Global Co-op programs are unparalleled international career opportunities for university students to work on the front line in diverse cultures addressing the challenges of today’s complex society. Thanks to AVC’s collaboration with Northeastern University (NU) in Boston, MA, Armenia is a global co-op education destination for students to gain valuable international work experience while immersing in Armenia’s culture and history.
In 2019, AVC hosted three NU Global Co-op program participants who are pursuing hands-on experiences in their chosen fields. Lauren Enright (22, USA) was completing a double major in Behavioral Neuroscience and Health Science. For her Co-op, Lauren worked at UNDP Armenia, supporting different projects within the ImpactAim program, the first impact venture accelerator in Armenia designed to leverage the unique global network and expertise of UNDP and scale up the impact of ventures to target SDGs. She also helped the Women’s Support Center with its study on the effects of domestic violence on children.
Journalism and Photography major Sofia Bergmann (21, USA) believes journalism is the best way to explore her dream of telling impactful stories from around the world, showing readers different global perspectives. Sofia joined the EVN Report as writer and photographer and she has already completed two in-depth articles for EVN.
Konstantin Koenig (24, Germany) was completing two Bachelor’s degrees at NU, one in Business Administration – Entrepreneurship & Supply Chain Management; and the second one in Psychology. In Yerevan, he shared his experience in finance and his creative energy with incubators and accelerators at ANEL and AUA’s EPIC Center while also finding time to pursue numerous side-projects.
Busy work schedules notwithstanding, Lauren, Sofia, and Konstantin all studied Armenian, enjoying weekly excursions around the country and immersing into life in Armenia. After her first article was published, Sofia unequivocally stated: “I’m doing work here I would never be able to do back home.” Previous NU co-op participants have had hands-on experiences as part of the film production crew of Armenia’s most popular TV show Janapar, done data analysis, research, scriptwriting, and shadowed a cardiologist and emergency room, nurse.
