ASOF’s Initiative in Sciences & Technology for Armenia
Project Budget & Outline
Start small, and build towards regional & international prominence
Budget for 2026
Summer Schools
Teaching Labs & Research
Teaching/Training
Key Deliverables for 2026
Teaching/Training
❖ 32 courses to undergraduate and graduate students in Armenia in strategic disciplines: Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Bioinformatics, and Aerospace Engineering.
$1,000,000
❖ 35 scholars from abroad teaching classes and engaging in collaborative research.
❖ Training of local teachers.
Secured Budget for 2025 from Armenia Fund , FAR, and ASOF
$250,000
International Schools
❖ Four week-long international summer school on Bioinformatics.
❖ Two two week-long international workshop on A.I. and Robotics.
❖ 15 prominent experts for short and long term visits; 200+ attendees from centers of excellence from around the world.
❖ Extensive interfacing with local industry and academic institutions.
Research Component
A.I., Robotics, and Computational Vision teaching laboratory at Engineering City. Core teaching laboratory for the Life Sciences.
Research projects in A.I. leveraging the new $8.5 million supercomputer that was secured through ASOF efforts; collaboration with the recent $500 million Firebird initiative: Molecular synthesis through A.I., Armenian natural language model, Robotics vision via AI-driven optics design for drones, Image-based AI perception.
Research in Bioinformatics through ABI, research training programs in the Life Sciences through Santé Arménie.
Longer Term Goals
As Determined by the Council on an Ongoing Basis
Armenia has the potential to become a regional powerhouse in certain areas of science and technology that can provide for its security and wealth.
Key Directions in the Sciences & Technology for Armenia through ARCS.ai
Key to achieving this is to make use of the extensive network of professional Armenians at universities and research centers around the world.
Number of Experts in ASOF
Engineering
Computer
Space
These directions require relatively modest resources for infrastructure, but a highly educated and skilled workforce that is internationally networked with centers of excellence around the world.
The strategy is to start with local capacity building through education and training.
Projected Impact for 2026
Target Audience and Impact
The ARCS.ai program is designed from the ground up to be interdisciplinary, focusing on cutting edge areas of science and technology straddling Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Bioinformatics, Biology, and Aerospace Engineering. The program is targeted to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as young researchers The principal goals include:
❖ serving local industry and R&D needs,
❖ seeding new directions of high-tech development,
❖ contributing to the start-up ecosystem in strategic areas of the economy,
❖ contributing to the establishment of international research collaborations between Armenian universities and research centers and centers of excellence outside Armenia in a manner that can draw significant grant funding, in particular from the E.U..
The selected directions are also meant to have a direct impact on national security. Throughout, there is an explicit emphasis on quality, with a curriculum based on similar offerings at top universities in the U.S. and Europe. This includes adoption of textbooks used internationally and the use of the English language for instruction.
Collectively, we expect to serve around 100 students in 2026 in total, and we expect to double this number in 2027 as we build up the pipeline. All classes are offered for free to all students in Armenia. Most courses are taught by faculty brought from outside Armenia, from ASOF’s network and beyond, assisted by local teaching assistants we hire. Some theory classes are offered in a hybrid format, with the main instructor participating over Zoom and a local teaching assistant in the classroom. This model also contributes to the training of local instructors. Many of the classes include hands-on training with the use of teaching laboratories we set up at Engineering City. All courses employ a professional assessment protocol developed by education experts within ASOF – involving surveys before and after each class — separately targeting students, instructors, and teaching assistants. This is also meant to help institute proper teaching practices and protocols in the local higher education system.
Four areas of focus are planned for 2026. Below is more detailed information about the target audience and expected outcomes for each direction. One common target for all four directions are young scholars and entrepreneurs who can seed startups in strategic areas of technology and science. The local VC environment is maturing, especially for the computational sciences
and engineering, and we have been in tune with the expertise needs on the ground. Examples of local VC companies include Granatus Ventures, Hive Ventures, and SmartGateVC. Incubators on the ground include Catalyst Foundation, Enterprise Incubator Foundation, Entrepreneurship & Product Innovation Center, ImpactAIM, Impact Hub Yerevan, Microsoft Innovation Center Armenia, and TechnoPark. Other notables in this ecosystem include Plug and Play Armenia, the State run “Neruzh” Program, and Orion Armenia.
