About EPIC

About EPIC

The Entrepreneurship and Product Innovation Center at AUA is a platform for promoting entrepreneurial education, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and start-up venture incubation.  EPIC aims to develop knowledgeable, efficient, and experienced entrepreneurs to address the needs of Armenia and the world beyond.  EPIC provides an ecosystem for AUA’s emerging entrepreneurs, consisting of first-class facilities and collaborative workspaces, programs and events, and a network of mentors, advisors, and investors. Teams made up of AUA students and outside entrepreneurs compete to enter EPIC where they receive further entrepreneurial incubation, education, mentorship, and other resources to grow and advance their start-ups.  EPIC also sponsors lectures, start-up conferences, hackathons, and maintains a sophisticated prototyping laboratory in the basement of AUA’s main building.
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The mission of EPIC is to foster the understanding and application of entrepreneurship with students and faculty at AUA to craft high-impact multidisciplinary ventures.
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The Center was funded by the USAID’s Office of American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA) and by an AUA benefactor, Ms. Sara Chitjian who has generously established an endowment for EPIC.

Our Space

EPIC is housed in AUA’s main building in recently renovated state-of-the-art collaborative, administrative, and laboratory space.

Our offices are distributed over three floors and consist of designated workspaces for venture teams, open workspaces with hot-desks, a large event space, a community kitchen, various sized rooms for private meetings, and a sophisticated prototyping laboratory.

The prototyping laboratory is unique in Armenia and was designed to provide quick, easy and high-quality product prototypes.  The sophisticated instrumentation includes the revolutionary FARO EDGE 3D scanner considered one of the most advanced measuring arms ever introduced, being the only one in Armenia.  The laboratory also has multiple CNC Milling machines, 3D printers, and a highly versatile Vacuum Casting system.

 

Our Network

A vibrant community of business and technical mentors and advisors supports EPIC.  Faculty from AUA’s business, engineering and computer science programs form the core of EPIC’s in-house mentors – many of whom have started, managed, funded, and advised numerous start-up ventures in Armenia and abroad.  Many of our faculty provide domain and industry knowledge and expertise as well. EPIC maintains close ties to the large and diverse AUA alumni network, many of whom have committed to serve as mentors and advisors to our student groups or to share their worldwide contacts and business network.  AUA has a close-knit community of alumni and entrepreneurs.

Through AUA’s network of supporters worldwide, include the vibrant Armenian diaspora, student teams can rely on advisors around the globe to provide advice, mentorship, connections as well as legal, financial, and technical resources.

EPIC is closely connected to the blossoming entrepreneurial ecosystem in Armenia which provides opportunity for collaboration, sharing of ideas, experience and resources over multiple industries both technical and non-tech.

 

Our Events

EPIC hosts a plethora of events covering various aspects of the entrepreneurial landscape. Our events are designed to bring interactive learning and growth among our EPIC advisors, partners, and professional network.