Tigran Shmis is a Senior Education Specialist at the Vienna office of the World Bank and covers the education programs in Western Balkans and Central Asia. He has the extensive educational experience, having earned a specialist degree in computer sciences and economics, a PhD in educational ICTs from the Russian Academy of Education, and a Master's degree in Management in Education and Educational Policy from the University of Manchester. Tigran has worked on various educational projects in Albania, Armenia, Belarus, Guyana, Kosovo, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Peru, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan. His most recent projects are Belarus Education Modernization Project, the Tajikistan LEARN project, India’s Gujarat GOAL and Nagaland’s NECTAR projects, and Kosovo Early Childhood Care and Education project. During the COVID-19 crisis, Tigran contributed to the data gathering and response strategies to this crisis and led a few initiatives in response to and recovery from COVID-19. Tigran's areas of research and professional interests include innovative learning environments, Early Childhood Development, international assessment work, and COVID-19 response.