Modern hybrid smart classrooms open at YSU

The classroom is equipped with modern technical tools that allow the integration of in-person and online learning formats, ensuring effective course delivery, interactive communication, and flexible organization of the educational process. These innovations enhance student engagement while providing faculty with new teaching opportunities. 

The Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Management, Karlen Khachatryan highlighted that the purpose of the newly opened hybrid smart classroom is to involve international partners in the educational process, thereby strengthening international collaboration—a key focus of the faculty's development strategy. He emphasized that visits from partners under the Erasmus+ program and faculty mobility have increased in recent years. The new classroom, with its advanced sound systems and voice-responsive cameras, will enable high-level interactive hybrid lessons and significantly improve the quality of instructions.  

"We aim to use the newly opened classrooms as frequently as possible—if not daily, then at least several times a week—by organizing discussions in various formats beyond traditional lectures. Active communication is crucial, and in the coming months we plan to create opportunities for students to engage in meetings and discussions with peers from universities abroad, addressing professional topics or other issues of interest to young people," Karlen Khachatryan said. He added that the initiative was made possible thanks to the support of the university leadership and the YSU Quality Assurance Center. 

Mari Santurjyan, Deputy Director of the YSU Quality Assurance Center, noted that eCAMPUS is a four-year project funded by the European Union and coordinated by YSU.

"The project involves several prestigious European universities, including Stockholm Royal University, the Autonomous University of Madrid, and leading universities in Portugal, all of which operate similar centers. Its primary goal is to transition higher education toward digital learning through the more effective application of modern digital tools. Within this framework, YSU currently operates three such smart classrooms," she said. 

Following the opening ceremony, the first online lecture was conducted in the new smart classroom. Professor Christopher Palmer from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) delivered a lecture on "Causal Inference and Program Evaluation Methods", introducing students to the core approaches and practical applications of the subject.