She attended the conference as an external evaluator and expert of the EMPOWER project. The project was coordinated by Central Asian University (Tashkent) and implemented over a three-year period, from 2023 to 2026. The consortium included three additional universities from Uzbekistan, as well as European partners from Germany and Bulgaria.
The EMPOWER project aimed to develop women's entrepreneurial skills, promote gender equality, and increase women's employment opportunities in Uzbekistan.
The project's mission was to equip women in Uzbekistan with the necessary knowledge, financial literacy, and self-confidence to become economically independent, successful entrepreneurs and leaders, thereby contributing to the overall strengthening of the country's economy.
Among the project's key achievements were the development of six educational modules, the launch of a digital platform, the presentation of success stories of women entrepreneurs, the successful implementation of pilot training courses at universities where female students account for more than 80% of the student population, and the organization of large-scale workshops and conferences attended by hundreds of students and experts.
Theresa Khechoyan reviewed and analyzed the work carried out by the consortium over the three-year project period and presented a comprehensive final evaluation report.
Currently, efforts are underway to prepare a new project proposal focused on promoting women's entrepreneurship, involving Armenian and Uzbek universities. The proposal is intended for submission to the upcoming call for proposals under the Erasmus+ Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE) interregional cooperation programme.