On April 23, 2025, Yerevan Gladzor University was represented at the IV International Conference "Metaprofessional Competencies as Dimensions of International and Intercultural Communication in the Global Professional Environment." The conference addressed the theme of metaprofessional skills as tools for effective international and intercultural communication within the global professional context. At the initiative of the Chair of Languages of Yerevan Gladzor University (YGU), students from the undergraduate programs in International Relations and Law, as well as faculty members of the Chair of Languages of Yerevan Gladzor University took part in the international academic conference.
The conference was organized by the Chair of Foreign Languages N. 1 and the Higher School of Social Sciences and Humanities of Plekhanov Russian University of Economics (PRUE). Two expert speakers were invited: Lilit Sahakyan, Ph.D. in Philology, Associate Professor, Head of the Chair of Languages, YGU and Dr. Natalia Fritzler, lecturer at Ruhr University Bochum, Ruhr West University of Applied Sciences (Mülheim), and the University of Duisburg-Essen (Dortmund).
Following the opening remarks by the host institution, Dr. Lilit Sahakyan, as an invited guest speaker, delivered a speech on “Beyond Domain-Specific Expertise: Metaprofessional Competencies in ESP in EMI Contexts for Effective International and Intercultural Communication.” In her speech, she presented models of teaching English for Specific Purposes (ESP), addressed the challenges of working in English Medium Instruction (EMI) contexts, as well as outlined strategic steps for developing metaprofessional skills essential for international communication.
YGU student-participants included undergraduate junior and senior students majoring in International Relations and MA students majoring in Law, as well as K. Baghdasaryan, a lecturer at the Chair of Languages, and M. Harutyunyan, the Chair’s laboratory assistant. The host institution’s local and international students delivered research presentations, highlighting the significance of metaprofessional and intercultural competencies in contemporary professional contexts, illustrated by case studies with special reference to the academic settings of Russia, Germany, China, Japan, and Vietnam.