FAST | RESEARCH

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

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

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.

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.