Student projects address environmental and educational challenges: results of "Learn & Work" school-workshop

The "Learn & Work: Student Initiatives 2026" program was launched in the summer. Seda Grigoryan, a staff member at the Center for Continuing Education who coordinates work with students and supplementary education programs, noted that during the "Learn & Work" summer school-workshop held in Tsaghkadzor, participants had gained practical knowledge of program development, budgeting and project work.

"Each team now includes three to five students, and the projects are interdisciplinary, bringing together students from various YSU faculties and institutes, including the faculties of History, Philosophy and Psychology, Biology, European Languages and Communication, and the Institute of Physics. The jury assessed the projects submitted by the six competing teams based on the relevance of the problem addressed, innovation, target audience engagement, feasibility and presentation skills," Grigoryan said.

First place: "UsaLi" and "MIXI" projects

The "UsaLi" project is designed to create a unified, transparent and measurable system within the university to encourage students' scientific, academic and organizational engagement. Through the system, students' participation in conferences, research, educational and university initiatives, as well as their volunteer and organizational activities, will be converted into accumulated points that can be exchanged for university benefits and opportunities.

"The project is a system for rewarding student engagement. A student's contribution should not only be recognized but also have measurable and exchangeable value. In other words, students may undertake many important activities in university life, and the aim of 'UsaLi' is to convert that engagement into points that can later be exchanged for various benefits. The platform will also encourage student initiatives, contribute to a more active scientific and public life at the university, and help build an active student community, increasing YSU's development potential," said project representative Gohar Karapetyan, a first-year student in the "Archaeology and Ethnography" master's program at the Faculty of History.

Members of the team behind "MIXI" said they had developed a digital integration system for international students studying at YSU, comprising an official guide on the YSU website and an interactive platform on Telegram.

"At present, 700 international students study at YSU. Our research has shown that they need not a conventional guide, but a dynamic, interactive system that will help address everyday, cultural and social issues," they added.

The platform will bring together in one place information needed for university and city life, including information on transport, universities, services, housing, medical assistance and safety, as well as cultural life. The project will also enable local young people to connect with international students.

"Clean Mountains" eco-hike initiative also named best project

The "Clean Mountains" project envisages organizing volunteer cleanup hikes along mountain and hiking routes in Armenia, combining hiking and environmental awareness with practical cleanup and waste removal activities.

The project aims to create a sustainable volunteer community whose members will regularly participate in cleaning Armenia's mountain areas while promoting responsible behavior toward nature.

Members of the "Clean Mountains" team spoke about their initial pilot activities and goals. According to Hakob Dandurjyan, a third-year student at the Institute of Physics, the team aims to raise public awareness of waste accumulation. The team has already carried out its pilot hike along the shore of Lake Sevan near Gavar. Twelve team members and volunteers participated in the cleanup.

"Our team wants to raise greater awareness of the problem of waste accumulation. By involving volunteers, we will collect waste and thereby set an example for the public. There are two ways to address the problem: people should either not litter or they should clean up," Dandurjyan said.

Susan Badalyan, a second-year student at the Faculty of European Languages and Communication, said that during the pilot hike along the Lake Sevan shoreline near Gavar, they noticed that most of the waste was household refuse.

"The accumulated waste mainly consisted of household refuse, remnants of fishing hooks and plastic bottles. Our goal is to show people the consequences of discarded waste and educate them not to pollute nature. If we organize several hikes and collect waste, this could become a positive habit for society. Cleanup activities will also contribute to the development of tourism because, for example, the section of the Sevan shoreline where we carried out the cleanup was quite beautiful," Badalyan said.

Torgom Martirosyan, a student at the Institute of Physics, added that the team plans to make active use of media and social media platforms.

"The program combines ecology, youth tourism and cultural hikes. If we receive funding, we will involve volunteers, travel to the selected location in a lively atmosphere, carry out the cleanup and then have refreshments and hike to scenic locations," Martirosyan said.

As part of the project, participants will first complete a short course on safety and environmentally responsible conduct. After each hike, the amount of waste collected will be recorded and sorted and, where possible, transferred to the appropriate waste disposal or recycling stream.

"COPCast" already has support to move into implementation

Jury members encouraged the participating teams to put their innovative and interesting ideas into practice. They particularly noted that "COPCast" already has support to move into the implementation stage.

"COPCast" is an innovative digital media project aimed at increasing environmental awareness among young people and fostering a responsible attitude toward Armenia's biodiversity. The project also envisages producing a series of podcasts dedicated to biodiversity.

"PulseNet" project seen as promising business idea

The jury described "PulseNet" as a promising B2B business idea and encouraged the team behind the YSU environmental monitoring management platform to continue its important health-related monitoring work.

The "PulseNet" project is designed particularly for older people, people living with chronic illnesses and those who require continuous remote monitoring. It operates entirely independently of a smartphone, connecting directly to a Wi-Fi network and transmitting data to a server.

The smart wristband continuously monitors a patient's health, including heart activity, and measures pulse and oxygen saturation in real time, giving doctors access to information about the patient's condition.

YSU environmental monitoring management platform offers smart solutions

The YSU environmental monitoring management platform is a smart monitoring solution designed to ensure a healthy, safe and efficient environment across the university. It will monitor noise levels and microbiological indicators in real time.

Data collected through sensors will be processed and compared with established standards, automatically detecting deviations and potential risks. By sending appropriate notifications, the system will make it possible to improve the university environment as needed.

The platform could be useful for YSU students, faculty and staff and, in the future, for schools, other higher education institutions, offices and public spaces.

The professional jury evaluating the projects included Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of the Republic of Armenia Kristina Tataryan; Esther Hakobyan, Head of the Armenia office of the Institute for International Cooperation of the German Adult Education Association; Sona Hovsepyan, marketing and communications specialist at the Teach For Armenia Educational Foundation; Karine Simonyan, Head of the German Agency for International Cooperation's Feminism in Action for Structural Transformation and Women's Empowerment for Wellbeing programs; and Elina Stepanyan, Head of the Talent Acquisition and Employer Brand Management at SoftConstruct.

All student teams also presented their projects during "Learn & Work: YSU Expo 2026" to secure funding, which will enable them to purchase the necessary equipment and cover transportation and organizational expenses to fully implement their ideas.  

During the idea development and project design, the students worked with YSU Vice-Rector for International Cooperation, Development and Innovation Mikayel Hovhannisyan, the YSU Center for Continuing Education, the Alumni and Career Center, and a number of YSU faculty members.