What contributes to the repatriation of young people? - Araz Kekejian
What makes Armenia attractive for young people, motivates them to return to their homeland and completely change their lives? What connects them with Armenia? Where do they study, work, what contribution do they make to the life of the country?
We got the answers to these and other questions during the interview with Araz Kekejian. Araz was born in Beirut, has been living in Armenia since 2016, and currently works as a project manager at Ameriabank, a partner of the "Repat Armenia" fund.
Studied at an Armenian school, actively participated in the life of the Armenian community. He studied informatics at the University of Lebanon while working in various organizations.
Araz, can you tell us about your connection with the Armenian community in Beirut?
I participated in the life of the community from an early age, I was especially active in scout groups. This played a big role in my self-development. Thanks to the community, I acquired one of the most important tools: I started to think and speak in Armenian, I got to know the history, culture, and culture of Armenia, being proud to be Armenian.
From an early age, I was constantly listening and talking about Armenia, and it is because of this that despite the fact that my education was also in Arabic and French, I always thought in Armenian. I was always attracted to Armenia, although I had never been there. Being Armenian was a great honor for me and at the same time a great responsibility.
Yesterday I had the opportunity to communicate with a Russian repatriate. He had been to different countries and was fascinated by how Armenians living in the Middle East are proud of their origins, how responsibly they approach their history and traditions. According to him, Armenians living in Europe and America do not have that responsibility. Interesting, isn't it? Spiritual connection aside, what made you move to Armenia?
I must say that I saw the same thing. In Lebanon, we consider ourselves Lebanese-Armenian, we always emphasize our origin. And for example, people in France consider themselves French, not even just French citizens, but French. No one asks where you're from. People around you also perceive you as French. it's a very different culture. As for me moving, it's kind of like fate. I thought that if I stayed abroad, the probability of meeting foreigners was higher, and it was also more likely that I would also start a family with a representative of a foreign nation, which meant that my whole future life could be arranged differently. I decided to apply to "Depi Hayk" organization, spent a whole year in Armenia and simply fell in love with our country. The day I arrived was the beginning of something completely new, different from anything that had come before it. I was full of energy, like a new person. All those feelings were still not enough for me to decide to permanently settle in Armenia, but on the other hand, I had finished my studies, quit my job and bought a one-way ticket to Armenia at the urging of "Depi Hayk". I originally planned to stay for about ten months, but during that time so many opportunities opened up that I started thinking about my future. What was supposed to be just an interesting trip turned out to be the foundation of my entire life.
Can you tell us about working with Depi Hayk? How was the first month? How was the last month? What prompted you to settle in Armenia, what were the opportunities you mentioned? Is the decision to stay in Armenia a sudden decision, or did it take time to realize it?
When I came to Armenia, my emotions choked me, I can't even explain what happened. I met new people, Diaspora Armenians, I was hosted by an Armenian family, with whom I spent a lot of time... It was a very exciting time. Exciting and fulfilling, one after the other new feelings, new impressions... I knew that I could have decided to stay in Armenia from the very beginning, although, of course, I had doubts. I didn't know what to do, it was a period when I lived between Lebanon and Armenia. My parents kept asking me what I decided, and I asked them to give me more time. When my volunteering period was coming to an end, I became interested in graduate programs. At that time, a new program was opened at the American University, which interested me very much: Data Science, and I decided that it was a sign. It was the right time to make a choice.
How did you end up at Ameriabank? What did Ameriabank give you? What are you doing now?
I ran a course on data mining at Girls in Tech NGO. What is very good in Armenia is that you can find contact points with people very easily. I published my personal data for the course, after which they called me and said that they were very interested in my data. Then I was invited to an interview, which took place in a very pleasant and direct atmosphere. Now I am a project manager, as a team we are developing a new chatbot, a language development system that works in Armenian. Our core strategy is built around the Agile method and big data. Our work is similar to a startup: we work with machine learning specialists, Full-Stack programmers... By the way, I had no intention of working in a bank from the beginning, because my education is technical. But now I understand that I made the right choice, because Ameriabank is developing in a digital direction. When I got to know Artyom (Artyom Shamtsyan, Director of Innovation and Digitization of Ameriabank), I really liked him as a person, as a person. I was very impressed with his experience, as well as the experience and knowledge of my future teammates. Doesn't it matter who you work with? The working atmosphere here is very encouraging. from the first day I felt like a part of the team due to the warm and sincere attitude of my colleagues. Working at Ameriabank has many advantages of professional growth and acquisition of new skills, flexible work schedule, opportunity to continuously improve the quality of your work, willingness to help in any matter. Plus, it only takes me 10 minutes to get to work.
I am happy at Ameriabank.
By the way, data science is considered the year 2019. one of the most modern and fashionable professions. Are there many female data science specialists in Armenia? In general, what is the job market like in this field?
Very good question. The course I taught was an introductory data mining course. One student was familiar with machine learning, the rest were beginners. Our classes were mostly preparatory. We were looking at models rather than individual tools because tools are constantly changing. If you are familiar with the models, you can easily change tools. As for the question of how many data science specialists there are in Armenia, I don't know if I can call my students that, because it was just the beginning. I must say they had very impressive resumes, there were 3 aero engineers in the group and girls with quality education. Some wanted to change fields, others were already studying mathematics. I must say that all the girls were extremely demanding of themselves, they always looked for the culprit of failure in themselves. For the same reason, they could easily abandon the work they had started. I kept trying to explain that disappointment is normal, that you don't have to give up because of it, convinced them that they can do what they set out to do, encouraged them to keep trying. We still keep in touch. In any case, data science is a completely new field, and it takes years to acquire knowledge and experience.
How do you see the future of Armenia's IT industry? How can it contribute to the development of marzes?
I am very happy that Armenia has become a developing IT center, but we still have a problem with professional personnel. This is very good for professionals living abroad and wanting to work in Armenia. I'm not saying that everyone should move to Armenia, but it would be good to have exchange programs. Right now we have a volunteer who came to us through the Depi Hike program, who works in the Innovation Center. He already has a lot of experience, his contribution to the team is hard to overestimate. Now that there is Internet, many things have become easier, people can work while physically being in other cities - Gyumri and elsewhere. I personally know an IT company with more than 20 employees working remotely from Gyumri. I think this is a mindset issue. If we all say in unison: "We can do this", training and finding specialists is a matter of several months. The revolution helped to change people's thinking, people began to aspire to greater things. If we all do our best, we can overcome any obstacle.
Source: www.repatarmenia.org