The official opening ceremony of the international boarding school UWC Dilijan College in Armenia was held on October 11, 2014. RD Group acted as co-investor, general designer and general contractor for the project.
The opening ceremony of UWC Dilijan College was attended by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Bako Sahakyan, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić, Catholicos Karekin II, the school’s founders and partners as well as nearly 1000 guests, many of which are donors to this educational project.
AWARDS AND CONGRATULATIONS
Congratulatory greetings were sent to UWC Dilijan College in the form of video messages from HRH Charles, Prince of Wales, who for 17 years served as the head of the UWC movement, and the renowned tennis player and philanthropist Andre Agassi.
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan presented General Director of RD Group Oleg Zhukov with the Order of Friendship of the Republic of Armenia, and Project Manager for the UWC Dilijan College project Dmitry Letov was presented with the Medal of Appreciation of the Republic of Armenia. In early September President Serzh Sargsyan awarded Gagik Adibekyan, Chairman of the Board of RD Group, with the Order of Honor for establishment, reinforcement and development of friendship with Armenia.
WORLD-CLASS SCHOOL
UWC Dilijan College is the first world-class school in Eastern Europe and CIS to become part of the UWC network (United World Colleges). Today the first phase of the international boarding school (37,000 square meters) is now in operation, with 96 students 16 to 18 years of age from nearly 50 countries attending. Construction of the second phase (32,000 square meters) will be fully completed by RD Group in 2017. By 2023 the total number of students enrolled at UWC Dilijan College will reach 650 and the school will have more than 60 teachers.
RD GROUP’S ROLE
RD Group performed three key roles in the project to develop the international boarding UWC Dilijan College: the asset management company RD became a co-investor in the project; the construction work was carried out by RD Group; and RD Management will fulfill the facility management role for the educational complex.
WHAT IS UWC DILIJAN COLLEGE
The international boarding school UWC Dilijan College in Armenia is a philanthropy project initiated and founded by the well-known businessman and philanthropist Ruben Vardanyan together with his wife Veronika Zonabend. The construction of the school is being supported by the government of Armenia and personally by President Serzh Sargsyan. UWC Dilijan College was built according to the designs of a leading London architecture bureau – Tim Flynn Architects.