Science and technology in Armenia describes trends and developments in science, technology and innovation policy and governance in
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
.
Recent history
Armenia experienced recession in 2009 during the global financial crisis, before returning to modest economic growth. Over the period 2008-2013, Armenia's economy grew by 1.7% per year, on average.
Building an efficient research system was a state strategic objective for the Armenian authorities in 2014. Armenia has a number of assets, including a strong science base, a large Armenian diaspora and traditional national values that emphasize education and skills. Nonetheless, according to UNESCO in 2015, there were still hurdles to overcome in building the national innovation system. The biggest among these were the poor linkages between universities, research institutions and the business sector. This was partly a legacy of the country's Soviet past, when the policy focus was on developing linkages across the Soviet economy rather than within Armenia. Research institutes and industry were part of value chains within a large market that disintegrated with the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. Two decades on, domestic businesses had yet to become effective sources of demand for innovation.
Armenia was ranked 69th in the
Global Innovation Index
The Global Innovation Index is an annual ranking of countries by their capacity for, and success in, innovation, published by the World Intellectual Property Organization. It was started in 2007 by INSEAD and ''World Business'', a British maga ...
in 2021, down from 64th in 2019. In June 2022, the Gituzh initiative was formed by around 200 founders and 18 associations to "prioritize" modernizing Armenia's science industries. The Gituzh initiative outlined an intent to push for an official state order by the government to support research and development, which at the time it lacked, with half of the 2021 allocated budget for defence R&D in 2021 used for unknown purposes.
International cooperation
Armenia is a member of the
Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
The Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) is a regional international organization focusing on multilateral political and economic initiatives aimed at fostering cooperation, peace, stability and prosperity in the Black Sea ...
(BSEC), along with Albania, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, the Russian Federation, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine. This organization was founded in 1992, shortly after the disintegration of the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
, in order to develop prosperity and security within the region. One of the BSEC's strategic goals is to deepen cooperation with the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
. Armenia does not have an association agreement with the European Union (unlike Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine) but is nevertheless eligible to apply for research funding within the European Union's seven-year framework programs. The European Union has sought to enhance the involvement of countries from the region in these programs. In co-operation with the BSEC, the European Union’s Networking on Science and Technology in the Black Sea Region project (2009–2012) has been instrumental in funding a number of cross-border co-operative projects, notably in clean and environmentally sound technologies.
BSEC's ''Third Action Plan on Science and Technology'' 2014–2018 acknowledges that considerable effort has been devoted to setting up a
Black Sea Research Programme involving both BSEC and European Union members but also that, ‘in a period of scarce public funding, the research projects the Project Development Fund could support will decrease and, as a result, its impact will be limited’.
Armenia hosts a branch of the
International Science and Technology Center
The International Science and Technology Center (ISTC) is an intergovernmental nonproliferation organization connecting scientists with their peers and research organizations in other countries. The ISTC Headquarters is currently in Nur Sultan, Kaz ...
(ISTC). ISTC branches are also hosted by other parties to the agreement: Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. ISTIC was established in 1992 by the European Union, Japan, the Russian Federation and the USA to engage weapons scientists in civilian research projects and to foster technology transfer.
Armenia is also a member of the
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation
in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...
, and has been since February 5, 2003.
Armenia has been a member of the
Eurasian Economic Union
The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU or EEU)EAEU is the acronym used on thorganisation's website However, many media outlets use the acronym EEU. is an economic union of some post-Soviet states located in Eurasia. The Treaty on the Eurasian Econo ...
since October 2014. This body was founded in May 2014 by Belarus, Kazakhstan and the
Russian Federation
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
. As co-operation among the member states in science and technology is already considerable, the Eurasian Economic Union is expected to have a limited impact on co-operation among public laboratories or academia but it may encourage research links among businesses and scientific mobility, since it includes provision for the free circulation of labour and unified patent regulations.
