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FAST | RESEARCH

In order to support the production of globally competitive research output from Armenia, FAST has launched a range of programs to support the local research community and bridge it with the world-leading research community.

IMPACTS ON RESEARCH OUTPUTS

FAST has provided funding to 49 researchers, supported 23 international research collaborations and hosted nearly 100 foreign researchers in Armenia through a variety of initiatives.

In addition, it has supported 25 visits to international labs resulting in the production of 70 scientific papers, of which 50 have already been published in international journals.

23

international research collaborations

49

researchers provided funding

100

foreign researchers

25

visits to international labs

70

scientific papers

50

published in international journals

FELLOWSHIP

A fundamental challenge for Armenian science is its aging research community and the need to develop a new generation of STEM researchers.

To enable promising PhD students to concentrate fully on their studies, FAST designed a fellowship program for Armenian citizens and candidates of Armenian descent wishing to conduct doctoral studies in STEM-related fields at leading Armenian universities.

“FAST Fellowship was a “rescuer” for me when I faced serious challenges around continuing my research due to scarcity of financial resources. Thanks to the program, I was able to fully concentrate on my research. Moreover, I gained self-confidence and belief in what I am doing. I am so thankful to the FAST Fellowship team and those people who spared no effort to give birth to this beautiful program.”

Lilit Khachatryan

Program Fellow PhD Student, Institute of Botany after A. L. Takhtajyan of the National Academy of Sciences, Armenia

TRAVEL GRANT FOR COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH

FAST created a travel grant scheme to foster collaborations between Armenian and international STEM researchers.

The program was designed to allocate grants for Armeniabased researchers to visit their counterparts, as well as for international researchers to visit Armenia. Grantees worked on joint scientific projects for a period of up to 3 months and produce joint publications in high-impact journals. These efforts aimed at increasing Armenian research output.

“The travel grant enhanced the progress of my work and helped me have great success in the prestigious Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska Curie Individual Fellowship. Not only did I get a chance to learn from the specialists of my host institute — Instituto de Ciencias de la Vid y del Vino (ICVV) — in Spain, but now we plan to continue our collaboration together with Yerevan State University on a comparative study of Armenian and European grapevine genetic resources at the molecular, genomic and cellular levels.”

Anna Nebish

Program Grantee Lecturer and Researcher, Yerevan State University, Institute of Molecular Biology of the National Academy of Sciences, Armenia

 

 

 

ADVANCE STEM RESEARCH GRANT PROGRAMS

FAST designed an unprecedented grant scheme for the Armenian scientific community.

That scheme aimed to bring top expertise in targeted scientific fields to Armenia by connecting international Principal Investigators (PI) with local scientists. New research teams of up to 5 scientists are formed under the direct supervision of international PIs through the selection of the most qualified researchers, regardless of affiliation. The research groups receive comprehensive long-term institutional and financial support. The funding includes salaries for local researchers, lab supporting materials, travel and capacity building opportunities, as well as publication costs.

BIOTECH TEAM

PROF. GARABED ANTRANIKIAN

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

ANNA POLADYAN

SENIOR RESEARCHERS

 

SARGIS AGHAYAN

SENIOR RESEARCHERS

ANI PALOYAN

SENIOR RESEARCHERS

KAREN TRCHOUNIAN

SENIOR RESEARCHERS

DIANA GHEVONDYAN

JUNIOR RESEARCHERS

ELLA MINASYAN

JUNIOR RESEARCHERS

MACHINE LEARNING TEAM

PROF. ARNAK DALALYAN

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

 

TIGRAN GALSYAN

SENIOR RESEARCHERS

ARSHAK MINASYAN

SENIOR RESEARCHERS

LIFE SCIENCE INCUBATOR

The Life Science Incubator (LSI) is a program ultimately designed to leverage and catalyse Armenia’s life science/biotech potential.

It entails the development of a wet laboratory for the analysis and testing of different scientific hypotheses (proof of concept) that may be generated from pre-seed and early-stage startups. The incubator will provide startups with access to laboratory instruments and expertise, which are typically barriers to entry for startups with limited funding. The LSI will also house mentors, advisors and consultants to facilitate direct access to expert guidance focused on a startup’s area of need. Additionally, the LSI will provide practical laboratory training for university students, exposing them to the biotech industry outside academia.

Currently, the incubator is being set up and starting its operation.

ARMENIA’S ENERGY INDEPENDENCE ROADMAP

The program aims to develop a comprehensive roadmap for a transformational path from Armenia’s current energy infrastructure towards energy independence through carbon neutrality in the energy and transportation fields.

The roadmap will be used for making policy recommendations to the government and investment attraction activities.

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Dear Visitor,

We are glad you are interested in the activities of the IDeA Foundation.

On this platform, you can learn about two-decades long thought, passion, commitment and hard work — all in pursuit of a more prosperous Armenia. The road has been long and reflections many. But we managed to achieve to a point where our work has left its mark on the lives of millions of people and we are really proud of it.

Our accomplishments are the fruit of a collective effort by hundreds of thousands of promoters and volunteers, tens of thousands of donors and supporters, hundreds of colleagues and dozens of founding partners. Together, we have shown what wonderous things can be achieved when people strive for realization of a common goal.

Allow our family, who was lucky enough to witness these remarkable achievements from the beginning, to express our sincere gratitude to numerous wonderful, caring, purposeful people and organizations that made all these achievements possible. We have the honor to present their successes and express our gratitude to them.

We have tried to present the key landmarks of our journey to a brighter Armenia, to chart the lessons learned, and some of the new approaches and initiatives they have forged — the 700 projects over the last 20 years.

We hope that learning about these works will be as pleasant for you as it is for us to tell about them.

But, more importantly, we would like to see you among those Armenians who will continue this path together with us in the future.

If a single community of like-minded people working towards the realization of a common vision of the future can achieve such a result, imagine what kind of changes can be made if the efforts of the entire nation were directed towards creation. Together we can dream.

And, together, we can make our dreams come true.

Thank You,

Ruben Vardanyan and Veronika Zonabend