VU Congratulates Students Awarded Karapet Babajan Foundation Scholarships
On June 18, two students who received the Karapet Babajan Foundation scholarships this year were honored at Vilnius University (VU). The scholarships were awarded for their academic work in the field of Armenology.
A €2,000 scholarship was awarded to Povilas Stanis, a fourth-year undergraduate student of History at the VU Faculty of History, while a €1,000 scholarship was granted to Elijus Bačiauskas, a fourth-year student of Sinology at the VU Faculty of Philosophy.
During the VU and Karapet Babajan Charity and Support Foundation event “Dialogue of Cultures: Research Inspired by Karapet Babajan Foundation Scholarships”, the 2024 scholarship recipients presented their work. Recognition was given to Linas Tavaras, a first-year Master’s student in Contemporary Asian Studies at the VU Faculty of Philosophy, and Rūta Ribikauskaitė, a second-year Bachelor’s student in Molecular Biology at the VU Life Sciences Center. Both students were awarded €1,200 scholarships.
A €600 scholarship was awarded to Milda Drejerytė, a first-year Master’s student in International Relations and Diplomacy at the VU Institute of International Relations and Political Science.
The event was attended by VU Vice-Rector for Partnerships Dr. Artūras Vasiliauskas, Director of the Karapet Babajan Charity and Support Foundation Dr. Karapet Babajan, Armenian Ambassador to Lithuania Ara Margarian, and Member of the Seimas and Chair of the Interparliamentary Relations Group with the Republic of Armenia Ingrida Braziulienė.
During the event, Armenian-language musical pieces were performed by M. Drejerytė – one of last year’s scholarship recipients – and pianist Vardan Gjodakjan.
The goal of the scholarships established in 2024 is to encourage Lithuanian youth to take an interest in Armenian culture, history, language, religion, politics, and relations with Lithuania. The founder of the scholarships – Honorary Consul of Armenia in Lithuania Dr. K. Babajan – has lived in Lithuania since his youth and has always dreamed of strengthening cooperation between Lithuania and Armenia. According to him, Armenology studies are widespread in Europe and the United States.
All VU students, regardless of their study program, level, or year of study, are eligible to apply for the scholarship, provided they plan to prepare an academic paper on an Armenology-related topic in Lithuanian within one year of submitting the application. Applicants must have no academic debts and a grade point average of no less than 7 in the past year.
