From February 1 to 10 of this year, Tigran Yepremyan, PhD in History, Associate Professor and Dean of the YSU Faculty of International Relations, paid a working visit to New Zealand. During the visit, he held meetings and delivered lectures at several universities and educational centers across the country. He was accompanied by Rouben Azizian, visiting lecturer at YSU and Honorary Professor at Massey University.
On February 3, Tigran Yepremyan delivered a lecture titled "History and Geopolitics in the South Caucasus" at the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, a prominent educational center in the field of foreign policy. The event was attended by leading local experts, consuls and diplomats accredited in New Zealand, as well as representatives of the Armenian community.
During his visit, Dean Yepremyan also delivered lectures at the University of Auckland—one of New Zealand's leading universities—on European Union enlargement policy and the geopolitics of Eastern Europe, presenting Armenia's role in these processes. He subsequently met with Professors Stephen Resch and Changzoo Song, reaching agreements on several areas of cooperation with the YSU Faculty of International Relations.
At Massey University's Auckland campus, Dean Yepremyan held a brief courtesy meeting with the newly appointed Rector, Pierre Venter, during the latter's inauguration ceremony. The dean outlined the objectives of his visit and conveyed the best wishes of YSU Rector Hovhannes Hovhannisyan.
On February 5, Tigran Yepremyan met with Professor Cynthia White, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Massey University in Palmerston North, where he gave an overview of Yerevan State University and discussed potential avenues for bilateral cooperation. He was welcomed with a traditional Māori ceremony by Professor Hone Waengarangi Morris, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Māori at Massey University. During their meeting, they discussed various issues related to cooperation in research on indigenous cultures.
The dean also met with Professor Beth Greener, Dean of Massey University's Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. They discussed prospects for cooperation with the YSU Faculty of International Relations, including opportunities for postgraduate admission from YSU at Massey University, joint supervision of doctoral candidates, peer review processes, researcher exchanges, organization of online lectures, and other mutually beneficial initiatives leveraging each institution's expertise. Among other matters, they also considered the possibility of formalizing their agreements through a memorandum.
In Wellington, Dean Yepremyan met with Chesna Cocker, Director of Massey University's Office of International Engagement. They discussed opportunities for both bilateral cooperation and multilateral collaboration within the framework of the Erasmus+ program. The dean also presented opportunities for participation in the faculty's annual academic conferences and for publishing articles in the YSU Journal of International Affairs.
Subsequently, Dean Yepremyan met with the leadership of the Centre for Crisis Studies in Wellington to explore possibilities for cooperation and support in research areas of mutual interest.
The visit concluded with a meeting with Hakob Karapetyan, Honorary Consul of Armenia in New Zealand. They discussed various issues concerning the Armenian community, including the possibility of organizing online lectures to further engage community members with Armenian history and contemporary life in the Republic of Armenia.