There is also a burgeoning local high-tech industry that can benefit immediately from the training and classes this program offers — for example Adobe, Cisco, Examator, MBP Company, Microsoft, Nvidia, ServiceTitan, Synergy Armenia, Synopsys, VisionMark, and VOLO.
In addition, ARCS.ai is in discussion with the recent Firebird initiative bringing significant A.I. infrastructure to Armenia. ARCS.ai was also involved in securing the first GPU-based supercomputer purchased recently by the Armenian government, to start operating at YSU by the end of 2025. All these operations will contribute to the creation of a vibrant market for engineers and specialists in A.I. and high-performance computing which the ARCS.ai program will directly feed into and serve.
Finally, the ARCS.ai initiative is based on the principle that it is best to avoid duplication but instead build upon existing efforts. ARCS.ai functions as a point of coordination that has a multiplying effect on partnerships it creates with local stakeholders. In this context, our A.I. operation builds upon YerevaNN at Yerevan State University, the premiere A.I. research and development operation in Armenia. Similarly, the bioinformatics direction builds upon our partnership with the Armenian Bioinformatics Institute, a private operation which functions in coordination with the National Academy of Sciences. The Aerospace Engineering direction is embedded within the most suitable engineering program currently present in Armenia, a Master’s program in Engineering at the American University of Armenia. The Robotics program is located at Engineering City where we are building up the needed infrastructure in collaboration with CSIE and other stakeholders. Importantly, the whole program holds together as one coordinated effort, with access to all students across Yerevan and an interdisciplinary philosophy threaded throughout.
Projected Impact for 2026
Artificial Intelligence & Robotics
Artificial Intelligence (A.I.)
The proposed program in A.I. aims to offer students and participants an opportunity to learn about topics in a rapidly evolving discipline. In addition to theoretical knowledge, the program will allow students to obtain handson experience by participating in practical, interactive sessions with leading experts in the field. A successful example is the LLM Summer School that we held in July 2025 (https://armllm.github.io/2025/).
There are two broad areas of development in the evolving A.I. ecosystem:
❖ Companies developing A.I.-enhanced products without developing their own AI technology;
❖ Companies and research groups focusing on in-house core technologies developing new A.I. models.
The current players engaged in A.I. education in Armenia mostly cover the talent needs of the first category, and these are increasingly outdated for the needs of the second category. One of the goals of the ARCS.ai educational initiatives is to also address the needs of the second category.
The target audience of the A.I. program is undergraduate and graduate students in computer science and related fields, as well as researchers both from academia and industry. The LLM summer school was attended in person by over 80 in-person and 30 online participants (selected from 250 international applications overall), representing a mixture of students and professionals working in the industry. We expect a similar number of attendants for other offerings in this area. Around 30 students are expected to enroll in ARCS.ai A.I. courses in 2026. We expect 30% growth every year in the next several years. Some of the course offerings in robotics and the life sciences are also targeted at students studying A.I. to help bridge the interdisciplinary gap.
In addition to academic research institutions, companies that leverage A.I. and Machine Learning are the expected beneficiaries of the program. Our experience with the LLM summer school suggests that those companies actively encourage their employees to participate. Students who complete these courses will be ready to also work as research interns at AI research groups (YSU AI Lab, CAST @ RAU, CSIE, various groups at AUA) and as junior researchers in companies that develop cutting edge A.I. models (CodeSignal, DeepOrigin, DeepSat, EasyDMARC, Hercules.ai, Intelinair, Krisp, NVIDIA, Sololearn, PicsArt, Renderforest, SuperAnnotate, Podcastle, Waveye, etc.). A.I. consulting companies that would benefit from hiring graduates of the program include Fimetech, Labz.ai, Metric.
Robotics
The robotics program will prepare a new workforce who can help Armenia transition to increasingly automated and autonomous industry. The courses will equip learners with the fundamentals of robotics, so that they will be prepared to design, control, and coordinate robots in many different settings, including manufacturing, environmental monitoring, precision agriculture, infrastructure inspection, and many other applications. Instruction will focus on wheeled robots and drones, with practical laboratory implementation focusing on multicopter drones. Learners will have opportunities in startups to well established companies, and will also be prepared to start their own company in the field of robotics.
