UWC Dilijan College is the 14th member of the

United World Colleges United World Colleges (UWC) is an international network of schools and educational programmes with the shared aim of "making education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future." The organization was founde ...

movement, one of eighteen colleges around the world, and the first international boarding school 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 ...

. The college matriculated its first 96 IB1 students (11th graders) in September 2014. Currently, the school offers IB Diploma years 1 and 2 (grades 11-12). The school now hosts 227 students and is planning to expand further. A portion of the school is on the premises of

Dilijan National Park Dilijan National Park is one of the four national parks of Armenia. Occupying an area of 240 km², it is located in the north-eastern Tavush Province of Armenia. It is known for its forest landscapes, rich biodiversity, medicinal mineral water ...

.Key Information
" UWC Dilijan. Retrieved April 26, 2015.

Mission

UWC Dilijan is a community working towards a more peaceful, equitable and sustainable world through a balanced, challenging and transforming education with people from diverse backgrounds. The mission of the UWC movement and of the school is to ''"make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future"''. The college aims to be an integral part of

Dilijan Dilijan ( hy, Դիլիջան) is a spa town and urban municipal community in the Tavush Province of Armenia. The town is one of the most important resorts in Armenia, situated within the Dilijan National Park. The forested town is home to numer ...

and to have positive personal, local and global impact. It uses the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme as its curriculum.

Governance and funding

UWC Dilijan evolved from the original idea to create Dilijan International School of Armenia, first conceived in 2006 by Ruben Vardanyan and Veronika Zonabend with the support of other founding patrons (Gagik Adibekyan from Russia, Noubar and Anna Afeyan from United States, Vladimir and Anna Avetissian from Russia and Oleg Mkrtchyan from

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, as well as 4 anonymous patrons). The college officially opened on 11 October 2014 for the 2014–2015 academic year, in the presence of the president of Armenia

Serzh Sargsyan Serzh Azati Sargsyan ( hy, Սերժ Ազատի Սարգսյան, ; born 30 June 1954)Of ...

, the president of

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

Tomislav Nikolić Tomislav Nikolić ( sr-Cyrl, Томислав Николић, ; born 15 February 1952) is a Serbian retired politician who served as the president of Serbia from 2012 to 2017. A former member of the far-right Serbian Radical Party (SRS), he d ...

, Catholicos Karekin II of

and Patriarch Mar Ignatius Aphrem II of the Syrian Orthodox Church. The school is funded by a mix of large philanthropic giving and the support of over 500 donors. $26 million has been raised for scholarships, supporting 86% of students with either full or partial financial support, and $180 million has been contributed for capital and operational costs. Amal Clooney sponsors an annual scholarship for a young woman from Lebanon to attend UWC Dilijan; She and her

husband A husband is a male in a marital relationship, who may also be referred to as a spouse. The rights and obligations of a husband regarding his spouse and others, and his status in the community and in law, vary between societies and cultures, ...

have supported and visited the school. Upon graduating, UWC Dilijan alum become a part of the Davis UWC Scholars Program, which helps fund their future studies within the United States.

Students

On 28 May 2016, the first graduates of UWC Dilijan, 96 students from around 48 nations worldwide, completed two years of schooling and took part in the inaugural graduation ceremony. In the academic year 2017-18 UWC Dilijan became home to 213 students from 82 countries. They continue their education in leading universities worldwide such as

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

ETH Zürich (colloquially) , former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule , image = ETHZ.JPG , image_size = , established = , type = Public , budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021) , rector = Günther Dissertori , president = Joël Mesot , ac ...

, the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS),

The University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

, Stanford University, Brown University,

The University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the be ...

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

, the

Minerva Schools at KGI Minerva University (formerly Minerva Schools at Keck Graduate Institute) is a private university headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was established in 2012 using $25million in venture funding from Benchmark Capital. The university ...

, Queen Mary University of London, the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands (county), West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded i ...

, The University of California, Berkeley, the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The University of Roc ...

, Bennington College and many more.

Gallery

File:United World College Dilijan.jpg, Main entrance to academic building File:UWC Dilijan - academic building.jpg, Academic building from the side File:UWC Dilijan - inside main building.jpg, Inside the main building File:UWC Dilijan - between the two main building.jpg, Walkway between the academic and recreational buildings File:United World College Dilijan - recreational building.jpg, Recreational building File:UWC Dilijan - play field 1.jpg, Playing field and part of a village in the background File:UWC Dilijan - play field 2.jpg, Playing field and lodging area File:UWC Dilijan - play field 3.jpg, Playing field and lodging area File:UWC Dilijan - play field 4.jpg, Playing field and lodging area File:United World College Dilijan - indoor court.jpg, Indoor playing court File:UWC Dilijan - indoor pool.jpg, Indoor swimming pool File:UWC Dilijan - indoor pool 2.jpg, Indoor pool with outdoor playing field File:United World College Dilijan - residential buildings.jpg, Residential area File:UWC Dilijan - next to river.jpg, The campus is situated along a flowing river

References

External links