Tsolin Nalbantian

Tsolin Nalbantian is a University Lecturer at the Leiden University Institute for Area Studies.

• Name: Tsolin Nalbantian
• Position: University lecturer
• Education: Middle Eastern Studies
• Member of Leiden Teachers’ Academy since 2021
• Theme: Academic skills

Project: Making Education ‘Public’: How to Transfer Research and Academic Skills to the Digital Domain”

How can students engage in participatory learning and gain research, writing, and digital skills that translate their findings to the larger public, making their training more societally relevant? By integrating Wikipedia, the world’s premier open-access encyclopedia, into the training of Leiden University BA and (Res)MA students interested in the Middle East, my project links university education with society. Students acquire research, writing, and digital skills to make their knowledge immediately accessible to the public, impacting society and making student education more dynamic. Wikipedia is an ideal tool to influence society and train students. Its writing style requires students to consult a wide range of primary and secondary sources and convert that knowledge into a more approachable article that will be read by the general public.