The target audience includes undergraduate and graduate students in computer science and mechanical, electrical, computer, and control systems engineering, as well as enthusiastic late secondary school students who may then be encouraged to seek undergraduate degrees in those fields. Due to the hands-on nature of robotics and the required hardware, we expect enrollment of approximately 10-20 students in the first year, to be increased to 24-35 students in 2027.
In addition to academic and research institutions, students can find employment opportunities at companies that provide drone and automation services, such as Dron, defense companies such as Aerodynamics and Davaro, as well as a growing number of robotics companies in Armenia such as Expper Technologies, Ararat Robotics, CAIAT LLP, deltAlyz Corp, and DeepCraft.
Projected Impact for 2026
Bioinformatics, Biology, & Aerospace Engineering
Bioinformatics/Life sciences
The courses are framed around providing fundamental knowledge for understanding why and how experimental biology research takes place. The courses build on these fundamental principals to offer practical course work providing technical skills that can be used by participants in technician jobs. This framework can equally be used by participants as the basis for gaining experience in preparation for higher education programs at the masters and doctoral levels.
The ARCS-ai life sciences section aims to develop core laboratories/ facilities, which would provide and develop experimental techniques in support of the biology research infrastructure currently available in Armenia and projected to be built in the future. Participants will feed into these core labs. Additionally, we aim to develop a burgeoning private field of life sciences translational and applied research in Armenia and these participants may use the skills gained in our courses toward seeking jobs in these sectors.
The target audience includes post-bachelor students, scientists aiming to gain new skills, biologists, medical doctors (students), masters students, PhDs aiming to broaden their skillsets or change directions. We expect 10-20 students in the first year and aim to ramp up numbers to 30-50 within 2-3 years.
We aim to develop in-house core laboratories servicing academia broadly (internationally) and companies (startups and otherwise). We aim to have some participants feed into these labs. We equally aim to have students seeking to feed into masters and PhD programs nationally and internationally. In partnership with the Promise Institute at UCLA, select students who can benefit from training on more advanced equipment that is not available yet in Armenia will be sent for training at UCLA to come back later and engage in research in Armenia at a higher level. There is also a burgeoning field of computational biology research in the private sector in Armenia. The ARCS.ai program participants will gain skills that can be applied to enhancing the activities of these companies. We aim to provide skillsets for participants from the region, which will mean that we exist as a hub for the geographic region to gain skills in life sciences research. Companies that will be served by the ARCS.ai operation in the life sciences include Denovo Sciences, BostonGene, Medpoint Technologies, Foldink, as well as companies in biotechnology and agri-biotech such as PHEROGANIC, Biogen Nanotechnologies, and SymphoGreen.
Aerospace Engineering
Based on an assessment from a group of experts in ASOF, as well as consultations with local partners in Armenia, ASOF recently concluded that Armenia has an opportunity to revive its tradition of excellence in aerospace engineering and space sciences in a manner that can contribute significantly to its economy and security. We believe the niche focus area for achieving such a presence internationally lies in low-orbit satellite technology, involving engagement in rocket propulsion engineering as well as electronics design for satellites.
Unlike the other three focus areas of ARCS.ai – A.I., Robotics, and Bioinformatics/Life sciences where the impact on the local economy and R&D ecosystem is immediate and indeed the program fills a current void, this direction of engagement in ARCS.ai is meant to function more as a seed for the future and has longer term vision. The focus now is on education and basic training as we build up the necessary infrastructure on the ground over several years. This program is being funded by AUA within their new Master’s program in Aerospace Engineering that was developed jointly with the ARCS.ai team, and it involves significant synergy with the Robotics and A.I. directions. We expect about 15 undergraduate/Master students in each class for the first year, expanding from there as we secure partnerships with industry and government for the needed infrastructure. There is some nascent market already emerging, with companies like CIPR, Bazoomq Space Research Lab, and CSIE. The government-affiliated ArmCosmos and the Armenian AeroSpace Agency would also be natural beneficiaries of the program.