In June 2022, the Gituzh initiative was formed by around 200 founders and 18 associations to "prioritize" modernizing Armenia's science industries.
Science governance
In Armenia, regulations governing ‘public good’ research have tended to be a step ahead of those related to the commercialization of research results. The first legislative act in relation to science and technology was the Law on Scientific and Technological Activity (2000). It defined key concepts related to the conduct of research and related organizations.
State Committee of Science
In 2007, the government made a key policy decision by adopting a resolution establishing the State Committee of Science (SCS). While being a committee within the
Ministry of Education and Science, the SCS was empowered with wide-ranging responsibilities as the leading public agency for the governance of science, including the drafting of legislation, rules and regulations on the organization and funding of science. Shortly after the creation of the SCS, competitive project financing was introduced to complement basic funding of public research institutions; this funding has dropped over the years in relative terms. SCS is also the lead agency for the development and implementation of research programmes in Armenia.
Key policy documents
The State Committee of Science led the preparation of three key documents which were subsequently adopted by the government in 2010: the ''Strategy for the Development of Science 2011–2020,'' ''Science and Technology Development Priorities for 2010–2014'' and the ''Strategic Action Plan for the Development of Science for 2011–2015''. The ''Strategy for the Development of Science 2011–2020'' envisages a competitive knowledge-based economy drawing on basic and applied research. The ''Action Plan'' seeks to translate this vision into operational programmes and instruments supporting research in the country. The ''Strategy for the Development of Science 2011–2020'' envisions that ‘by 2020, Armenia is a country with a knowledge-based economy and is competitive within the European Research Area with its level of basic and applied research.’ The following targets have been formulated:
* Creation of a system capable of sustaining the development of science and technology;
* Development of scientific potential, modernization of scientific infrastructure;
* Promotion of basic and applied research;
* Creation of a synergistic system of education, science and innovation; and
* Becoming a prime location for scientific specialization in the European Research Area.
Based on this strategy, the ''Action Plan'' was approved by the government in June 2011. It defined the following targets:
* Improve the S&T management system and create the requisite conditions for sustainable development;
* Involve more young, talented people in education and research, while upgrading research infrastructure;
* Create the requisite conditions for the development of an integrated national innovation system; and
* Enhance international co-operation in research and development.
Although the ''Strategy'' clearly pursues a ‘science push’ approach, with public research institutes as the key policy target, it nevertheless mentions the goals of generating innovation and establishing an innovation system. However, the business sector, which is the main driver of innovation, is not mentioned. Inbetween the Strategy and the Action Plan, the government issued a resolution in May 2010 on ''Science and Technology Development Priorities for 2010–2014''. These priorities were:
* Armenian studies, humanities and social sciences;
* Life sciences;
* Renewable energy, new energy sources;
* Advanced technologies, information technologies;
* Space, Earth sciences, sustainable use of natural resources; and
* Basic research promoting essential applied research.
The Law on the National Academy of Sciences (May 2011) is also expected to play a key role in shaping the Armenian innovation system. It allows the academy to carry out wider business activities concerning the commercialization of research results and the creation of spin-offs; it also makes provision for restructuring the National Academy of Sciences by combining institutes involved in closely related research areas into a single body. Three of these new centres are particularly relevant: the Centre for Biotechnology, the Centre for Zoology and Hydro-ecology and the Centre for Organic and Pharmaceutical Chemistry.
In addition to horizontal innovation and science policies, the government strategy focuses support schemes on selected sectors of industrial policy. In this context, the State Committee of Science invites private sector participation on a co-financing basis in research projects targeting applied results. More than 20 projects have been funded in so-called targeted branches: pharmaceuticals, medicine and biotechnology, agricultural mechanization and machine building, electronics, engineering, chemistry and, particularly, the sphere of information technology.
Promotion of science-industry ties
Technologies like the MRI, the ATM, the color TV, the automatic transmission, and much more have been invented by Armenians. More recently, Armenia launched high-school level robotics curriculum.
