Education/News/April 2026/University Students’ Mandatory Internships at Wikimedia Armenia

University Students’ Mandatory Internships at Wikimedia Armenia

Summary: Between February and the end of March 2026, Wikimedia Armenia organized mandatory internships for 114 students from Brusov State University and the Ijevan Branch of Yerevan State University. Through trainings held both in person and online, students learned about Wikipedia’s principles, editing rules, and technical tools for contributing to Armenian Wikipedia. During their internships, participants translated articles from several language editions of Wikipedia, including English, Chinese, Korean, French, and Russian, while some also created and improved articles using Armenian online and printed sources. In total, the students created or improved 458 articles and contributed more than 18.8 million bytes to Armenian Wikipedia. Additional internships with part-time students are continuing through late April.

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Since its foundation, Wikimedia Armenia has actively collaborated with educational institutions to promote free knowledge and digital literacy. In 2019, the organization launched a mandatory internship programme for students of Brusov State University, creating an opportunity for young people to contribute to Wikimedia projects by applying their language skills and academic knowledge in practice.

In seven years, the programme had expanded significantly including three-four universities and hundreds of students.

This year, between February and the end of March, Wikimedia Armenia worked with 114 students from two universities, helping them develop Wikipedia editing skills while enriching Armenian Wikipedia with high-quality content.

Brusov State University

Students of Brusov State University began their internships on 9 February and completed them in late March. A total of 68 students from the Faculties of Translation and Intercultural Communication, as well as Russian and Foreign Languages, attended two-hour training sessions twice a week at Wikimedia Armenia’s office.

During the programme, students learned how to edit Armenian Wikipedia and gained practical experience in creating encyclopedic content. Using their language expertise, they translated articles from English, Chinese, and Korean Wikipedias, creating 183 new articles and contributing a total of 11,391,300 bytes to Armenian Wikipedia.

YSU Ijevan Branch

Students from the Ijevan Branch of Yerevan State University also began their internships on 9 February. Wikimedia Armenia staff organized two online introductory training sessions covering Wikipedia’s principles, policies, Five Pillars, and editing tools.

Following these sessions, students continued receiving support through the WikiClub operating at the university branch. Until late March, 46 students from the Departments of Armenian History and Social Sciences, Armenian Language and Literature, and Foreign Languages translated articles from English, French, and Russian Wikipedias. Some participants also created and improved articles using Armenian online and printed sources.

In total, the students created and improved 275 articles, contributing 7,413,083 bytes to Armenian Wikipedia.

Continuation

At the end of March, part-time students from the Department of Armenian History and Social Sciences of the YSU Ijevan branch also began their internships. Their program will continue until late April, further strengthening the successful partnership between Wikimedia Armenia and higher education institutions.

Through these internships, Wikimedia Armenia continues to empower students with valuable digital and research skills while expanding the availability of free knowledge in Armenian.