ARCS.ai Governance
Governance Model & Operations
ASOF
Appoints
ASOF Council Appoints
ASOF Advisory Groups Advises
❖ Teaching & training programs
❖ Research programs
❖ Grant writing
❖ Seminars & Workshops
❖ Visitor program
❖ Tech transfer office Board
Educational & Research Institutions
Financial Partners and Patrons
Project/Industry Partners
The ARCS.ai Council, 2025-26
Appointed by the ASOF Executive Board
Armen Aghajanyan
FAIR (Meta)
Deep Learning, Large Language Models, NLP
Artur Alaverdyan
Co-Founder, Member of Board, Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology
Applied Physics, Entrepreneurship, High-Tech
Armen Askijian
Chief Technology Officer, Airbus U.S. Space and Defense
Aerospace Engineering, Space and Satellites, Mechanical Engineering
Diane Barber (chair)
Professor, Department of Cell and Tissue Biology, University of California San Francisco
Cell biology
Justin Du Bois
Henry Dreyfus Professor of Chemistry, Professor of Chemical and Systems Biology, by courtesy, Stanford University
Chemical Biology, Chemistry
Naira Hovakimyan
Professor, Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Control Theory, Optimization
Adam Kablanian
High-Tech Executive, Entrepreneur, and Investor Founder of Alexandrea Winery
Electrical Engineering, High-Tech
Ann Karagozian
Distinguished Professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace
Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles
Combustion, Fluid Mechanics, Propulsion
Council on Sciences & Technology
A Committee of the Armenian Society of Fellows
Sarkis Mazmanian
Luis and Nelly Soux Professor of Microbiology, California Institute of Technology
Microbiology, Neuroscience
Alexandre Persat
Global Health Institute and Institute for Bioengineering, Ecole
Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
Biology, Biophysics, Microbiology
Ardem Patapoutian (Nobel Laureate)
Professor, Department of Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute Biology
Neuroscience
Vahe Petrosian
Professor of Physics and Applied Physics Departments, Chair of Astronomy Program, Stanford University
Astrophysics, Cosmology
Dork Sahagian
Professor, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and the Environmental Initiative, Lehigh University
Climate Change, Geophysics, Science and Society, Volcanology
Armen Zakarian
Vice Provost for Research, Professor and Chair, Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, University of Michigan Dearborn
Data Analytics, Digital Manufacturing, Systems Engineering
Representatives from the Armenian Government (Ex-Of fi cio)
Ministry of ESCS
Ministry of HTI
Parliament of the Republic of Armenia
The ARCS.ai Armenia Board 2025-26
Appointed by the ARCS.ai Council
Haig Alexander Eskandarian
Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School Biology, Medicine, Microbiology
Aram Galstyan
University of Southern California, Amazon Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science
Ivan Aprahamian Professor, Chair of the Chemistry Department, Dartmouth College Organic Chemistry, Adaptive Materials
Oshin Peroomian (Treasurer)
CTO Metacomp Technologies, Inc. and Adjunct lecturer at AUA
Mathematics, Aerospace Engineering, Robotics, and A.I.
15 Instructors 22 Classes 75+ Students
Mathematics Classes (hybrid format)
Mathematical Analysis I (15 weeks)
Mathematical Analysis II (15 weeks)
Mathematical methods in classical mechanics (15 weeks)
Ordinary Differential Equations (15 weeks)
Complex Analysis (15 weeks)
Algebra and Number Theory I (15 weeks)
Measure theory and ergodic theory (15 weeks)
Aerospace Engineering Classes
(in-person format, funded by AUA)
Introduction to Aerospace Engineering (3 weeks)
Introduction to Aerodynamics (15 weeks)
Flight and Orbital Mechanics (15 weeks)
Aerospace Systems & Control (15 weeks)
Aerospace Materials and Manufacturing (10 weeks)
Design and Analysis of Aerospace Structures (15 weeks)
Systems Engineering for Aerospace (15 weeks total)
Part I: Unmanned Aircraft Design (7.5 weeks)
Part II: Spacecraft Design (7.5 weeks)
Robotics and A.I. (in-person format)
Introduction to Robotics (10 weeks)
Computer Vision and Deep Learning for Robotics (10 weeks)
Advanced Robotics (10 weeks)
Image Processing and Robot Perception (10 weeks)
Robot Control Systems (10 weeks)
Planning for Autonomous Robots (10 weeks)
Assessment & Reviews
Students in all courses will provide anonymous evaluations of their experience. This information will be reviewed by ASOF Fellows specializing in educational assessment. At the end of the year, the ARCS.ai Board will present the outcomes of the year’s educational and training activities to the Council.
