ESTABLISHMENT OF ENGINEERING

LABS IN ARMENIAN SCHOOLS

Project proposal

Designed by Union of Information Technology Enterprises

Yerevan 2015

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CONTENTS

1. Executive summary ............................................................................................................. 3

2. The core of the proposal ..................................................................................................... 6

2.1. Input ............................................................................................................................ 7

2.2. Output .......................................................................................................................... 8

2.3. Supporting platform ...................................................................................................... 9

3. Current situation/market opportunities ................................................................................12

3.1. The gap between supply and demand of technical skills in the global technological

market. ..................................................................................................................................12

3.2. Outsourcing global market of technological services ...................................................13

3.3. Engineering to the school: recent market trends .........................................................15

3.4. The technological sector in Armenia ...........................................................................15

3.5. The technical skills study in Armenia ..........................................................................16

4. Project prototype - Armrobotics project ..............................................................................17

5. Project description .............................................................................................................21

5.1. Action plan ..................................................................................................................21

5.2. Schedule of investments .............................................................................................21

5.3. Investment project description ....................................................................................22

5.4. Current activities .........................................................................................................24

6. The economic results of the project/ impact assessment ...................................................27

6.1. Program graduates .....................................................................................................27

6.2. The economic impact ..................................................................................................28

6.3. “Investment-result” summary ......................................................................................31

7. Annex ................................................................................................................................34

7.1. Union of Information Technology Enterprises: company description ...........................34

7.2. The technical infrastructure of the project ...................................................................36

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1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Essence of the

Proposal

Union of information technology enterprises (UITE) initiates the implementation of the project of establishment of

engineering club-laboratories in the system of schools of Armenia (in all 1,400 schools of Armenia), which aims at

strengthening basic technical education in Armenia, assist pupils in choice of specialization, prepare technically

education labor force, which will in turn contribute to growth of the sphere.

The most significant outcome expected as a result of project implementation are encouragement of technological

education in Armenia, growth of employment in the technology sector, increased economic activity both in

technology and adjacent sectors.

In addition to mentioned economic factors, the project has a large social value creation potential. It is expected

that such a educational system will lead to change of mindset, will inculcate new innovative values that recuperate

the system of social values among the youth

Implementation of the project requires developing quality content, creating corresponding infrastructure and

training teaching staff.

UITE will assume project management with support of the government, business, adjacent projects and

transnational organizations.

Current

situation/market

opportunities

As a result of project implementation, a pool of technical skills will accumulate in the labor market of Armenia.

Market research showed that an immense unmet demand for such skills in global and local technology sectors.

Among other factors, the latter substantiates the necessity and timeliness of the project.

Project prototype:

ArmRobotics

program

Since 2008 Union of information technology enterprises has been implementing Robotics development project

(ArmRobotics) in Armenia. It has had a number of achievement and progress and will serve as a prototype for the

project of establishment of engineering club-laboratories in the system of schools of Armenia.

Project

description

The investment project is expected to be implemented in stages over a period of 4 years. During 2016-2019

corresponding infrastructure will be created in 1400 schools of Armenia, and teaching staff will be trained. The

infrastructure required to launch engineering clubs in schools consists of 4 components: “Serob” robot constructor,

Nairi lab, Atelie lab and The Live Code programming language.

To qualify for the project, leaders of clubs have to pass training with an initially determined program.

Project

outcomes/impact

assessment

As a result of project implementation, the number of graduates from engineering club-laboratories is expected to

reach ~10,000 by 2024.

As a result of project implementation the cumulative number of additional technological jobs created will be

34,000, which will increase by 4 times the current workforce of the sector

Incremental economic activity to be created is estimated at around ~200 billion AMD by 2024.

Summary

investments and

outcomes

Over the expected period of project implementation (2016-2024) investment needs are assessed at AMD 4.2

billion, and project operating expenses will amount to AMD 26.8 billion.

In the envisaged period total investments and operating expenses will amount to AMD 31 billion. whereas as a

result of project implementation budgeted inflows amount to AMD 171.9 billion over the same period. By 2019

accumulated inflows will have already exceeded accumulated outflows. The cost-benefit analysis shows that the

project is rather economically efficient in the envisaged period.

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ECONOMIC RESULTS OF THE PROJECT: EXPENSES AND INCOMES AMD million

2016-

2024

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

Total investments and

operating expenses 31,022 1,645 2,349 3,143 3,594 3,544 3,784 4,040 4,314 4,607

Total collected taxes 171,849 80 1,678 4,528 8,124 13,217 18,945 27,511 40,507 57,260

ECONOMIC RESULTS OF THE PROJECT.

EMPLOYMENT AND ECONOMIC ACTIVITY

2016-

2024

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

Schools with engineering

clubs, as of the ending of

academic year 1,400 0 400 800 1,200 1,400 1,400 1,400 1,400 1,400

Members of clubs 50,400 0 8,800 19,200 31,200 39,200 42,000 44,800 47,600 50,400

Graduates 56,400 0 1,600 4,000 6,000 8,400 8,400 8,400 9,800 9,800

Entrants into labor market,

with secondary specialized

education 28,200 0 800 2,000 3,000 4,200 4,200 4,200 4,900 4,900

Continuing education in

higher educational institutions

in technical sciences 16,920 0 480 1,200 1,800 2,520 2,520 2,520 2,940 2,940

Entrants into labor market,

with higher education 5,400 0 0 0 0 0 432 1,080 1,620 2,268

New jobs in technology

sectors, annual

33,600 0 800 2,000 3,000 4,200 4,632 5,280 6,520 7,168

New jobs in technology

sectors, cumulative 33,600 0 800 2,800 5,800 10,000 14,632 19,912 26,432 33,600

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Incremental economic activity,

AMD million 526,208 0 960 5,280 14,640 30,240 53,875 87,667 134,918 198,627

Growth of the technological

sector

0.0% 0.3% 1.3% 2.9% 4.8% 6.9% 9.0% 11.0% 13.0%

Creation of additional GDP

0.00% 0.00% 0.02% 0.06% 0.12% 0.21% 0.32% 0.48% 0.69%

Additional export

0.00% 0.07% 0.36% 0.90% 1.69% 2.74% 4.05% 5.67% 7.58%

Job created in adjacent

sectors, annual 100,800 0 2,400 6,000 9,000 12,600 13,896 15,840 19,560 21,504

Incremental economic activity

in adjacent sectors, AMD

million 141,523 0 3,370 8,424 12,636 17,690 19,510 22,239 27,462 30,192

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2. THE CORE OF THE PROPOSAL

The Union of Information Technology Enterprises (UITE) undertakes to conduct a program of

establishing engineering club-laboratories within the public school system of Armenia, which

has the goal to improve the technical education base in Armenia, guide the professional

orientation of pupils, prepare professional workforce with technical education, which,

accordingly, will enlarge the sector.

