Azat Harutyunyan

EPIC - Entrepreneurship and Product Innovation Center

The Entrepreneurship and Product Innovation Center at AUA is a platform for promoting entrepreneurial education, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and start-up venture incubation. EPIC aims to develop knowledgeable, efficient, and experienced entrepreneurs to address the needs of Armenia and the world beyond. EPIC provides an ecosystem for AUA's emerging entrepreneurs, consisting of first-class facilities and collaborative workspaces, programs and events, and a network of mentors, advisors, and investors. Teams made up of AUA students and outside entrepreneurs compete to enter EPIC where they receive further entrepreneurial incubation, education, mentorship, and other resources to grow and advance their start-ups. EPIC also sponsors lectures, start-up conferences, hackathons, and maintains a sophisticated prototyping laboratory in the basement of AUA's main building. The mission of EPIC is to foster the understanding and application of entrepreneurship with students and faculty at AUA to craft high-impact multidisciplinary ventures. The Center was funded by the USAID's Office of American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA) and by an AUA benefactor, Ms. Sara Chitjian who has generously established an endowment for EPIC.