Values

In 2017, Russian-Armenian University turned 20 years old. It seems too short a time for a university to succeed. But considering today’s rapid pace of living we simply could not go slowly, we had to go through the development path as quickly and effectively as possible.
 
We have succeeded. The University has carved its own distinguished place in the Armenian university community; it is regarded as a reliable and priority partner for the leading universities and research centers worldwide. RAU has become an outstanding research, educational and cultural center with its signature outlook.
 
We take particular pride in our alumni. Once choosing RAU, they have made a decision of a lifetime, starting an eternally beautiful process of Personal Growth and development. Our community, our family of several thousand alumni, has been created and continues to live by the University’s values: 
 
 
ACADEMIC FREEDOM
 
Freedom is the highest value: Freedom of Spirit, Personal Freedom, Freedom to Think, Freedom to Choose, Freedom to Learn and Freedom to Create. Academic Freedom is the combination of them all, the symbiosis of the freedoms outlined above. No dogmas. No obligations to accept it. Freedom that leads to scientific Truth. Freedom that generates positive energy for a good cause. Freedom to create and invent. Freedom to build one’s future. Freedom that is restricted only by the highest responsibility for oneself, for the society, for the country, for the world, for the Universe. 
 
 
LOVE
 
We have built and continue to build our family based on the principle of Love for each other, for the Idea, for the country, for the Earth, for the Universe. This family is built due to Love and for the sake of Love. Caring for each other is of primeval importance for communities committed to creativity. One cannot build anything significant or precious without Love. One simply will not succeed. True love is the devotion of self. We oust jealousy, we oust disdain, we oust hypocrisy; we call for Love and we assert Love. We realize that we are not supreme in the Universe, but we are not last either - we are equal, but we are strong exactly because of our love for the Universe, for the Earth, for the country, for the Idea, for each other.
 
 
FAIRNESS
 
Fairness in society is a necessary condition for progress. Only a society that lives in an atmosphere of Fairness can be motivated towards innovation. Unfairness ruins institutional and human basis for innovation. The territory of Innovation is the territory of Justice. We stand for equal opportunity for everyone. Social inequality can serve as an incentive for development only on a Fair basis. We stand for advancement on the social ladder for those who are more educated, who work harder and more efficiently. We are against ignorance advancing on that ladder because of other reasons. Yet we stand for responsibility: the higher one stands in society, the higher the responsibility.    
 
 
SOLIDARITY
 
We need to learn how to be happy, how to set collective goals and reach them. Our primary goal is to build a Happy Society. It can be done only based on the principle of Solidarity. Being kind to each other, being ready to reach out a helping hand and to support each other, we believe makes a reassuring philosophy. Free people are the equal people. Free, equal people do not compete with each other, instead they complete each other. The only responsibility and benefit that we have towards one another is to support each other, and contribute to each other’s happiness. We can become bigger and better only through mutual support, only through contribution to each other’s happiness, while building a Happy Society.  
 
 
CREATIVITY
 
Creative work is what gives true Sense to life. Human purpose is to enrich the world with their creative energy. We stand for unlimited Creativity. No bending to the will of the more powerful. We stand for being, not seeming to be. Creativity acquires incredible strength when based on knowledge. True Creativity does not anticipate applause and does not follow it; it leads us to the places we have never been to. And thus, it fosters our personal growth. Creator is always kind, he has no time for trifling interests. His creative pursuits drive the universal human creative spirit. Ideally, the most beautiful instance of Creativity is Life itself.
 
 
DIGNITY
 
Human and their dignity is the highest value. It is the foundation of any positive act. It is the foundation of a Society’s Dignity, a Society that appreciates its civilizational values and is ready to share them with the world. Globalization cannot prevent a society from contributing its values to the world heritage. We stand for a high self-esteem, but we are also open to the culture and traditions of others, we respect them, we stand for the dialogue of Cultures. As equals. With Dignity. Without boasting. Without arrogance. With appreciation of one’s values.   
 
 
COGNITION AND PERSONAL GROWTH
 
Cognition is the most fascinating process in life. We fulfill our abilities through Cognition and so we grow. The process is infinite, and the mission of the university education is to give a start to this marvelous Infinity. Knowledge does not exist in its final form. If the learning process stops, knowledge dies. Knowledge needs to be constantly updated. There is a wonderful term ‘lifelong learning’, meaning learning all the way through life. That is the key to self-development. And the highest level of Cognition is self-cognition, which translates into Personal Growth.