Today, on November 19, the SILICON MOUNTAINS 2021 International Technological Summit on Digital Smart Economy has taken place at Matenadaran (the Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts).
The event is organized by the Union of Employers of Information and Communication Technology (UEICT). Held for the second time, the summit has covered the prospects of the application of smart solutions and digitization of the economy.
The summit has featured a special guest – President and co-Chief Executive Officer of Synopsys, recipient of the 2020 Global IT Award of Armenia, Dr. Chi-Foon Chan.
“It will be very useful for Armenia to understand the changes in the technological world and identify possible advantages,” said Dr. Chan. “Armenia can be a major exporter of intellectual property and software – not just a provider of services, but a provider of key solutions. Through the years that I have worked with Armenian experts, I have noticed this: in the first 5 years, they practice their professional skills, in the next 5 years they do very complex projects, and in the last 5-6 years they lead the most complex international programs. I hope that now they will go even further and set new directions in the market.”
“Technology affects all areas of life, and we should consider how we can use and develop the technologies of future to facilitate the advancement in Armenia. Corresponding education should begin from the school, and we have to encourage young people to pursue careers in science and IT – both locally and internationally,” stated Synopsys Armenia President Yervant Zorian.
“Recently, an environment has been created where the representatives of the high-tech community organize several events during a month – Engineering Week, DigiWeek, DigiTec, and now we have the Silicon Mountains Tech Summit. The changes of the last 20 years have led to the fact that greater appreciation is paid to the knowledge, opportunity, and talent; things which were being used in other directions in the past. The upcoming success depends on all of us: the state, society, and especially the community. During all the meetings, the community raises an important issue: the only way to develop Armenia is through knowledge,” said RA Minister of HTI Vahagn Khachaturyan in his speech.
“SILICON MOUNTAINS 2021 includes meetings of business leaders and an open discussion where the representatives of the tech sphere present their experience and future plans. Today, there are areas that have little to do with modern technology and the companies do not have all the information needed for further development. It is necessary to provide this information as soon as possible so that businesses remain competitive in the international market”, noted Armen Baldryan, President of UEICT.
According to Eduard Musayelyan, Executive Director of UEICT, one of the most important challenges for Armenia is to actively use and export digital solutions.
“We can be competitive in the world only with the existence of qualified engineers. This summit is our adequate response to Silicon Valley, at this moment only in the form of a summit. It is a good way to state our plans on where Armenia intends to be on the global technological map as a country which is offering and exporting sophisticated engineering solutions”.
The general sponsor of the summit is UNICOMP. The event is supported by the Ministry of High-Tech Industry, Synopsys Armenia and ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK.
In the framework of the summit, a two-sided postcard with one stamp dedicated to the theme “High Technologies. “Silicon Mountains”” has been put into circulation. The postcard cancellation ceremony has been attended by the Deputy Minister of High-Technological Industry of the Republic of Armenia Robert Khachatryan, the Head of the Philately Department of “HayPost” CJSC Shushan Aleksanayan, the President and co-Chief Executive Officer of “Synopsys” company Dr. Chi-Foon Chan, the Executive Director of the Union of Employers of Information and Communication Technologies Eduard Musayelyan, the President of the Philatelists’ Armenian Association Hovik Musayelyan.
The postage stamp of the postcard depicts the photo of “Silicon Mountains” Forum which was held in Armenia in 2019. The bottom left corner of the postcard depicts the inscriptions “SILICON MOUNTAINS” in Armenian and English languages. The backside of the postcard depicts the logotype of “Silicon Mountains” Forum of 2021.
Four panel discussions have been held during the summit. The first one, Engine of Digital Smart Economy (Microelectronics, Artificial Intelligence) featured Synopsys Armenia President Yervant Zorian, President of the Union of Employers of ICT Armen Baldryan, Care Technologies CEO Arthur Ghulyan, and CEO of the Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology (FAST) Armen Orujyan.
The second panel discussion, titled ICT Infrastructure as a Basis for Digital Economy (Telecommunication), has been attended byViva-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian, Rostelecom General Director Hayk Faramazyan, Ucom General Director Ara Khachatryan, and Head of Communications Department at the Armenian Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) Gevorg Gevorgyan.
The third panel discussion, which has featured Director of TUMO Center for Creative Technologies Marie-Lou Papazian, Enterprise Incubator Foundation Director Bagrat Yengibaryan, BANA Director Grigor Hovhannisyan, and Synopsys Armenia Director Hovik Musayelyan, has covered the topic of Development of Ecosystem of Digital Smart Economy (Education, Regional Development, Smart City, Startups).
Finally, the fourth panel discussion has considered the Challenges of Digital Economy (Cybersecurity in the era of 4th Industrial Revolution and Fintech). The participants’ group has included Unicomp’s Chief Officer of System Integration Department Khoren Mamikonyan, IT Director of the Central Bank of Armenia Komitas Stepanyan, ACBA Bank’s Deputy CEO on Platforms and Technologies Development Tigran Simonyan, and Head of Internal Control and Audit Department at Viva-MTS Kim Avanesyan.
