Today, Hambardzum Matevosyan, Minister of Environment of the RA, participated in the “GeoLab. Environment of Future” event held at Yerevan State University.
Events of this format, involving representatives of state bodies, the private sector, and educational institutions, are important as they create a tangible link between the academic community, laboratory work, and the production environment, fostering practical knowledge and the development of essential professional skills.
Accompanied by Mr. Hovhannisyan, YSU Rector and faculty representatives, the Minister toured the Faculty of Geography and Geology. He familiarized himself with the classrooms equipped within the framework of cooperation between the Kapan Mining and Processing Plant and the YSU Faculty of Geography and Geology, as well as with the educational and scientific opportunities created through this partnership.
Minister Matevosyan then took part in the main session of the event and delivered a speech. He emphasized that the fields of environmental and natural resource management today require a new level of quality, based on modern scientific approaches, technological thinking, and a responsible professional culture.
“The mining sector is, on the one hand, an important pillar of the economy, and on the other, a sector with high requirements for environmental risk management. Here, success is measured not only by production indicators, but also by the quality of impact assessment, prevention, and liability mechanisms. This is where university–industry cooperation becomes a real engine of progress,” the Minister noted.
The Minister also stressed that the sector needs specialists who are not only strong in theory, but who also understand the importance of fieldwork, data analysis, risk assessment, and the development of sustainable solutions.
The Minister highlighted the importance of approaches in which private companies open their practical agendas to the scientific community, enabling education and research to remain closely aligned with real-world challenges. In such cases, the outcome is mutually beneficial: universities train market-ready and critically minded specialists, while companies gain a strong scientific foundation for more accurate measurements, well-grounded assessments, and more effective environmental management.
Hambardzum Matevosyan noted that such partnerships help align educational programmes with real demand, improve the quality of education by enriching it with practical experience, and give young people confidence in pursuing their chosen professional paths.
Minister Matevosyan expressed gratitude to the YSU leadership, representatives of the Faculty of Geography and Geology, and partners from Kapan Mining and Processing Plant for their consistent efforts, initiative, and commitment to education.
He expressed confidence that “GeoLab. Environment of Future” will continue to develop as a platform, generating new programmes, ideas, and results that will contribute both to the strengthening of the professional community and to the country’s sustainable development goals.