The Second Regional Astronomical Summer School aims at attracting beginner astronomers and related MSc and PhD students to the field of scientific research, teaching the principles of scientific work. Thanks to these, BAO plays a leading role in this region and offers opportunities for young people in the region to participate in high-level lectures and practical courses as there are not many opportunities for participating in European and American schools. Students in the region also have a wide range of opportunities to communicate, to make new acquaintances, which is very useful for their further advancement.

The Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory (BAO) is one of the main observational centers of the former Soviet Union and is an important observatory with modern facilities in the region. It was founded in 1946 by one of the greatest astrophysicists of the 20^th century V. A. Ambartsumian and is well known for its large spectroscopic surveys: First and Second Byurakan Surveys (FBS and SBS), undertaken by B. E. Markarian and his colleagues. BAO hosts a number of medium-size optical telescopes, the most important being the 2.6m classical telescope and 1m Schmidt telescope. BAO holds the Digitized First Byurakan Survey (DFBS, or the Digitized Markarian survey), containing low-dispersion spectra of ~20,000,000 objects, largest number in the world, which is the basis of the Armenian Virtual Observatory (ArVO), a member of the International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA).

BAO is famous for its Summer Schools. There is a series of Byurakan International Summer Schools (BISS) that started in 2006 and already 7 such schools have been organized in 2006, 2008, 2010 (combined with IAU International School for Young Astronomers, ISYA), 2012, 2016, 2018 and 2020. Another series of local Byurakan Summer Schools (BSS) is for the Yerevan State University (YSU) and other Armenian universities students. The Regional Schools are related to the IAU South West and Central Asian Regional Office of Astronomy for Development (SWCA ROAD) hosted by Armenia since 2015. We also organize conferences for young astronomers.