The engineering club-laboratories will give an opportunity to run engineering clubs in all 1400

schools of Armenia as after class activities.

The project, with its expected wide-ranging social-economic impact, is linked to the national

strategies of national security, economic development and education.

The most important results, expected from implementation of the project, are stimulation of

technological education in Armenia, expansion of technological employment, establishment of

additional economic activity both in the area of high technologies and the adjacent sectors.

It is noteworthy, that besides the mentioned economic factors, the project stands out with a

large impact on the social values. It is expected that such educational system will lead to the

change of mentality and train new creative values, which will remedy the social value system

among the young people.

This program strengthening technical education will enhance Armenia’s position in the

international landscape as a knowledge-based country. The “Chess Empire” will stand out by

another exclusive approach – the state wide-ranging program of engineering education in the

public school system.

The implementation of the project requires development of high-quality content, establishment

of appropriate infrastructure and training of high-quality trainers.

The UITE will run the management of the project.

The short description of the project is presented by the “Input-output” model1 in the following

Figure.

Figure 1: The description of the program of establishing the engineering club-laboratories by the

“Input-output” model

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2.1. Input

The main inputs of the project are the development of the content, necessary for running the

engineering club-laboratories, setting up the infrastructure, and training of the trainers.

Development of the education content: experts will work on the development of the education

program of engineering club-laboratories and its constant updates. The education program

should comply with the best international practice. The program should be provided for the

pupils of 5-12 classes. The 4 main components of the program, by their phases, are the

followings:

- A robot kit,

- Nairi lab,

- Atelier lab,

- LiveCode.

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The technical description of these components is given in the Annexes.

Setting up the infrastructure and the logistics: The infrastructure, necessary for running of the

clubs, includes the equipment of the labs and the software.

Training of the trainers: The trainers are one of the key success factors of the project. The

choice of the coaches and their appropriate training is the cornerstone of the project, with the

biggest portion of investments.

2.2. Output

The project stands out for its wide-ranging social-economic impact. The main impacts, expected

as a result of implementation of the project, are discussed below.

Professional orientation towards engineering profession: one of the most important impacts of

the project is the professional orientation of the young generation towards technical sciences.

The latter supports the strategy of development of a knowledge-based economy in Armenia. In

addition, the spread of engineering clubs in the public education system will bring to the remedy

of public mentality, giving the young generation a possibility to practice in science. As a result of

the latter, the importance and reputation of engineering/technical education will increase, which

will promote the development of science-based sectors and high-tech industry by providing an

appropriate workforce to the sectors.

Workforce with new quality/technical education

The educational program of the engineering clubs assumes that the graduates of the clubs

(without graduating from a university) will be armed with an appropriate technical knowledge for

entering the labor market as technical specialists of initial levels. This will establish a

qualitatively new segment in the technological labor market of Armenia, with technical skills.

Transformation of the “role model” in the society

New job creation as a result of the program implementation, high salaries and perspectives of

development will show the young generation the opportunities to achieve a success with the

help of education and own intellectual capital.

The success stories of professionals in the technological area will bring to transformation of the

role models within the society. Currently within the wide range of the society the business

owners and representatives of the governmental authorities are considered as “successful

examples” for imitation, then as a result of the program a critical mass of successful

professionals will be formed in the technological sector, which will establish a role model of a

new quality.

As a result of such transformation the social values will significantly change, which is one of the

cornerstones of economic development and remedy of social-economic system.

Additional economic activity

The development of new skills will open new markets for technological companies of Armenia.

Currently, the Armenian technological sector is mainly specialized on outsourcing of the

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services with higher than average additional value, which is due to domination of the specialists

with higher education and higher than average skills. Meanwhile, the domestic IT and

engineering companies affirm that in case of existence of high-quality technical workforce with

average professional level they could enter into the segment of export of services with lower

added value and compete with China and India, which have an advantage in the labor costs.

The entrance to those markets will serve as a platform for Armenia’s technological sector, as a

result of which the domestic companies will accumulate the appropriate experience and skills for

activity in international markets. In the long-term period the latter will contribute to enlargement

of export markets.

Development of the adjacent sectors

The increasing economic activity in the technological sector will inevitably bring to development

of the adjacent sectors. The experience of different economies of the world shows that 1 new

workplace, created in the technological sector, creates up to 6-7 new workplaces in the adjacent

sectors. Even the modest assessments of this impact bring to very big results in the economy of

Armenia.

Other impact areas

- Regional development, as the program will be implemented within the whole

country. Currently, the domestic technological companies already have a solid

experience of working in the regions and regional development. The major part of

the social-economic impacts of the program will be decentralized from the capital

city.

- Promotion of the entrepreneurial culture,

- Establishment and strengthening of the “school system – labor market – university

system – labor market” link

- Improvement of demographical situation by decreasing the reproductive age and

lowering the level of emigration due to provision of financial incentives,

- Link between the companies of the sector and the educational system,

- Formation of the critical mass of the leaders and entrepreneurs of the new quality.

2.3. Supporting platform

Union of Information Technology Enterprises (UITE)

The UITE will perform the general management of the project. Besides the administrative

management, the organization will develop and serve the content part of the program, ensure

the link among the beneficiaries of the program and continuous enlargement of the program.

The UITE is the biggest business association of Armenia, which during its long-term activity has

accumulated a huge experience of management of projects. The company’s assets for

implementation of the project include the appropriate human resources. Institutional capacities,

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close links and a history of cooperation with the companies of the sector, the educational

system, governmental authorities and other beneficiaries of the project.

The short description of the company and the implemented projects are presented in the

Annexes.

Government

The support of the government is crucial for the appropriate implementation of the project in the

following main directions:

- To give a state importance to the program and include it in the national agenda of

reforms,

- To provide a financial support to the program,

- To ensure the public awareness for the program.

The adjustment of legislative and regulatory framework for not limiting and increasing the results

of the program.

The business sector

For multiplication of the efficiency of the program, the participation of the sector in the program

will serve as a guarantee. The main formats of participation will be:

Mentorship

It is assumed that each of the companies, participating in the program, will “adopt” one

engineering club and will become its mentor. This will assume a support by the company to the

club and the members of the club, in particular

visits to the given school/club,

presentation of the activity and success stories of the company to the members of the

club,

establishment of interest among the pupils towards the sector, by contributing to the

professional orientation,

regular hosting of the pupils and their parents at the company in order to give a general

notion about the activity, professions, counterparts and clients.

Participation in the development of the content

A working group will be established for development of the content of the program and its

current updates, which will include specialists from the companies of the sector.

Establishment of job places and attraction of the graduates of the engineering clubs

The companies of the sector will become the direct “consumers” of the results of the program.

