "This will open up new opportunities for us," he said.
Sargsyan noted that the school advocates eternal values, like kindness and tolerance. "So, I sincerely wish to see Azeri students attending it one day," he said.
He thanked all those who have made this project possible, especially, Ruben Vardanyan and Veronika Zonabend.

UWC Dilijan College is a large-scale charitable initiative. The spending of construction of the school exclusively of charitable funds reached $115 million as of the opening day.

The second phase of the construction will cost about $75 million. Additional funds under the Project (for acquisition of land, architectural and engineering work, development of infrastructures) are estimated at about $30 million for the entire period. The operational budget of the school for the coming 5 years amounts to $8 million per year in average.

The operational budget will be replenished from the endowment fund management and scholarship fund. By 2023 the College with its current 96 students from nearly 50 countries will operate at full capacity and the number of students will increased to 650 people. The teaching staff will exceed 60 people. The IB Diploma is taught at all UWC schools and colleges, including UWC Dilijan College. The lessons are delivered in English.  There are 10 students from Armenia at UWC Dilijan College. UWC Dilijan is the joint project of philanthropists Ruben Vardanyan and Veronika Zonabend and their partners. UWC Dilijan became the first college in the post-Soviet area to join the UWC network. Talking to reporters, Ruben Vardanyan said the project is important not only to Armenia. He hopes the school will become an example of new world standards in the field of education. Vardanyan said and thanked everyone who believed in the success of the project.  

The construction of the school is being supported by the government of Armenia and personally by President Serzh Sargsyan. UWC Dilijan was built according to the designs of a leading London architecture bureau - Tim Flynn Architects. The UWC Dilijan admission criteria are available on http://www.am.uwc.org/.