Over the past decade, the government has made an effort to encourage science–industry linkages. The Armenian information technology sector has been particularly active: a number of public–private partnerships have been established between companies and universities, such as
Synopsys
Synopsys is an American electronic design automation (EDA) company that focuses on silicon design and verification, silicon intellectual property and software security and quality. Products include tools for logic synthesis and physical design ...
Inc. and the Enterprise Incubator Foundation.
Among Armenian-based software companies are Priotix, SFL, and
Workfront
Adobe Workfront is a Lehi, Utah-based software company that develops web-based work management and project management software that features enterprise work management, issue tracking, document management, time tracking and portfolio management. ...
. The multinational company Synopsys Inc. began working out of Armenia in October 2004, and in 2015 employed 650 people in the country. In 2004, Synopsys Inc. acquired LEDA Systems, which had established an Interdepartmental Chair on Microelectronic Circuits and Systems with the
State Engineering University of Armenia
The National Polytechnic University of Armenia () is a technical university located in Yerevan, Armenia. Established as the Karl Marx Institute of Polytechnic in 1933, it provides educational and research programs in various fields of technology ...
. The chair, now part of the global Synopsys University Programme, supplies Armenia with microchip and electronic design automation specialists. Synopsys has since opened interdepartmental chairs at
Yerevan State University
Yerevan State University (YSU; hy, Երևանի Պետական Համալսարան, ԵՊՀ, ''Yerevani Petakan Hamalsaran''), also simply University of Yerevan, is the oldest continuously operating public university in Armenia. Founded in 1919 ...
and the
Russian-Armenian University
Russian-Armenian University (RAU) (russian: Российско-Армянский университет, РАУ; hy, Հայ-Ռուսական համալսարան) is an intergovernmental university being under the joint authority of the Russia ...
.
The Enterprise Incubator Foundation (EIF) was founded jointly in 2002 by the government and the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
and is connected with Armenia’s information technology (IT) sector, dealing with legal and business issues, educational reform, investment promotion and start-up funding, services and consultancy for IT companies, talent identification and workforce development. It has implemented various projects in Armenia with international companies such as
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
,
Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational corporation, multinational digital communications technology conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develo ...
,
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Sun for short) was an American technology company that sold computers, computer components, software, and information technology services and created the Java programming language, the Solaris operating system, ZFS, the ...
,
Hewlett Packard
The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...
and
Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
. One such project is the Microsoft Innovation Center, which offers training, resources and infrastructure. In parallel, the Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Programme helps technical specialists bring products to market and create new ventures, as well as encouraging partnerships with established companies. Each year, EIF organizes the Business Partnership Grant Competition and Venture Conference. EIF also runs technology entrepreneurship workshops.
Financial investment in research
![GERD GDP ratio for the Black Sea countries, 2001–2013](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/GERD_GDP_ratio_for_the_Black_Sea_countries%2C_2001%E2%80%932013.svg)
Gross domestic expenditure on research and development is low in Armenia, averaging 0.25% of GDP over 2010–2013, with little annual variation observed in recent years. This is only around one-third of the ratios observed in Belarus and Ukraine. However, the statistical record of research expenditure is incomplete in Armenia, as expenditure in the privately owned business enterprises is not surveyed. With this proviso, one can affirm that the share of research funding from the state budget has increased since the 2008–2009 global financial crisis and accounted for around two-thirds (66.3%) of domestic spending on research in 2013.
Armenia’s research intensity accounted for just 0.19% of GDP in 2018. This ratio has remained stable for the past few years, even though, in absolute terms, research expenditure was 20% higher (AMD 14.3 billion, or ca US$ 29.9 million) in 2018 than in 2014.