The latter are the ones to ensure the establishment of new job places for attraction of the new

workforce.

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Assessment of the needs and presentation of the perspectives

Highlighting of the current needs by the sector and presentation of the current and expected

trends of the sector will help to provide modernity to the program and ensure maximum

compliance of the results of the program with the requirements of the companies of the sector.

Adjacent programs

The impact of the program of establishment of engineering club-laboratories will increase by

implementation of adjacent strategic programs, such as:

- The currently existing programs of development of the sector

The technological sector of Armenia is one of the most dynamic developing sectors of Armenia.

The latter is being highly contributed by the development programs, implemented in the sector,

the establishing infrastructures and educational programs. It is expected, that the results of the

latter will contribute to the success and continuity of the program of establishment of

engineering club-laboratories.

Such programs include the Microsoft Innovation Center (MIC), Regional Mobile Applications

Laboratory (mLab ECA), Armenian-Indian Center for Excellence in ICT, Armenian National

Engineering Laboratory (ANEL), Gyumri Information Technologies Center, Synopsys Armenia

training center, etc. The description of these programs is given in the Annexes.

- The programs existing in the agenda

A range of other programs is also being development in the direction of development of

engineering education and technological entrepreneurship in Armenia, such as the

establishment of online university, development of the program of accelerated bachelor

education, as well as establishment of the software laboratory with the prototype of the ANEL.

Foreign organizations or their research centers

Development of the workforce and training of the critical mass of the specialists with the new

skills will contribute to attraction of new foreign organizations and their research infrastructures

to Armenia. The latter, for their part, will take part in the processes of transformation of the labor

market.

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3. CURRENT SITUATION/MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

In the result of the project’s implementation, the critical mass of professionals with technical

skills will be created in the labor market of Armenia. The market analysis shows that there is a

huge unsatisfied demand of similar skills in the international, as well as in local IT sector. This

fact, along with other factors, substantiates the necessity and relevance of the project.

3.1. The gap between supply and demand of technical skills in the global

technological market.

Existing gap between supply and demand of the technical professionals (STEM) 2 and technical

skills is one of the most discussed topics of the international technological sector in recent

years.

The rapid growth of the global high-tech industry made the key role of qualified workforce with

scientific and engineering professions for every country, striving for competitive advantage in

21th century. Furthermore, in the countries with the most developed technology sector it is

already long-term that the development of the sector exceeded the corresponding growth of the

labor force, which leads to the growing gap between supply and demand of the technological

skills. Moreover, this gap is the result of both qualitative and quantitative factors

US labor statistics office forecasts that only in USA the number of the new vacant STEM work

places will reach to 1mln3. during the 2012-2022. The latter means that the quantity of the

STEM professionals, required by the sector, will have average annual growth of 13%

(technological and mathematical sciences specialists in 18%) This rate of growth, according to

various analyses, is significantly higher than the number4 of potential graduates in these

professions. The latter will inevitably lead to a deepening of already existing gap. The problem,

according to other resources, is deeper and problematic than than reflected in official statistics.

Thus, according to the American Association of IT Industry – the research of the CompTia, there

will be 2.5mln. vacant positions of the IT sector only in USA by 2020. There are the tendencies

of the technical skill’s shortage also in the other developed and even in the developing

technological markets.

According to the researches among the employers, which was made by the Canadian “The

Conference Board of Canada” research company in 2013, among the 20 professions for which it

is the hardest to find a worker, the engineering profession is in the first place. There will be

1.3mln demand for IT professionals in Latin America, South-East Asia, China, Middle Asia and

Africa by 2016. At he same time, there will be already 864,000 vacant positions in EU by 20155.

2 Henceforth, STEM: Classification includes technical professionals from science, technologies, architecture and

mathematic sphers (STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics): 3 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), United States Department of Labor

4 McKinsey Global Institute, 2012. “The world at work: Jobs, pay and skills for 3.5 billion people”

5 IDC

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According to the published report of the Microsoft and IDC, there was 1.7mln. of unsatisfied

demand for technological professionals, only in cloud-based and surrounding areas by 2012.

This number, according to predictions, will reach to 7mln. before the end of 20156.

The mismatch of STEM professional skill’s demand and supply the leading countries decide by

several main directions:

- human capital imports, which prospects are limited to a certain level of labor mobility, as

well as rising demand in experts in developing countries, which are the main suppliers of

the technology workforce so far (eg India and China).

- workforce training, which cannot have an essential role in the rapid growth of demand.

- outsourcing. IT outsourcing services is the fastest-growing export market in the world. IT

skills gap discussed in the context the outsourcing market has long-term and rapidly

growing prospects.

3.2. Outsourcing global market of technological services

The outsourcing services of information technologies gained momentum thanks to the Internet,

where all national borders are opened up by globalization

Market development forces are the reduction in the cost of labor services through outsourcing,

solution to the problem of limited manpower and so on.

The main importers of ICT services are the United States and European countries. The latters,

however, are more inclined to a nearshoring, and outsource to Eastern Europe countries.

Figure 1. The largest importers of computer services, billions of US dollars

Source: UNO on Trade and Development, UNCTADSTAT

China, India and Ireland are world leaders in ICT services net exports.They satisfy the global outsourcing

market demand for a large proportion.

6 IDC White Paper, 2012. “Cloud Computing’s Role in Job Creation”

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Figure 2. The largest exporters of IT services, billions of US dollars

Source: World Bank, "World Development Indicators" online database data

The ICT export service statistics of CIS region is quite modest compared to world leaders, but

the prospects appear to be good, thanks to the impressive growth dynamics.

Figure 3. The largest exporters of IT services per capita, USD

Source: World Bank, "World Development Indicators" online database data

The outsourcing market is steadily growing industry. The global IT services export volume grew

by an annual average of 12% during 2005 - 2012 years.

The most promising of IT outsourcing services are

- Web programming

- Mobile app development

- Solutions for business

- Cloud Services

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- "Big" Data

3.3. Engineering to the school: recent market trends

The various researches in the developed world indicate that there is a shortage of qualified

STEM professionals. Therefore, the implementation of the engineering education in the school

educational systems getting more popular in the world. This trend is most popular in USA,

where since 90th the various school programs have been developed with both public and

private resources. The programs are various: generally the separate states have their own

programs, but there are also those that have become widespread. Here are the most popular

programs:

ASSET Inc. (Achieving Student Success Through Excellence in Teaching): It develops the

special programs for professional develpement of the teachers and educational programs for

secondary schools. It was created in Pennsylvania in 1994 and initially introduced in two

schools. Now it is implemented in more than 180 schools.

Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program (DAPCEP): It develops educational programs for

for 5,000 students annually. It cooperates with 40 schools.

