Hovhannes Dashtoyan (MBA ’25): A Journey of Innovation and Continuous Learning
Participant in the 2020 44-Day War
Recipient of the Henry Sahakian Memorial Endowed Scholarship;
Rafi and Edna Ghazarian Endowed Scholarship;
and the Harry Bronozian Endowed Scholarship
Hovhannes Dashtoyan (MBA ’25) earned his bachelor’s degree in the field of electronics and microelectronics at the National Polytechnic University of Armenia. Later, he completed his first master’s degree in psychology, second master’s degree in the field of electronic means, and a Ph.D. in electronics and micro- and nanoelectronics. Currently, he is a first-year student in the Master of Business Administration program at AUA. With a strong background in engineering and medical devices, Dashtoyan works in various clinics, contributing his knowledge and expertise in gait analysis and intraoperative neuromonitoring. He also works as a technical writer for ClinChoice, a contract research organization offering high quality solutions to pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and other companies. In 2023, Dashtoyan and his team won the Michael Agbabian EPIC Innovator Award for their startup, gAIt Hub, at AUA’s Entrepreneurship and Product Innovation Center (EPIC).
“I always push myself to learn something new and achieve new milestones. After volunteering in the 44-Day War, I noticed many gaps in our country, specifically in the organizational and managerial fields. The MBA program at AUA seemed like the perfect environment to learn these skills and grow,” recalled Dashtoyan. During his studies at AUA, Dashtoyan applied to EPIC with a startup idea. Together with his team, he worked on developing this concept, which was inspired by his work experience at Wigmore Clinic’s Gait Analysis Laboratory.
“The lab requires lots of manual work, which is time consuming and poses a risk of human error,” explained Dashtoyan. “To ease this process, we thought of producing a foundation of data as background to understand similarities in gait disorder and interpret these graphics automatically. We designed the idea with our doctors at the Wigmore Clinic. This startup is still in the idea stage, because it requires resources, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, as well as the participation of doctors who are willing to share their knowledge in this field.” Being part of EPIC and winning the Michael Agbabian EPIC Innovator Award helped the team further flesh out their idea and set goals for fundraising and expanding their team, specialized in science and technology.
Dashtoyan is a recipient of multiple scholarships. Given his busy schedule and new family, the tuition cost was a challenge for him. In 2023, he had the chance to meet one of his scholarship donors, an insightful experience which gave him a new connection and perspective. “Meeting with Rafi Ghazarian was very exciting,” said Dashtoyan. “He took interest in our startup and encouraged me at the time to develop it. We discussed the future of Armenia and my participation in the 44-Day War. I was honored that he dedicated time to meet me. It was a unique experience, which cannot be found in other universities of Armenia.”
Every decision, goal, and achievement has a special purpose. Dashtoyan’s purpose is simple: to make a lasting impact on Armenia. He believes that every Armenian’s priority should be the development of the country, whether its economy, culture, education, or military. With his passion and hard work in the field of healthcare, he hopes to bring Armenia to international standards in this sector. “The future of Armenia is an essential question for me. I had many opportunities to live abroad, but I decided to remain in my homeland. I am happy that I found my wife, who shares the same values. She also volunteered during the 44-Day War as a doctor. We can always find strength in each other in these difficult times and encourage each other to move forward,” Dashtoyan concluded.