Quantum College
The International Relations of Quantum College
During the years of its existence Quantum has had many visitors from different educational institutions, different IT development organizations, International corporations who were here to either introduce their own projects or to help us in the development of our own ones or see our experience in some field. With a very great success Quantum has been working with the Canadian LOGO COMPUTER SYSTEMS INC. thanks to which today we have the LOGO MicroWorlds EX Computer 
Educational Environment translated and localized ready for being implemented in the schools of Armenia and in the Armenian schools of Diaspora. Quantum is in very close and good relations with different Armenian schools in the USA, Lebanon etc, IB schools in Russia, Poland, Georgia, Estonia, Romania, Sweden, the USA etc. Student and teacher exchange programmes have become common things in the practice of our College. Our students actively participate in the IREX FLEX programme, take part in the summer schools in the UK, Germany etc. Some of our teachers have been the finalists of the IREX TEA (Teaching Excellence Achievements) programme and went to the USA to have professional development workshops. 
Our visits of the leading schools in countries such as Georgia, Russia, England, the USA, Italy help us to make new friends and to share the successful experience in the field of teaching. We cooperate with the University of Rome and the University of Nebraska, Lincoln beginning from 2010. We very actively work with Lincoln High East school and Northern Star, Lincoln, which is a very beneficial cooperation for both sides. In 2010, June 26-August 9 we had two very high qualified professionals (Timothy Bayne and Mike Musil) from those schools to work with our teachers and students. This kind of experience exchange projects are planned to be made good traditions. Our students are pen-pals with the US school students sharing the knowledge on cultures and IT filed. In 2010, October- November we had Ana Gil-Garcia (Northeastern Illinois University, Tenure Professor) visit our college and have a ten-session training course on “Doing Research and Teaching with new methods”. Today Quantum works with the Polish IB school “European college” on a project of student exchange programme, which will be mainly for developing community service project writing skills. Quantum college is the first and the only school from Armenia that participates in the programme “OneWorld Classroom” thanks to which we have a chance to introduce our Armenian culture in more than 100 countries and to have those countries introduced here through the pictures, drawings and photo exhibitions sent to and from the head office which is in Boston and which coordinates this exchange.
Our teachers take part in international conferences, workshops and trainings. Only during the year of 2010-2011, 11 teachers were send to the UK and Italy to participate in the teacher training workshops organized and held by the world famous IBICUS company which has a leading role in the provision of a highly quality teacher trainings. Quantum College is a member of Mediterranean Institute of Fundamental Physics (MIFP – founded in 2010, June) which is registered in Brussels and is an organization which is a forum of researchers working in different fields of physics, a tool for advertising, information exchange etc. Quantum college has made a lot of friends thanks to the international summer schools organized in the camp area in Aghavnadzor (such as the one in Yurga- 2002, 2006 – International school on Informatics, etc.). 
Surely, the scientific connections of the college founders have had a huge impact on the development of the international connections of the college itself. The results of the old personal connections in the scientific world are still seen. As an example can be mentioned two of the most impressive conferences organized thanks to them: 1. The conference organized with the help of the “East-East project” of OCSI, Armenia – 2003, when 11 countries were introduced in it. 2. In September, 2010 the Second international school on Nano-photonics and Photovoltaics was organized in cooperation with the Mediterranean Institute of Fundamental Physics, Rome. 83 participants from 12 countries took part in it. A lot of very famous scientists and professors introduced their works not only to the participants of the conference but some also came to Quantum College to have lectures for our students. |
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Quantum College has paid great attention to the development of international connections just from the first day it was founded. Today it has a huge army of friends from different countries who we had a chance to work with at various times.
We are proud of the fact that we have had a chance to have guests who came here not just for seeing and leaving but became initiators of great ideas which later on led Quantum to a new way with new opportunities and new achievements.
Quantum also has very good connections with CESO Canadian organization. They have volunteers, who are professionals in their fields, and with their help they try to have a positive impact on the world. Quantum College has had several projects with this organization so far. With the help of this project we had Fred Speckeen, coming twice (helping with the administrative organizational questions, advising on the process of being involved into the IB system), Barbara Old, who helped in the creation of the electronic material of the English language doing some of the recordings, Yvette Ghattas, who came to help and advice on how to organize the fundraising process. 