Engineering is Elementary (EiE): This is perhaps the most common project. One of the main

aims of the project is the provision to children with the relevant literature. EiE also develops the

programs about the STEM sphere for elementary schools. Already in 2009 EiE operates in

15,500 schools from 50 states of the USA.

There are also many other, smaller projects, such as the Australian school program for children

in grades 7-9.

Besides, there are also a number of public and private projects, which organize the competitions

for children. For example, the FIRST LEGO league, which is the most famouse projects in the

field of robotics. It is for 9 to 16 years old children and has already implemented in 70 countries.

It was created in 1998 with joint efforts of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science

and Technology) and LEGO.

NASA is also organizing the robotics contests for children of all ages, in the frames of NASA

Education project.

3.4. The technological sector in Armenia

Information and high-tech industry is the fastest growing sector of Armenia's economy. The

sector's competitive advantage is the availability of highly skilled and relatively cheap labor force

and a strong educational base. That is inherited from Soviet Armenia, which is considered the

"Silicon Valley" of the USSR.

Armenia's IT and high-tech industry is quite young. About 80% of companies in the sector are

established in 1998-2008. The flow of the newly established companies was especially large

during the last 5 years, due to the dissemination of the "start-up" culture and the implementation

of various programs.

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There are about 230 local and international companies in Armenia's tech industry, employing

more than 16,000 highly qualified IT specialists.

The sector has shown impressive growth in 2008-2013 period: Turnover grew by an annual

average of 32%, while exports grew by 24%.

The sector stands out as the most productive sector of Armenia's economy. As of 2013,

Armenia exported of about 130 million USD high-tech and telecom products and services. The

main export markets are the US, Europe and CIS.

In the context of the global outsourcing market growth, Armenia's economic priority is becoming

to ensure adequate flow of resources to the area in order to expand technological export.

3.5. The technical skills study in Armenia

The growing demand for technology professionals and the growing gap between supply and

demand trends are specific to Armenia as well. The problem is getting severity because the

labor market is microcosm and, moreover tends to decrease. While technological expansion

increases the demand for labor is growing, which leads to the involvement of employees in

intensifying competition between local and supranational organizations. Maintaining the current

pace of demand for IT professionals, it will grow 17% annually resulting about 15,0007 in 2017.

According to Enterprise Incubator Foundation's annual assessment Armenia's IT and high-tech

industry creates 2,000 new jobs annually, for 300 of which are not found the appropriate

specialists.

According to the study of EV Consulting Company in 2014, the technology skills shortage is

even more problematic. Thus, IT and high-tech sectors need 2,000 new staff annually

(excluding maintenance needs of professionals in other sectors). Meanwhile, the number of

graduates who actually can work on the technology sector are 900 per year.

Each year the industry records a number of cases when local companies are forced to reject

large foreign orders, because they are unable to recruit staff at large.

Figure 5. Technological supply and demand in the information technology and high-tech field of Armenia

Sourse:"Armenia's IT sector skills assessment", the World Information Technology and Telecommunications Union,

the World Bank, EV Consulting Company, June 2014

According to company leaders, in addition to quantitative discrepancies between supply and

demand, there is also a qualitative difference that is relevant to the issue to urgent improve the

technological education in Armenia.

7 "Armenia's IT sector skills assessment", the World Information Technology and Telecommunications Union, the

World Bank, EV Consulting Compasny, June 2014

~900 graduates

~2,000 demand for new

professionals

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4. PROJECT PROTOTYPE - ARMROBOTICS PROJECT

The Armenian Robotics Development and Support Program/ Armrobotics/ has been

implemented by UITE since 2008.

60 Robotics groups were created in the 55 regions of Armenia, including Artsakh.

In 2013 within the frames of the project 60 Robotics group leads have been trained on robotics,

also 60 Robotics groups were created, 50 of which are located in different regions of Armenia

and Nagorno Karabakh. At the beginning of 2014 about 700 pupils are involved in the groups.

The groups are equipped with SERob robot-constructors made in Armenia by Symotec.

Annual competitions are being organized in the frames of the project:

- “Line Tracking Robot” contest

The participants design and prepare robots that can cross the competition arena. The

competition arena is a white surface with black lines drawn on it (labyrinth).

- “Line tracking robot and object collector robot” contest

Within the frames of the contest the robots designed and developed by the participants

should be placed in a field where there are two different objects, relevant baskets and

chalenges. The robot should take these objects one by one, pass the chalenges and sort

the objects in respective fields

- “Minesweepers” contest

Minesweepers contest has been started since 2009. Within the frames of minsweeper

robots contest the participants shall design and develop a robot that can find land mines,

create an electronic map of their positions and send it to the server

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- “Unmanned Aerial Vehicles” contest

There are no limits for robot size and weight. It must fit on organizers provided facilities in

contest area.

- “Robots in Everyday Life” contest of ideas

It is envisaged, within the framework of the project, to get engaged youth interested in robotics

in the sphere of technological entrepreneurship. It is envisaged to rise through the project the

interest of young engineers towards robotics.

One of the main goals of the implementation of the idea of competition is the promotion of the

creation of companies in Armenia, which are dealing with the sphere of robotics.

It is envisaged, within the framework of the program, to study the necessity of automatic

systems in other sectors and the possibilities of its introduction. A possibility shall be provided to

the participants to direct their ideas to the respective sectors, based on the identified problems.

It is also envisaged to ensure the involvement of the respective organizations in the process of

implementation of the arrangements.

Since 2008 the Union had promoted and facilitated the creation of development of the robotics

sector in Armenia. Until today the competitions among the robots having different applications

and groups for school students are being organized within the framework of ArmRobotics.

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Anticipated results of the contest are:

• Identify and create teams, companies dealing with robotics

• Facilitate the creation and activity of robotics sector companies in Armenia

• Ensure the communication between the organizations representing other sectors and the

sector of robotics

• Engage the youth dealing with engineering sector into the sphere of technological

entrepreneurship

• Rise the level of professional skills of the participants

Thera are several other programs in the frames of Armrobotics project

- ArmRobotics Groups – Robotics school clubs

- ArmRobotics Labs – Robotics laboratory

- ArmRobotics Clubs

The training courses conducted by voluntary overtime format, with the group memebers up

to 10 pupils. The pupil, involved in the groups by simple steps acquires basic programming

and algorithmic knowledge, skills of working with devices, team work, and then start to

learn more difficulte programming languages and devices.

There are ArmRobotics Clubs in the frames of the project since 2012. In frameworks of

ArmRobotics Club members discuss various subjects about robotics, preparing projects and

presentations and meet leaders from technological companies.

