The Armenian State Pedagogical University (ASPU) hosted a discussion on the initiative to introduce the unified standard of digital presence in universities, the aim of which is to improve the digital presence and user experience at higher educational institutions in Armenia.

The observations and ideas of students from different universities lie at the core of the initiative. As everyday users of websites and digital services, the students set aside a number of problems, including the complexity of information search, the uncoordinated submission of documents, the inconvenience of mobile versions, problems with ensuring multilingual content and other obstacles associated with the digital environment.

The initiative was presented at the ASPU by founding Director of Innovayse Hakob Vardanyan and web programmer Varuzhan Avagyan, who is also a student of the Armenian State Pedagogical University. During the meeting, they talked about the objectives of the initiative and the main directions for potential digital solutions envisaged for universities.

As founding Director of Innovayse Hakob Vardanyan mentioned, through collaboration with Innovayse, the students’ idea has turned into a complete programmatic proposal. “The aim of the initiative is not to assess or criticize the work of universities separately. The objective is to shape common quality criteria and modern solutions for development of the digital environment in universities. The visual identity, structure, content and the internal management processes of every university will be maintained. The minimum criteria for digital quality, security, access, user-friendliness and other basic requirements are being unified,” Hakob Vardanyan noted.

The main directions for potential digital solutions for universities were also presented during the meeting.

The founding Director of Innovayse emphasized that one of the key components of the initiative is students’ involvement. Students of various universities can voluntarily participate in the further development and implementation of the program by sharing their comments and suggestions regarding the digital environment in universities, as well as their assessments of user experience.

Acting Rector of the Armenian State Pedagogical University Lilit Mkrtchyan attached importance to students’ involvement in the development of a university environment and educational environment. She assured that the ASPU will consider the directions for potential collaboration and the organizing of future activities after exploring the proposal.