Curricular Program: Bioinformatics and Life Sciences
Clinical Immunology, Histology and Histopathology, Genome Bioinformatics
27 Instructors
Clinical Immunology
14 weeks including hands-on training for 2 weeks
1. General Immunology
2. Immunopathology
3. Biotherapies
Histology and Histopathology
14 weeks including hands-on training for 2 weeks
1. Overview of the IHC technique
2. Introduction to Digital Pathology
3. Hematopathology
4. Breast and Skin pathology
Master Class
4 days
1. Scientific Writing
2. Leadership in Science
3. Career Development
9 Courses
Students
International Summer School in Genome Bioinformatics
Bioinformatics Algorithms
Functional Genomics
Group projects
1. Machine Learning-Based Identification of Bacterial Biomarkers for Disease Classification
2. Discovery of Telomeric Biomarkers for Cancer Detection in Cell-Free DNA
3. Genomic Characterization of Population Structure in Caucasian Grape Varieties Using Whole-Genome Sequencing
4. Dissecting Lung Cancer Heterogeneity via Single-Cell Transcriptomic Profiling
Hands-on Course on Host-Pathogen Interactions
Research Program: Initial Infrastructure
Teaching with hands-on training
❖ Teaching laboratory in Robotics and Computational Vision at Engineering City. The laboratory will be used for teaching graduate students the foundations of robotics and vision, and will also function as a foundation for an expansion into a larger research laboratory in an adjacent building in 2027.
❖ The Binder Lab, focusing on cancer and plant genomics.
❖ The Nersisyan Lab, investigating host-microbiome interactions with a focus on aging and microbiome dynamics.
❖ The Bioinformatics Core Facility, providing genomics data analysis and sequencing services in collaboration with the Institute of Molecular Biology, NAS RA.
❖ The new FAST biology laboratory will be accessed
The A.I. research will employ the new nVidia supercomputer that Armenia purchased through the efforts of ASOF and which is being currently set up at Yerevan State University ($8.5 million from RA).
employ the Aznavour Supercomputer set up at Engineering City.
Research Operation: Initial Projects
Teaching with hands-on training
While the core of the ARCS.ai program in 2026 is aimed at teaching and training, at the level this instruction is to be offered there is natural connections to and synergy with cutting edge research. The program then includes a set of initial research projects to be undertaking by various partners groups, with the participation of students.
Artificial Intelligence
Large Language Models for Life Sciences
Molecular design for pharmaceuticals based on a natural language model.
Armenian Centric Translation System
For applications in business, literature, security, and soft power projection.
Robotics/Vision
Robotics vision via AI-driven optics
design
Improve vision of autonomous robots using advanced optics design in challenging environments.
Application: Navigation of autonomous robots in low-light environment.
Image-based AI Robot perception
Co-design of optics and image-based robot perception.
Application: Material identification, texture analysis.
Bioinformatics
The project plans to host three principal investigators (PIs) in 2026 to engage them in teaching, scientific discussions, and the development of new collaborations. These visits will also serve as an opportunity to apply for international grants and receive mentorship.
The PI’s will be selected based on expertise in research in cancer multi-omics, the microbiome, and liquid biopsies.
Each PI will spend up to four weeks in Armenia, working closely with the ABI team, mentoring students, and interacting with the broader life science community. During their visit, the PI’s will also deliver lectures as part of the OMICSS-26 Summer School in Genome Bioinformatics. At the end of their stay, following the school’s bootcamp, we will organize a two-day conference showcasing current research from the visiting PI’s, ABI researchers, and other scientists in the field.
A.I. and Cross-Disciplinary Research
ARCS-ai includes ongoing research operations in partnership with YerevaNN meant to interface with other disciplines like the Life Sciences, Robotics, and Biomedical Imaging. The courses to be offered in 2026 are partly designed to seed cross-disciplinary research collaborations, with students from the life sciences and engineering attending A.I. classes and vice versa.
The Armenian Society of Fellows
Société Savante Arménienne Bibliothèque Nubar, 11 Sq. Alboni, 75016 Paris, France