There are Robotics Laboratories in the National engineering university of Armenia and in the

Armenian state Pedogogical University since 2013թ. Here the professional trainings, test works

of robots construction are being organized, as well as youth members have the opportunity to

design and implement their engineering projects.

The list of the trainigs in the laboratories includes:

Projects management

Business plan development

Controller programming

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Electronics

Programming

Image Recognition

PCB design,

Working with sensors

Mechanics

Navigation

Solid Works

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5. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

5.1. Action plan

Years

Semi-annums I II I II I II I II I II I II I II I II I II

Educational content development

Development of educational guides

Design of standards

Development of video classes

Infrastructure setup

Setup of Nairi labs

Procurement of robot-kits

Setup of Atelier labs

LiveCode

Web-portal development

Upgrade of infrastructure

Trainings of trainers

Selection of trainers

Intensive one-to-one trainings

Online classes

Monitoring

Monitoringactivities

Data analysis

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

5.2. Schedule of investments

The investment project will be implemented by a phased approach, within 4 years. During 2016-

2019 period 1,400 schools in Armenia will be invested in corresponding infrastructure and be

prepared a teaching staff. Since the first semester of 2016, each semester will be an investment

of 200 schools. Accordingly, ready groups will start operation in the second half of the 2016.

Table 1. Investment schedule by semesters

Total 2016 2017 2018 2019

I II I II I II I II

Investments are made,

quantity of schools 1,400 200 200 200 200 200 200 200

22

5.3. Investment project description

Setup of infrastructure

Schools of engineering infrastructure necessary for the operation of groups includes 4

components: robot constructor, Nairi lab, Atelier lab and The LiveCode programming language.

The last on is free resource. The necessary investment resources for 3 other components are

described below. As a rsult of economies of scale the acquisition costs will decrease by 10%

annually.

Table 2. Costs for infrastructure, 1 school, AMD

1 school 2016 2017 2018 2019

Robot constructor8 400,000 360,000 324,000 291,600

Nairi Lab 2,000,000 1,800,000 1,620,000 1,458,000

Atelier Lab (old computers) 200,000 200,000 200,000 200,000

An important component of the infrastructure for the program implementation is the web portal

that would provide a link between program participants, provide a platform for discussion, as

well as shoud be armed with the extensive resource base. Necessary expenses for web portals

are estimated 4.1 mln AMD.

Table 3. Total investments for infrastructure, AMD

Total for schools 2016 2017 2018 2019

Robot constructor 160,000,000 144,000,000 129,600,000 58,320,000

Nairi Lab 800,000,000 720,000,000 648,000,000 291,600,000

Atelier Lab (old

computers) 80,000,000 80,000,000 80,000,000 40,000,000

Web portal 4,100,000

Total 1,044,100,000 944,000,000 857,600,000 389,920,000

8 From now on in this document for calculations is used an example of "Serob" robot constructor, which was

developed by the Symotec company

23

Content development

The project will create a working group for the development of content, which will complete the

project during a few months.

Selection of trainers

Human capital is the key of success of the project. This is why the selection of choaches of

engineering groups is one of the critical points in the project implementation.

Selection criteria of coaches are

- Universal availability of technical knowledge,

- Pedagogical skills,

- Preferably a professional and teaching experience.

- Ability to use computer programs,

- Enthusiasm, desire to develop,

- Consistent set of values with the project idea.

It is preferable, that selected specialists will be involved as a full-time coaches and will not

combine it with other teaching job.

Choaches selection process involves the dissemination of information, visits to the regions of

Armenia and interviewing for the dissemination of relevant personnel. The expenses for an

election one choach, is expected to make AMD 30,000. As a result of this experience during the

implementation of the project costs will be reduced annually by 20%. The total budget of choach

selection for the implementation of the project by rounds is presented below.

Table 4. Costs for coaches selection process, AMD

2016 2017 2018 2019

Total for trainers, AMD 12,000,000 9,600,000 7,680,000 3,072,000

Training of trainers

To qualify for participation in the program the choaches will be trained to prescribed curriculum.

UITE, together with the implementation working group of the project, will define the training

content, duration, teaching method, will choose the corresponding teachers, classrooms will be

equipped with the appropriate training and will follow the process and progress of the trainings.

For the training methodology and content development UITE will cooperate with experts from

industry, as well as will introduce/involve international best practices in implementing similar

projects.

The main components of the training will be:

24

- Intensive courses guided by teachers,

- Videos and video classes developed for this project,

- Guidelines on technical knowledge, as well as on pedagogical skills and teaching

methods

As a result of the trainings the instructors will possess the following program languages and

will be able to coordinate the group activities.

- Aghves /or Fox (wich is the same Scratch created by MIT; translated and localized by

Intigate company),

- Turtle (created by MIT, translated and localized by Intigate company),

- Labview,

- C++,

- LiveCode:

Intensive courses directed by professors will be implemented during 4 months. Video classes

and training materials will ensure continuing education and training for the coaches. The total

budget of coaches for professional training will reach 756 mln AMD within 4 years. There are

designed budget salaries for trainers, transportation and per diem costs of trainees, as the

classes will be organized in the regional centers.

Table 5. Costs for teachers’ trainings, AMD

2016 2017 2018 2019

Total for trainers, AMD 216,000,000 216,000,000 216,000,000 108,000,000

During the training courses the coaches will receive the scholarship of 60,000 AMD.

5.4. Current activities

Program moderation

An important component of the engineering education of Armenia’s public education system is

Atelier Lab. According to the project plan, for the proper operation and completely transmission

of ideology of it, it is designed that the moderation of the project will do the author of Atelier Lab,

Etienne Delacroix, as the main carrier of ideology. The moderation period is 2 years. The work

is expected to convene monthly expenditure of about $ 5.5 mln AMD (gross) for Ethienne

Delacroix in Armenia.

Teaching

Under the program, each school’s group will have 1 coach. The gross salary of the coach will

start from 150,000 AMD in 2016 and increasing by 7% annually, will reach to ~ 260,000 AMD in

2024.

Table 6. Salaries of the trainers, AMD

25

2016 2020 2024

1 trainer’s salary, per month,

aggregate 150,000 196,619 257,728

Total trainer’s salary fund,

annual, aggregate 180,000,000 3,303,205,945 4,329,829,173

Infrastructure update

The existing embedded infrastructure in robotics groups is designed to update on an annual

basis. 1 laboratory update of engineering infrastructure will make 60,000 AMD per year.

Project management and support service activities

The program will be managed by UITE. Along with the expansion of the program, administrative

and support personnel will expand. The latter will include the director and coordinating

employees, supervisors, district administrators, methodologists, site administrators and network

administrators.

