Hayk Mkrtchyan

Biography

From 2001 – 2005 Hayk studied at the Armenian State Pedagogical University, in the Faculty of Culture, Department of Museum Studies and Monuments Preservation. After graduating he qualified as a museologist and guide and began working at the History Museum of Yerevan as a senior researcher and briefly as Deputy Director of Finances.

From 2011-2014, Hayk moved into the position of Senior Researcher at the Memorial Museum of Avetik lsahakyan, which was his role during his attendance of the ITP summer programme. After returning from ITP to his hometown Hayk has moved to newly established Museum Education Centre in Armenia funded by German Adult Education Association country office in Armenia. Being a project coordinator for more than 4 years Hayk has been coordinating several capacity building programs including an exchange program to museums in Berlin in July-August 2017.

From 2013-16 Hayk has been a Board Member of the International Committee for Marketing and PR (ICOM MPR). Hayk has been a Coordinator for ICOM MPR Annual International conference “Emerging Trends: Technology, Millennials, Controversy” in Yerevan in 2015.  From 2016 to 2019 Hayk served as a Secretary for ICOM International Committee for Marketing and PR.

On top of his duties as Director of the Association of Museum Workers and Friends, Hayk has worked an assistant to the Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport (MoESCS) of Armenia. During his time (2019-2021) in the MoESCS Hayk represented the Republic of Armenia in the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe as a Country Representative.

In 2023, Hayk has been awarded the Degree of Master of Business Administration (Executive MBA) of the University of Sheffield in General Management with Merit. His Master Thesis is about Change Management in Museums.

From 2021 onward Hayk is Chairing ICOM National Committee for Armenian Museums. Currently, Hayk leads 2 museum related projects aimed at development of inclusion and disaster risk preparedness in Museums across Armenia.

Currently, Hayk works with Green Rock Management Group which is a global developer that delivers large-scale territorial development projects in Armenia. By shaping the ecosystems of the future. Green Rock advocates for environmental transformation, the development of cities and regions, and the creation of opportunities in education, business, work, tourism, and recreation.

At the British Museum

During his time on the International Training Programme in 2014, Hayk was based in the Middle East department and his partner placement was spent at Glasgow Museums.

During his time as a Senior Fellow for the program Hayk was based in the Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan.

Hayk’s place on the programme was generously supported by the Aall Foundation.

Legacy Projects

In November 2015 Hayk attended the ITP Mumbai Workshop Creating Museums of World Stories. The workshop was held at CSMVS and was attended by many ITP fellows from different years and countries, UK partners and British Museum Colleagues.  At this conference Hayk began discussions with colleagues from Manchester Art Gallery, on hosting an education conference and workshop in Yerevan Armenia.

In October 2016 Hayk, with the help of Marine Mkrtchyan (Armenia, ITP 2014) and Davit Poghosyan (Armenia, ITP 2015) hosted “Learning, Engagement and Museums”, a four-day conference and workshop held at Cafesjian Centre for the Arts in Yerevan Armenia. The event was attended by 19 Armenian museum educators from 18 institutions, UK partner museum educators from Glasgow Museums, Manchester Art Gallery and The Collections and ITP fellow museum educators from Egypt, India, Lebanon, and Turkey.

Hayk returned to the British Museum in 2017 in the role of Senior Fellow. He supported the ITP team in the build up to, during and after the 2018 Summer Programme, attended by 25 museum professionals from 18 countries. In this position, Hayk also took on the role of guest editor of the 2018 ITP newsletter.

With support from the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport and the British Museum’s International Training Program Hayk organized a workshop on “Museum leadership and management” which was held in Armenia in 2019 in partnership with the Association of Museum Workers and Friends of Armenia and delivered by Janet Vitmayer, former Chief Executive, Horniman Museum and Gardens and Iain Watson, Director, Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums.

In 2021 Hayk was awarded an at ITP Research Grant to support his studies on Strategic Brand Management in Museums as part of his Executive MBA within the International Faculty at Sheffield University.

Hayk is also a member of the ITP Advisory Board.

ITP Newsletter Publications
ITP Newsletter Issue 5 (2018), Learning, engagement, and museums
ITP Newsletter Issue 5 (2018), Bulletin Board
ITP Newsletter Issue 5 (2018), The ITP in Armenia: The power of collaboration