AUA Signs Agreement with ServiceTitan

YEREVAN — On March 14, the American University of Armenia (AUA) signed a research collaboration agreement with ServiceTitan, the world’s leading and fastest-growing software technology company and the first Armenian-founded tech unicorn.

Within the scope of the agreement, AUA’s engineering students from the Akian College of Science and Engineering will conduct research for the company. The goal of the research is to develop novel algorithms based on machine learning and artificial intelligence to solve problems that are highly relevant in the industry.

In his opening remarks, AUA Interim President Dr. Armen Der Kiureghian underscored the importance of such collaborations, stating, “I cannot overstress the importance of having means to engage our students in doing work that is related to their studies and also relevant for the industry. It is very gratifying to have this kind of opportunity, and we are thankful to ServiceTitan for providing this opportunity to our students as well as our faculty.” Dr. Der Kiureghian also mentioned that President and Co-Founder of ServiceTitan Vahe Kuzoyan and his wife Ruzan Kuzoyan are among the 200 AUA Changemakers. Together with his co-founder Ara Mahdessian, Kuzoyan has also established the ServiceTitan Endowed Scholarship Fund at AUA to support the “Yes, Armenian Women Can” campaign. The scholarship currently has two recipients. The Kuzoyans are also supporters of the “Build a Better Future with AUA” capital campaign, and so are Mahdessian and his wife Katherine.

In his turn, the Managing Director of ServiceTitan Armenia Ashot Tonoyan expressed his enthusiasm for the project, remarking that the company is committed to supporting education and science in Armenia. “One of the gaps that stands out in Armenia is the availability of actual data and work on real industry problems. That is why we decided to partner with AUA to give youth the opportunity to work with real data and solve actual industry problems,” he remarked.

Then the floor was given to Arman Zakaryan (MSCIS ‘20; BSCS ‘18), AUA alumnus and data science engineering manager at ServiceTitan, who briefly introduced the project. AUA Data Science Program Chair Dr. Habet Madoyan introduced the project team which includes data science students Gagik Khalafyan (MSCIS ‘23), Hermine Grigoryan (MSCIS ‘23), and Celine Hovannesian (MSCIS ‘23) led by AUA adjunct lecturer Aram Butavyan.

The official part of the event was followed by an informal reception during which the attendees had a chance to network with one another and share ideas.