Total 7. Project manager, administrative and support team, quantity of the staff

2016 2020 2024

Head, coordination team 3 5 5

Methodologist 1 1 1

Web-site responsible 1 3 3

System administrator 2 2 2

Total for administrative and

support team 7 11 11

Administrative and support staff’s gross salary will begin from a monthly of 400,000 AMD in

2016 and increasing by 7 % annually will reach to ~ 700,000 AMD in 2024.

Apart from the main structure, the program will be attached with regional officials: in charge of

each region 1 responsible official since 2018 and 2 for 2020. Regional Officers will be selected

from working coaches. For additional circle of responsibility they will receive 30% of the basic

salary additional remuneration.

The program will be monitored by engineering groups through visits once a year. Each working

group will consist of a single supervisory for administrative issues and of one technical advisor.

The monitoring will be carried out during the 7 months of year, depending on the school

schedule.

26

Table 8. Costs for project control

2016 2020 2024

Supervising and technical

support team 2 8 8

Total monitoring costs, AMD 3,122,000 51,365,373 58,209,528

In addition to payroll expenses, administrative expenses of project management will include.

- The site technical support costs 150,000 AMD annually,

- Public awareness expenses, with 0.5 mln AMD monthly,

- Expenditure on organizing competitions and other events, with 0.5 mln AMD monthly,

- Office expenses: monthly 22,000 AMD for 1 administrative employee, and 5,000 AMD

for 1 supervisor and regional coordinator.

Table 9. Project management Administrative Expenses

2016 2020 2024

Costs for monitoring 3,122,000 51,365,373 58,209,528

Salary for marz’s responsibles 0 15,572,257 20,412,052

Technical support of the web-

site

1,800,000 1,800,000 1,800,000

Salary of the web-site

responsibles

4,800,000 18,875,463 24,741,881

Methodologists salary 4,800,000 6,291,821 8,247,294

System administrator’s salary 9,600,000 12,583,642 16,494,587

Managerial and coordinating

team’s salary

14,400,000 31,459,104 41,236,468

PR, contests and other events

organization costs

12,000,000 14,586,075 17,729,465

Office expenses 1,968,000 4,704,000 4,704,000

Total administrative costs 52,490,000 157,237,734 193,575,275

27

6. THE ECONOMIC RESULTS OF THE PROJECT/ IMPACT

ASSESSMENT

6.1. Program graduates

As a result of the project implementation the graduates of the engineering laboratories is

expected to deliver to 8,400 in 2024.

Table 10. Statistics of the students and graduates, involved in the project

2017 2020 2024

Schools with engineering

clubs, at the end of the

academic year.

400 1,400 1,400

1 club

Quantity of club’s members,

average 22 28 36

Graduates 4 6 7

Total for clubs

Quantity of club’s members 8,800 39,200 50,400

Graduates 1,600 8,400 9,800

The program will give its first graduates in the end of 2017 school year. By that time, there will

operate 400-engineering laboratories in the country, which will involve 8,800 students, 1,600 of

whom will complete the program.

It is expected that with the increasing popularity of the project the average members of each

school, will grow from the current 20, 2016 to 36 in 2024: The project is estimated at 20%

capacity, that is, on average, one-fifth of the members of the group is a high school student and

a graduate of that year.

According to the prediction, half of program graduates will immediately enter to the job market,

with average professional skills as a technical specialist. Another third of the graduates will

28

continue their education at universities on technical sciences. 90% of the latters will enter to the

labor market only after 4 years of university education after graduation.

Table11. Further choice of the project’s graduates

%

Graduates 2017 2020 2024

Labor market entrants 50% 800 4,200 4,900

Continuing education in University, with

technological sciences 30% 480 2,520 2,940

Continuing education in University,

other 15% 240 1,260 1,470

Other 5% 80 420 490

Labor market entrants – technical

graduates

2,268

Thus, as a result of the implementation of the program, the number of new technical specialists

entering to the labor market will be ~ 7000 as of 2024.

6.2. The economic impact

Creation of new jobs

As a result the implementation of the program, cumulative number of additionaly created jobs on

technological specialties will be ~ 34,000.

Table 12. The creation of new jobs as the result of the project

2017 2020 2024

Creation new vacant jobs, annual

(included) 800 4,200 7,200

Created vacant jobs, cumulative 800 10,000 34,000

The remuneration of the new jobs will be significantly higher than the average market.

Table 13. Salaries of new vacant jobs, AMD

29

Salary, per month,

aggregate

Job places with middle professional

education Job places with higher education

1st year 100,000 300,000

2nd

year 150,000 400,000

3rd

year 200,000 500,000

4th year 250,000 600,000

Subsequent annual

growth, % 20% 20%

Additional economic activity

The technology sector is characterized by a high added value creation. For calculation

purposes, it is assumed that 1 point salary will create 2 points turnover. Thus, the plan will result

additional economic activity in annual ~ 200 bln AMD in 2024.

Table 14. Additional economic activity as the result of the project, AMD

2017 2020 2024

Additional economic activity 960,000,000 30,240,000,000 198,626,880,000

Created additional economic activity will significantly contribute to the growth of the technology

sector, exports and GDP growth.

Table 15. Project results - economic indicators contribution, %

Contribution, % 2017 2020 2024

The growth of the technological

sphere 0.3 4.8 13.0

Creation of additional GDP 0.004 0.12 0.69

Additional export volumes 0.07 1.69 7.58

Tax collection

Due to the additional employment and economic activity, the income tax and profit tax will be

directly entered in the state budget.

30

For the calculation of Income tax receipts is taken into account not only the new technological

jobs, but also the other created jobs for the implementation of the program, such as coaches

and administrative staff.

Table 16. Income tax collected by employment type, AMD

2017 2020 2024

Trainers of the trainigs for coaches 6,240,000 0 0

Curator 17,286,486 0 0

Coaches 250,380,000 858,833,546 1,125,755,585

Administrative workers 14,355,120 27,768,951 36,399,431

New jobs for middle educational level 117,120,000 3,890,880,000 20,197,766,400

New jobs for higher educational level 0 0 5,576,688,000

Profit tax was estimated from additional economic activity.

Table 17. Collected income tax, AMD

2017 2020 2024

Collected income tax 48,000,000 2,012,472,000 19,353,379,879

Effects on other sectors

World experience shows that the creation of 1 new job in technological sector contributes to the

creations of 6-7 new jobs in adjacent areas. For the assessment of the project impact rather

modest score was used for Armenia: 3, of this indicator.

Table 18. Emerging results in adjacent areas

2017 2020 2024

Created new job place as the

result of the creation of 1

technological vacant job place

3

Total created job places in

adjacent areas, annual 2,400 12,600 21,504

31

Average salary, aggregate, AMD 150,000

Income tax collecting, AMD 1,123,200,000 5,896,800,000 10,063,872,000

The turnover created by 1 unit of

salary, unit 3

Aditional economic activity, AMD 4,320,000,000 22,680,000,000 38,707,200,000

The average tax rate, % of

turnover 3%

Income tax collection, AMD 101,088,000 530,712,000 905,748,480

6.3. “Investment-result” summary

For the plan period (2017-2024) the investment needs will total 4.2 bln. AMD, while the

operating costs of the program 26.8 bln. AMD.

