The first newly-opened Entrepreneurship and Product Innovation Center - EPIC of the American University of Armenia (AUA) has launched a new incubator program for start-ups (photos).
Founding director of the Center, Armen Mkrtchyan, told Armenian News-NEWS.am that through combining lectures, the opportunity to create practical samples, as well as a network of business and technical consultants, EPIC allows students to quickly develop their skills in the area of developing new enterprises.
In his words, the positive changes in the IT and entrepreneurship areas taking place in the recent years give an opportunity to promote and support from the university age the young people wishing to start their own companies.
''The incubation program will help students learn business skills for starting technological enterprises, considering the peculiarities and demands of Armenia,'' he added.
EPIC Manager of Operations, Aram Keryan, for his part, noted that the university environment must become an important center of entrepreneurship.
''There are many examples when established companies started from a student bench. Thus, we decided to create an atmosphere, which would help realize the promising ideas,'' he stated.
Groups of developers, among which at least one person is an AUA student, or more than half are its graduates, can come to the center with their ideas. The applicants are free in terms of their start-up ideas: they can come up with both software and hardware ideas.
''Besides, the program participants will be able to hold discussions with a skilled businessman-mentor 1-2 times a week. Such experience is very important for beginners,'' Keryan added.
After receiving consultations the teams will be able to form their business ideas and present the investors the prototype of their future products. The best teams will pass on to the next stage, during which the Center will provide all the team participants a summer scholarship and an opprortunity to get a seed grant.
The applications for participating in the incubator can be submitted by the following link before December 12.