Scientists and education
Research
![Turkey's researcher density has doubled in a decade](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Turkey%27s_researcher_density_has_doubled_in_a_decade.svg)
The number of researchers (in head counts) in the public sector has dropped by 27% since 2008, to 3,870 (2013), a casualty of the global financial crisis of 2008–2009. Female researchers accounted for 48.1% of the total in 2013. Like other former Soviet states, Armenia has long since achieved gender parity in science and engineering. Women are underrepresented in engineering and technology (33.5%) but prevalent in medical and health sciences (61.7%) and agriculture (66.7%).
The number of researchers per million inhabitants (in head counts) peaked at 1,867 in 2009 before receding to 1,300 in 2013, a lower level than over the period from 2001 to 2006. The number of researchers may be underestimated, as many Armenian researchers have secondary jobs in research.
Higher education
Armenia has a well-established system of higher education. In 2015, it encompassed 22 state universities, 37 private universities, four universities established under intergovernmental agreements and nine branches of foreign universities. Universities in Armenia have a high degree of autonomy in formulating curricula and setting tuition fees.
![Government_expenditure_on_education,_as_a_percentage_of_GDP_in_Black_Sea_countries,_2012_or_closest_year](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Government_expenditure_on_education%2C_as_a_percentage_of_GDP_in_Black_Sea_countries%2C_2012_or_closest_year.png)
The Armenian government devoted a small share of GDP to higher education in 2013: 0.20%. This is much lower than the share allocated to higher education by Moldova (1.47%) and Ukraine (2.16%). Armenia's public education expenditure overall is also lower than that of most of its neighbours: 2.25% of GDP in 2013 (''see figure'').
Armenia joined the
Bologna Process in 2005. Within this process, universities have been working to align the standards and quality of their qualifications. With only a few exceptions, universities tend to focus almost exclusively on teaching and do not engage in, or encourage, research by staff.
Armenia ranks 60th out of 122 countries for education – lagging somewhat behind Belarus and Ukraine but ahead of Azerbaijan and Georgia
Armenia ranks better for tertiary enrollment (44th out of 122 countries), with 25% of the workforce possessing tertiary education (''see table below'').Women make up one-third of PhD graduates (''see table below''). Armenia performs poorly, though, in the workforce and employment index (113th out of 122 countries), primarily due to high unemployment and low levels of employee training.
Table: Higher education in Armenia, 2009-2012
''Other countries are given for comparison''
''-n'' = refers to ''n'' years before reference year
Source: ''UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030'' (2015), Table 12.2, data from UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Science institutions
Among the main research and development institutions in the country, are:
*
Armenian National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia (NAS RA) ( hy, Հայաստանի Հանրապետության գիտությունների ազգային ակադեմիա, ՀՀ ԳԱԱ, ''Hayastani Hanrapetut’yan gitut’yunneri az ...
- (2011) has been authorized to develop business activities, setting up an Applied Projects Department in 2017 to help its 35 affiliated research institutes and centres promote technology transfer and the commercialization of research outcomes, with some of that research related to environmental research and climate change. The National Academy of Sciences in 2021 was currently the country’s main performer of research, withademy’s International Scientific and Educational Centre conducting a range of graduate and postdoctoral practical training courses in tandem with the Academy’s own affiliated institutes and centres.
**
Institute for Informatics and Automation Problems
**
Mikael Ter-Mikaelian Institute for Physical Research
The Institute for Physical Research ( hy, Ֆիզիկական Հետազոտությունների Ինստիտուտ) of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia is a physics research institute located in Armenia.
History
Institute for Phys ...
**
*
Armenian National Agrarian University
Armenian National Agrarian University (ANAU) ( hy, Հայաստանի Ազգային Ագրարային Համալսարան, ՀԱԱՀ), is a state university and higher educational institution based in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia.The universi ...
*
*
National Polytechnic University of Armenia
The National Polytechnic University of Armenia () is a technical university located in Yerevan, Armenia. Established as the Karl Marx Institute of Polytechnic in 1933, it provides educational and research programs in various fields of technology ...
