On October 11, 2014 in Dilijan, Armenia an official opening ceremony of UWC Dilijan College took place.
“We are not going to compete with anybody in exploiting natural resources and our own lithosphere. The irreparable exhaustion of the lithosphere is not an endless process, and its opportunities are limited. We have chosen another path: we are going to develop our human capital by making use of all the creative opportunities of mankind. The learning fervor, creative talent and business success of Armenians have always enraptured people all over the world. And if any natural resource is to be inevitably exhausted, this quality of humanity is not subjected to such risk.
Yes, we present ourselves to the world not through oil, gas and caviar, but through the Matenadaran, the Tumo Centers, Dilijan International School and our achievements in the IT sphere. And that is the reason that the future will be ours. We will feel more confident in the future.” – Serzh Sargsyan
Dilijan International School has a very good team of serious professionals from different countries. Already in its first year the school was able to enroll 96 students from nearly 50 countries.
The opening ceremony was attended by President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, President of the Artsakh Republic Bako Sahakyan, President of Serbia Tomislav Nikolic, who was in Armenia with an official visit, the Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II, the founding partners of the school, as well as donors and special guests. Greetings to UWC Dilijan College in the form of a video message sent His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, who headed the movement of UWC for 17 years, as well, a famous tennis player and philanthropist Andre Agassi.
“Talented and creative people are the main asset and precondition for the competitiveness of any country, and so education, including pre-university education, is among our paramount activities. The opening of UWC Dilijan College, made possible through the support of the Founding Patrons, demonstrates the potential and transformative character of investments in the social sphere”, said Ruben Vardanyan, Chairman of the Board of Founding Patrons and Co-Founder of RVVZ Foundation.
By 2023 UWC Dilijan College will reach its designed capacity, where total number of students will be 650, and number of teachers will exceed 60 (currently – 25). Teaching is in English under the IB (International Baccalaureate) Diploma Programme, recognized by the world’s leading universities. In 2017 admission of students aged 13-14 years for the IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education program) is set to begin.
The school graduates will receive the IB diploma, corresponding to the highest standard of education. The International Baccalaureate is an attempt to introduce a high standard of universal education, which does not depend on a specific country.