Successful are those who know how to communicate “correctly”

“Media Advocate” initiative continues the series of interviews with the press secretaries and heads of the state agencies. This time our interlocutor is Siranush Gyurjinyan, the press secretary of the Minister of High-Tech Industry.
How many years have you worked in the Ministry of High-Tech Industry as a press secretary? What specialist are you, tell us a little bit about yourself. In general, does anyone need to have programming knowledge to be able to work here or not?

I have been working in the RA Ministry of High-Tech Industry since March, for almost 6 months. I joined the team at the beginning of one of the most crucial moments, during the Coronavirus outbreak.
I am an economist by profession, in the following years I have deepened my knowledge in the field of finance, I have certain qualifications. But, the most general profession, which I consider the real expression of my essence, is communication, marketing and public relations: I have been working in that field for 15 years now.
In my opinion, communication is everywhere, successful are those who know how to communicate “correctly”, clearly and concisely formulate the ideas and the goals.
Along with its importance, communication is not just a field, as it deals with people, that is no sectoral change has been an obstacle for me. I am and I have been involved in a lot of consulting activities, which breaks the stereotypes that, for example, it is necessary to have programming knowledge to ensure the external communication of the Minister coordinating the field of High-Tech Industry and the Ministry itself. Be sure, there is no such obstacle, furthermore, I am quite familiar with both programming and telecommunications.

Would you please tell us about the working process, how you coordinate the work with journalists, how many calls, inquiries or interview invitations you receive are during the day?

There are many inquiries from journalists during the day, we work as a team to ensure the information flows as operatively as it is possible. There are a lot of interview inquiries, but the response depends on many factors, which are not always possible to even raise.
We try to answer all inquiries as much as possible.
Our profession is similar to that of snipers, we also have no right to make mistakes, just unlike them, our weapon is the word, the formulations we provide or disseminate.

Have the changes taken place in the country changed the work of the ministry? In general, what positive or negative changes do you notice in the field of freedom of speech?

The changes that have taken place in the country have made the structures more open to the public, it really contributes to the correct understanding and comprehensive coverage of the ministry’s activities.

In January, you launched a successful 7-week course in San Francisco. Would you tell us a little about the results of that course, what was the purpose of it? What new courses have you initiated during this period?

The High-Tech Industry Ministry of the Republic of Armenia implements quite serious educational programs, including the study of entrepreneurship training and nuances in Silicon Valley within the framework of the Virtual Bridge program at Draper University.
2020 forced all of us to transform into new realities, to adapt and move forward. This happened with a number of programs of the ministry, which were transformed to meet the newly formed needs and requirements of the society.
The programming basics course, designed to move people from the affected areas to the high-tech field, is online and will involve at least 2.000 participants by the end of the year. Other programs, which were more in-depth courses, are implemented in 17 directions.

How did the coronavirus affect the activities of the ministry, how much did the trainings suffer, what new tactics did you adopt to work in parallel with Covid?

The whole ministry worked in parallel with the coronavirus, partly remotely, but the management team, keeping the safety rules, worked in the whole ministry.
This was a challenge for all of us, but I think we will all overcome this situation with dignity, as we have worked together in close cooperation with the staff, the industry and our partners.

They say that there are many job positions for programmers in Armenia. What would you say in this regard, in general, who, which age group is interested in programming?

The new reality of 2020 accelerated the evolution of the digital world for several times, which in turn contributed to the more active development of the industry. Programming is a way of thinking, whoever is able to develop those skills and qualities will be able to succeed. The state gives that opportunity to everyone who wants it.
Today, along with the growing pace of digitization, there is a growing demand for technology majors, as transformation, the use of digital tools, non-cash money and commodity turnover are driving online platforms to become essential sources of the public.
The upcoming developments will make sure that the demand for technological specialties will be much greater, since the dependence on these specialists and the services they provide will increase both in the economy field and in society.