On 21-22 July, the delegation of the Armenian State Pedagogical University (ASPU) participated in the Regional Awareness Days and 6^th Partners Coordination Meeting of the Erasmus+ CBHE DeSIRe Program (Development of Soft Skills at Higher Education Institutions of Armenia and Georgia in Compliance with the 21^st Century Labour Market Requirements).

Held at Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University, the event gathered representatives of the universities of Armenia, Georgia and partnering universities of the European Union to sum up the results of program implementation, assess the outcomes of a pilot introduction of the developed modules and massive open online courses (MOOC), consider the areas that need improvement, as well as the future steps for ensuring sustainability of the Program’s results.

The results of the pilot stage, the assessments and recommendations of the European experts, as well as the improvements made by the partnering universities, were presented during the Regional Awareness Day.

Members of the ASPU delegation shared the experience in introducing the modules and the massive open online courses introduced at the University, the changes made based on the observations of the European partners and the future directions for development.

The universities also presented the roadmaps for the development of Soft Skills Laboratories, and considered the opportunities for ensuring sustainable activities and further development.

During the Coordination Meeting, the key issues of the final stage of the Program, including the course of implementation of the working packages, finalization of the methodical manuals, publication of a guide for developing massive open online courses, as well as the actions for dissemination of the Program and using the findings, establishment of a network for inter-university cooperation and expansion of cooperation with foreign stakeholders.

The ASPU, as the Program’s partner and the University hosting the final conference to be held in October, also presented the format of the concluding conference of the DeSIRe Program to be held on 8-9 October 2026 in the University and the scope of participation of partners.

As the members of the ASPU delegation noted, participation in the events held in Batumi provided the opportunity to recap the results of the Program, combine the partners’ experiences, coordinate the final actions and predetermine the next steps for long-term application of the results of the DeSIRe Program and the ensuring of stability.