Economic results, mln

AMD

2016-

2024

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

Investments needs

Infrastructure support 3,236 1,044 944 858 390 0 0 0 0 0

Content development 10 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Choice of coaches 32 12 10 8 3 0 0 0 0 0

Trainings for coaches 756 216 216 216 108 0 0 0 0 0

Contingency costs 201 64 58 54 25 0 0 0 0 0

Total 4,235 1,346 1,228 1,135 526 0 0 0 0 0

Ongoing costs

Infrastructure update 528 0 12 36 60 84 84 84 84 84

Curation 133 66 66 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Coache’s salary 24,860 180 963 1,855 2,867 3,303 3,534 3,782 4,047 4,330

Administrative costs 1,265 52 80 117 142 157 165 174 184 194

32

Total 26,787 299 1,121 2,008 3,068 3,544 3,784 4,040 4,314 4,607

Collecting of income

tax

From technological

sphere

74,885 80 405 1,177 2,647 4,777 7,912 12,371 18,578 26,937

From other sphers 47,174 0 1,123 2,808 4,212 5,897 6,503 7,413 9,154 10,064

Total 122,059 80 1,529 3,985 6,859 10,674 14,415 19,785 27,733 37,000

Collecting the income

tax

Fromtechnological

sphere

45,544 0 48 290 886 2,012 3,944 7,059 11,951 19,353

From other sphers 4,246 0 101 253 379 531 585 667 824 906

Total 49,790 0 149 543 1,265 2,543 4,529 7,727 12,775 20,259

For the planned time the program’s current and investment expenditures will total 31 bln AMD.

While, as a result of the project implementation the budgetary revenues for the same period will

amount to 171.9 bln AMD. Already in 2019 the program’s cumulative revenues will exceed the

cumulative exits. The latter shows that from the cost-income perspective the program is

economically productive for the investment.

Economic results,

mln AMD

2016-

2024

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

Total investment

and current costs 31,022 1,645 2,349 3,143 3,594 3,544 3,784 4,040 4,314 4,607

Total collected

taxes 171,849 80 1,678 4,528 8,124 13,217 18,945 27,511 40,507 57,260

EMPLOYMENT AND ECONOMIC

ACTIVITY

2016-

2024

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

Schools with engineering

clubs, at the end of the 1,400 0 400 800 1,200 1,400 1,400 1,400 1,400 1,400

33

academic year

Quantiy of the clubs members 50,400 0 8,800 19,200 31,200 39,200 42,000 44,800 47,600 50,400

Gradutes 56,400 0 1,600 4,000 6,000 8,400 8,400 8,400 9,800 9,800

Labor market entrants, middle

educational level 28,200 0 800 2,000 3,000 4,200 4,200 4,200 4,900 4,900

Continuing education in

University, with technological

sciences 16,920 0 480 1,200 1,800 2,520 2,520 2,520 2,940 2,940

Labor market entrants, higher

education 5,400 0 0 0 0 0 432 1,080 1,620 2,268

New job places, in IT sphere,

annual 33,600 0 800 2,000 3,000 4,200 4,632 5,280 6,520 7,168

New job places, in IT sphere,

cumulative 33,600 0 800 2,800 5,800 10,000 14,632 19,912 26,432 33,600

Additional economicactivity, mln

AMD 526,208 0 960 5,280 14,640 30,240 53,875 87,667 134,918 198,627

The growth of the IT sphere

0.0% 0.3% 1.3% 2.9% 4.8% 6.9% 9.0% 11.0% 13.0%

Additonal GDP creation

0.00% 0.00% 0.02% 0.06% 0.12% 0.21% 0.32% 0.48% 0.69%

Additonal export volume

0.00% 0.07% 0.36% 0.90% 1.69% 2.74% 4.05% 5.67% 7.58%

Created job places in related

sectors,annual 100,800 0 2,400 6,000 9,000 12,600 13,896 15,840 19,560 21,504

Created additional economic

activity in related sphers, mln

AMD 141,523 0 3,370 8,424 12,636 17,690 19,510 22,239 27,462 30,192

34

7. ANNEX

7.1. Union of Information Technology Enterprises: company description

The union was established in 2000 as a business association of information and communication

technologies enterprises (ICT) operating in Armenia. UITE was created by enterprises and

companies in the information technologies /IT/ and information and communication

technologies/ICT/ sectors aiming at the protection of economic interests, business promotion

and advancement of research in the ICT sector.

Currently the number of our member organizations is growing rapidly. As of June 1,

2015 it reached 73. Our members are local and international organizations operating in

Armenia. The UITE members are particularly involved in software development, internet

technologies and e-commerce, research and development, semiconductor design, and other

specialties. A number of our members occupy a leading position in the global market.

The key strategy areas of the UITE are:

- Developing the Armenian High Tech Brand

- Educational Resourcing & Advocacy

- Government Policies and Relations

- Entrepreneurship Development

The Union of Information Technology Enterprises implements a variety of projects which mainly

tends toward the development and growth of IT sector in Armenia.

And therefore all IT events within this frame come from the goals stated in “IT development

concept”. Some of the IT events implemented by UITE are already traditional and become core

IT events of “Armenia IT month”.

UITE actively works on its main activity – advocacy of IT sector and particularly UITE members.

UITE advocacy involves such issues as education, custom and tax legislation and

administration, workforce development and others are.

DigiTec Information and Telecommunication Technologies Expo is an international IT event,

which takes place every year since 2005. The Expo is organized every October in Yerevan,

under the high patronage of the Prime-Minister of RA.

The aim of DigiTec Expo is to create a favorable environment for networking among

technological companies, business consumers and the society, as well as expansion of

international relations.

DigiTec Expo reflects the real picture of the Armenian ICT market and provides opportunity to

get acquainted with new achievements, problems, as well as the prospects of the sphere.

The main sections of the Digitec Expo are:

35

- Accounting, banking and financial software

- Chip design and testing

- Computer graphics, multimedia and games

- Databases and information systems management

- Internet applications and e-commerce

- Internet service provider

- IT services, consulting and system integration

- Networking systems and communications

- Systems engineering and automation

- Robotics

- Systems software and languages of programming

- Web design and development

- Mobile applications development

- Import, production and export of computer equipment

Every year the number of visitors of the exhibition is increasing. In 2005 the number of the

visitors of the expo was only 5,000, but during the 9 years the number of visitors increased 5

times and in 2013 it reached to 25,000. In 2005 20 aremenian companies were represented in

the exhibition and in 2013 their number rose to 120, which included a number of leading foreign

companies.