*
National Academy of Sciences of Western Armenia
*
National Foundation of Science and Advanced Technologies
*
*
Yerevan Physics Institute
The A.I. Alikhanyan National Science Laboratory () is a research institute located in Yerevan, Armenia. It was founded in 1943 as a branch of the Yerevan State University by brothers Abram Alikhanov and Artem Alikhanian. It was often referred to by ...
Between 2010, and 2019, there were a number of programs and initiatives instigated in Armenia. Established in 2010, the Targeted Projects Programme innovated in 2018 by issuing a call restricted to research projects that involve both research institutes and industrial partners, whereby the latter are obliged to contribute at least 15% of project funding.
[Eröcal, D. and I. Yegorov (2021) Countries in the Black Sea Basin. In UNESCO Science Report: the Race Against Time for Smarter Development. Schneegans, S.; Straza, T. and J. Lewis (eds). UNESCO Publishing: Paris]
Since 2013, the government has supported several so-called ‘system-forming’ projects. One such project is the Centre for the Advancement of Natural Discoveries using Light Emission (CANDLE) in Yerevan. CANDLE is a third-generation synchrotron light source for basic and applied research which also provides services to industry. Established in 2016, the Foundation of Armenian Science and Technology is a private initiative. The foundation runs programs supporting young talent, entrepreneurs and technological start-ups primarily specializing in data and computer science, biotechnology and advanced materials.
Scientific output
In 2014, Armenia had 232 scientific publications per million inhabitants catalogued in international journals, according to Thomson Reuters' Web of Science (Science Citation Index Expanded). This is more than the world average of 176 per million inhabitants. The number of scientific publications recorded in this database by Armenian scientists grew from 381 to 691 between 2005 and 2014. With a citation rate of 0.92 for their published articles between 2008 and 2012, Armenian scientists came close to the OECD average for this indicator: 1.08. Six out of ten (60%) Armenian articles had one or more foreign co-authors in 2014, twice the OECD average of 29% but similar to the ratio for Belarus (58%) and less than that for either Georgia (72%) or Moldova (71%).
Like the other post-Soviet states, Armenia specializes in physics. As in Moldova and Ukraine, Armenian scientists collaborate most with their German peers but the Russian Federation also figures among Armenia's four closest collaborators in science and engineering.
The value of Armenia's high-tech merchandise exports increased between 2008 and 2013 (''see table''). Between 2001 and 2010, Armenians submitted 14 patent applications to the
European Patent Office
The European Patent Office (EPO) is one of the two organs of the European Patent Organisation (EPOrg), the other being the Administrative Council. The EPO acts as executive body for the organisation and 37 to the
US Patent and Trademark Office
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency in the United States Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark ...
.
Table: Armenia's high-tech merchandise exports, 2008 and 2013
''Other countries are given for comparison''
''-n'' = refers to ''n'' years before reference year
Source: ''UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030'' (2015), Table 12.2, data from UNESCO Institute for Statistics
See also
*
ArmCosmos
ArmCosmos, commonly known as the Armenian Space Agency ( hy, Հայկական տիեզերական գործակալություն), is an Armenian private agency responsible for the development of Armenia's commercial space industry, coordinating ...
*
Economy of Armenia
The Armenian economy contracted sharply in 2020, by 5.7%, mainly due to the 2020 Armenia-Azerbaijan war. In contrast it grew by 7.6 per cent in 2019, the largest recorded growth since 2007, while between 2012 and 2018 GDP grew 40.7%, and key ba ...
*
Education in Armenia
Education in Armenia is held in particular esteem in Armenian culture. Education developed the fastest out of the social services, while health and welfare services attempted to maintain the basic state-planned structure of the Soviet era, follow ...
*
List of science and technology articles by continent
*
National Foundation of Science and Advanced Technologies
References
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Further reading
UNESCO report
{{Asia topic, Science and technology in