IT kids. Hovhannes Vardanyan

It’s a proved fact that love for technologies begins in childhood. Today students go to school with smartphones and do their homework on tablets.

There are many teenagers in Armenia now, who not only use smartphones and tablets but also try to create something on their own - a game, an app or a program.

Itel.am continues its series, presenting Armenian teenagers who’ve been interested in technologies since early childhood and create products in this industry.

15-year-old Hovhannes Vardanyan studies at TUMO Center. He participated in creation of Zanazan mobile application designed for iOS devices, which will be available in the near future.


Hovhannes Vardanyan

The essence of the game resembles the well-known “broken telephone” game. The minimal number of players is 3. The first player draws something, the second looks at the drawing and tries to guess what it shows. The third player doesn’t see the first player’s drawing, but sees instead what the second player guessed, and tries to draw that. In the end you have a series of drawings, which shows the evolution of the same object drawn by 3 different people.

I feel comfortable with technologies

I got more involved in this sphere when I realized I was doing better at exact sciences. I feel comfortable with technologies. I will graduate from physics and mathematics school. We specialize in informatics too, learn about the construction of computers. By the way, 3 of my school friends took part in the presentation of Zanazan.

Hovhannes Vardanyan

Programming is the fastest developing profession now.

I’ve been in this industry for several years, and if nothing changes, I will stay in IT. I don’t know yet where I will study later, I still have 3 years to make a choice.

Programming is a mindset

You need to have an above average level in maths at school if you want to be a good programmer. You have to be able to learn on your own, as someone can teach you the basics but self-development is what makes a good specialist. You should consistently refresh your knowledge and be in the sphere. Programming is a mindset. If you want to be a good specialist, you should think like a programmer in daily life too.


Hovhannes Vardanyan

As any person fond of technologies, I imagine myself working at Google or Microsoft in 10 years. We can’t know everything about the future, but I think the best option is to stay in Armenia and try to make our country a centre where people would want to come to, instead of leaving.

Blitz questions

- Would you prefer to play football in the street or a computer game at home?

- Definitely football in the street.

- Imagine computers and smartphones disappeared from the face of the Earth. What would you do?

- Go out in the street and play football (smiles - edit.).

- What would you spend your first million on?

- If I have enough money, I’ll buy a football club.

- A vacation in the Silicon Valley or on the Maldives?

- Maldives, I think.

- What famous IT person would you like to dine with?

- I’d invite Bill Gates, and we would eat something he ordered, I think he’d pick a good meal. I would ask him what he thought about a month before making his first operating system, what expectations he had and whether he could imagine what he would achieve.

Narine Daneghyan
Photos by Emin Aristakesyan