Digitec Business Forum . DigiTec Business Forum's aim is supporting various business sectors

to find the best technological solutions, as well as supporting technology companies to meet

and present themselves to potential customers at one place. Local and international practice of

implementing technologies in business, representing of best practices, involvement of business

community government bodies, international organizations and experts will provide practical and

effective content of the forum.

Forum topics:

- Activities, services and trade

- Agriculture and Processing

- Construction and mining

- Financial sector and e-commerce

- Health

- Education

36

"Open Game" Armenian Open Championship of Developers of Computer and Mobile Games.

This championship aims to develop the sector of computer games design in Armenia, which, in

its turn, will enable to create a new business environment, reveal and motivate new young

talents, who will have the opportunity to bring to life their ideas and participate in implementation

of projects at the best IT companies.

The contest is organized by UITE and Orange Armenia and The competition is supported by the

following companies, whose representatives are members of the Jury: Plexonic, Triada,

MicroSoft-RA, PicsArt, Underwater Apps, Zoom Graphics, X-Tech.

Armenian Robotics Development and Support Program (ArmRobotcs). In 2008 the Union of

Information Technologies Enterprises (UITE) started implementing the Armenian Robots

Development Project -ArmRobotics, to initiate and develop the robotics sector in Armenia.

The "ICT leaders without Ties Meeting". "ICT leaders' meeting"-forum has been organized since

2007. The ICT Forum creates a unique platform for representatives of governmental, non-

governmental organizations, academic and business communities to demonstrate new trends,

achievements and benefits of ICT application in various areas and to jointly deliberate on

actions to address issues emerging from the wide-scale application and rapid development of

ICT. The goal of the event is to bring together under one umbrella representatives of state and

private sectors and discuss most relevant issues in ICT field. The ICT forum is organized by the

Union of Information Technology Enterprises and the Ministry of Economy of Armenia.

Digicamp Innovative Camp. The aim of DigiCamp summer camp is to support 14-22 years old

young people with innovative ideas to make their first steps in business sector by providing

them appropriate knowledge during the 10 days of the campus life, as well as supporting them

in the registration processes of their businesses and finding partners by giving them an

opportunity to participate and be represented in such large events as DigiTec Expo, DigiTec

Business Forum, and etc are. The courses will be provided by qualified professionals of the

sector and their success stories will fill the camp with practical and effective content.

7.2. The technical infrastructure of the project

“SERob” Robot Kit

37

School Educational Robotic Kit “SERob” from Symotec LLC, Armenia is designed as a cost

effective tool to teach school-age children the basic principles of mobile robotic systems as well

as self-development of applications in amateur robotics clubs.

School Educational Robotics Kit allows learning in practice the following tasks:

- Assembling mobile robots with details and parts

- Mounting and connecting motors, sensors and cameras

- Controlling DC motors programmatically.

- Acquisition and analysis of data from the robot's sensors

- LAN wireless networking

- Remote control and remote monitoring of mobile systems

- Video image acquisition and processing. Object recognition and tracking

-

The robot kit works based on the following intergrated systems and equipments:

Operating System: Microsoft Windows, Linux

Programming environments: NI Labview

Controllers: RoBoard

Mechanical parts, motors, sensors: Clawbot Kit, DC motors, Motor controllers, Line

Trackers, Ultrasonic Sensors, Batteries and Chargers, Cables from Vex Robotics

Cameras: Logitech Web-camera

Nairi Lab

Nairi Lab education programs are based on advanced learning methodologies and tools most of

which are developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a leading research and

education institution in the fields of physical sciences and engineering.

Nairi Lab education programs enable learning math and science concepts, basics of

programming through applications that enable creation of cartoons, games and even support

robotic kits that can be programmed and operated. The production of such robots, and even

mini-computers that can be later used by the students for their own projects is implemented

within the framework of Nairi Lab.

These programs start from basics of programming and move from robotics to the production

process in an environment of exploration and creativity.

The package incorporates several components:

3D Printer:

38

Courses on 3D printing, a process of making a three-dimensional object of any shape from a

digital model make it possible to create virtually any shape objects. Students can model and

print parts to assemble new 3D printers; boxes for mini-computers that can be used for other

projects.

3D printer

Computer Controlled CNC devices:

Learning to model and print on advanced computer controlled CNC devices, thus getting

acquainted not only with programming, modeling, engineering basics, but also with the

production process.

Arax OS environment: an open source, enhanced and adapted Linux environment, that is easy

to use for kids, supports multiple languages of the region, and is compatible with older

computers.

CNC device

“0Aghves”:

“Aghves” is a visual programming environment and a toolkit, that lets kids make games,

animated stories, interactive art, as well as share their creations with others on the Net. It is

enhanced with modules that support sensors, motors, and robots. Underlining is the adaptation

of Scratch environment.

39

“Kria”:

“Kria” is an adaptation of MIT's Kturtle, an educational programming environment that uses a

programming language. “Kria” is suitable for teaching kids the basics of math, geometry and

programming. One of the main features of “Kria” is the ability to translate the commands into the

native language of the programmer.

Hand-made mini-computers:

The computers that are packaged in Nairi Lab are compact, lightweight and universal.

Though they are not as powerful as modern computers, they can use regular TVs as monitors

and can be connected to the Internet.

Atelier Lab

It is one of the components of the Nairi Lab, which allows collecting a new computer from the

parts of the old one. It was created by Etienne de Lacruan, who is specialized on reset the old

computers, which was given to schools by Government or the local companies. He use CAD

tools for preparing the computers from disposal materilas. In Atelier Lab old and unusable

computers are being destroyed, the working parts are being analysed and separated, and the

whole parts are being restored. It is also includes the leading electronical training, which is

based on the QUCS and TKGate and other programs with free/open codes, which will be

instuled and adapted with local educational system, format and language.

The LiveCode

The LiveCode programming language (formerly the "Revolution" programming language) is both

an open-source and proprietarycross-platform rapid application development language inspired

by HyperCard's programming language HyperTalk. The program creates applications that

support the environment, using free working process. The same code of the LiveCode can be

worked on the various equipments and platforms.

It was presented in 2001. The "Revolution" development system was based on

the MetaCard engine technology which Runtime Revolution later acquired from MetaCard

40

Corporation in 2003. LiveCode runs on iOS, Android, Mac OS X, Windows 95 through Windows

7, and several variations of Unix, including Linux, Solaris, and BSD. It can be used for mobile,

desktop and server/CGI applications. It is the most widely used HyperCard/HyperTalk

clone,[citation needed] and the only one that runs on all major operating systems.