CALIFORNIA, USA – ArmTech Congress 2012, conceived under the theme of ‘learning from the past and inventing the future’, launched today in Silicon Valley in California, USA. The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University hosted the conference. For the fifth time this business forum has brought together over 120 executives from the high-tech industry, researchers, representatives of academia and the venture capital community, as well as senior government officials from Armenia to discuss Armenia’s high-tech sector, explore prospects that will further the development of the industry in Armenia as well as increase opportunities for U.S. businesses.

 

ArmTech 2012 is organized through the joint efforts of the Government of Armenia, the USAID-funded Enterprise Development and Market Competitiveness (EDMC) Project, Enterprise Incubator Foundation (EIF), ViaSphere Technopark, Armenian Development Agency (ADA), Synopsys Armenia, the Armenian American Chamber of Commerce, and Groupement Interprofessionnel International Armenien (G2IA).

USAID’s assistance to ArmTech 2012 involves facilitation of business-to-business meetings, visits to relevant partners in Silicon Valley, public awareness initiatives, as well as general support to the organization of the conference.

Four interactive panel sessions will be held this year, allowing the participants and presenters to discuss possible directions for Armenia’s high-tech economy in the coming few years. The first session, “High Tech Industry in Armenia: Recent Developments and Success Stories,” will be moderated by Michael Malone, celebrated author and columnist, and will feature Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Heffern, and senior executives from Synopsys Inc., Intel, and D-Link Corporations. The second session will focus on “Research, Innovation and Professional Development” with professors and directors from Stanford University, American University of Armenia, Armenian Microsoft Innovation Center, and Luys Foundation as panel speakers. During the third session on “Business Environment and Investment Opportunities” participants will hear from Armenian Minister of Economy Tigran Davtyan, heads of PanArmenian Bank, ADA, EIF, Vice President of the Pragma Corporation Paul Davis and Managing Principal Partner of SEAF Caucasus Growth Fund, Esben Emborg. Leading experts from PDF Solutions, Sourcio, National Instruments Armenia, Motorola Mobility, and Cisco will take the lead in the fourth panel session, “Looking Ahead: Challenges, Opportunities, and Factors for Success.”

 

  -   Science and Technology