On November 28, 2024, during the Final Conference of the SMARTI Project (Support for Innovative Methodology, Approaches, and Tools for Teaching through the Medium of English to Improve Educational Yield, Sustainability, and Internationalization), Lusik Vardanyan, the Coordinator of the DeSIRe Project (Development of Soft Skills at Higher Education Institutions of Armenia and Georgia in Compliance with the 21st Century Labour Market Requirements), delivered a concise presentation on the main goals, specific objectives, and key deliverables of the DeSIRe Project.

In her address, she highlighted that Vanadzor State University is the first regional university in Armenia to coordinate a project of this scale. She also noted that the DeSIRe Project was officially launched on December 1, 2023, and has been successfully running for a year. She emphasized the importance of adopting a holistic approach to education, one that balances transferable life skills (soft skills) with academic competencies (hard skills). She pointed out that higher education institutions in Armenia and Georgia predominantly rely on traditional teaching methods focused on subject-specific knowledge, which often results in soft skills being underdeveloped or outdated in relation to contemporary educational trends and labor market demands.

To address these gaps, she stressed the urgent need to update teaching methodologies, revise educational content, and enhance assessment practices. These measures, she argued, are essential for aligning university curricula with the skills demanded by the 21st-century labour market, thereby bridging the gap between the soft skills offered by universities and those required by the labor market.

Following the presentation of the EDIFY(Educate, Diversify, Internationally Flourish Your Community), Lusik Vardanyan also noted a significant overlap between the two initiatives. She pointed out that one of the modules to be designed and implemented within the curricula of higher education institutions in Armenia and Georgia under the DeSIRe Project—Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI)—is closely aligned with the core concept of the EDIFY Project. This connection further highlights the shared values and goals of the projects in fostering inclusive and forward-thinking educational practices.