OREANDA-NEWS. June 15, 2009. Today, an open doors event was held at VivaCell-MTS Headquarters for a student delegation headed by Professor Jason-Paul Kazarian, the President of Gyumri Information Technology Center (GITC). This was a student driven initiative to get a broader view of telecom technology, economy and business of Armenia. Last month VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian was hosted at GITC, where he delivered a public presentation about the Company’s operation, core values and business strategy. Students from GITC embarked on a 1 day study tour to Yerevan in order to learn more about modern telecommunication technologies from the Armenia’s leading mobile operator.

The open doors event at VivaCell-MTS Headquarters for the students of Gyumri began by a walk through the Company’s Service Center, where the students were introduced to the concept of co-branding and customer care and its technology, including the innovative queuing system launched at the end of the last year. Then VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian introduced the students to the Company’s major centers of operation. The first site was Call Center, where the students got first-hand information about the newly-introduced and the most recent version of Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system, which makes it easy for subscribers to activate or deactivate a range of non-voice products and services such as GPRS/EDGE and high-speed mobile Internet. Then the General Manager guided the students to the Core Unit of the Technical Department, where the Switch Section is located – the center of network management. Here Ralph Yirikian presented VivaCell-MTS’ successful strategy of technical development of the network and the Value Added Services (VAS), provided by the Company. Students learned how mobile communication is set up, how the signal is transmitted and how connection is made between subscriber’s phone and base station. During the walk through Ralph Yirikian also presented the Company’s successful strategy of customer development. The final destination of the walk through the Company was Information Systems Department, where the students got acquainted with operation of the Billing Unit.

After the walk through, Yirikian invited the students for a meeting at ‘Zvartnots’ conference hall of the Company, and answered a variety of questions regarding 3G, broadband Internet, MMS, WAP and GPRS/EDGE technologies. The students got a feel of the marketing strategy at VivaCell-MTS.

The tour ended on a high note with a proposal to have student internship programs in the coming years between VivaCell-MTS and GITC. Ralph Yirikian addressed the students and their professors about need to further strengthen ties between the GITC and telecom industry: “Nowadays, mobile operators face increasing demand from consumers for data products and increased data rates. Mobile operators switch their focus to offering new and innovative services. Therefore, today’s universities should become more relevant to their role of contributors to society by fostering innovation. Students should be equipped with knowledge of modern technology and tools for the rapid development and deployment of value-added services on mobile networks”.

VivaCell-MTS is committed to share its experience with the students in order to truly broaden their educational horizons.

GITC was established in August 2005. The program offers a post graduate study to graduates from higher technical educational institutions with engineering and scientific backgrounds. The major focus of courses in the Center is IT-related subjects. The Research and Development Laboratories Center aim to grow the research potential of the Center and create a basis for sustainable operations in the future. The main focus of the Center is to develop the IT potential in rural areas, and major cities other than Yerevan, as a means to create job opportunities and utilize local human potential for growing economy.