UNeECC Annual Conference will take place at VMU Agriculture Academy: 5-7 October 2022. Save the date!

Photo: visit.kaunas.lt

With Kaunas becoming the European Capital of Culture in 2022, the role of universities in the development of the cultural and scientific program is extremely important. Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) became the new member of University Network of the European Capitals of Culture (UNeECC). With the initiative of UNeECC, the annual conferences at the universities of European Capitals of Culture is organised each year. In 2022 the annual conference will be organized by VMU and will take place at VMU Agriculture Academy.

Conference Title: Culture and Nature – Partners in Dialogue

Conference Date: 5-7 October 2022

Conference Place: Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy, Kaunas, Lithuania

More information regarding registration, call for abstracts, and more will be updated soon at the websites of VMU Agriculture Academy and UNeECC.

We look forward to connecting with you for the UNeECC Annual Conference!

More information about VMU engagement in European Capitals of Culture environment.

UNeECC is a network that aims to ensure the recognition of the role and contribution of universities to the success of the cities conferred the title “European Capital of Culture”, to provide the member universities with a possibility of continuous and full participation in the European Capitals of Culture movement, and to foster inter-university cooperation to develop and reshape the universities’ regional position to create new activities for cities and universities.

#StudentsTalk: Being Surrounded by International Students Enriched Me as A Person

Daniya Mazhikova, Accounting and Finance student

Realizing the importance of our community of Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy, we want to get to know our wonderful students, who enrich the Academy with its uniqueness, smartness, and openness to the world.

Daniya Mazhikova, Accounting and Finance student from Kazakhstan, shared her experience about choosing studies in Lithuania and studying here at Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy.

– Why did you choose to study at Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy?

Firstly, I liked the website and campus of VMU Agriculture Academy. Secondly, I found the right, really good faculty and study programme for myself. Thirdly, the best point is that Lithuania is in the middle of Europe, so I can easily travel to other countries and see the world.

– What did you know about Lithuania before coming here?

Before applying for studies, I knew only the capital city of Lithuania and the location of the country. Then, to get to know the country I was going to study and to live in, I watched videos about Lithuania and Vytautas Magnus University as well. So, before coming here, I already have some information about the country.

– What activities, studies, practical experience at VMU Agriculture Academy was or is the most memorable for you?

I have met a lot of international students, which enriched me as a person. It’s an invaluable experience.

Daniya Mazhikova always support newcomers who are interested about university. She is open to share her student experience and answer questions about studying at VMU Agriculture Academy. Contact Daniya on:

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ERASMUS+ Promotes the Mobility of Non-academic Staff

On November 29th – December 3rd, three non-academic staff members of VMU Academy of Agriculture – Bioeconomy Development faculty‘s Personal assistant to the Dean Aurelija Markelytė, Administrator of Master’s Studies Daiva Ardzijauskienė, together with AA Administrative group‘s Marketing Manager / “Smart teenager’s academy” manager Dėja Bubinaitė, participated in the Erasmus+ Staff Mobility For Training visit “11th ADM VALENCIA: Training & job shadowing for administration staff” at Polytechnic University of Valencia (Universitat Politecnica De Valencia), Spain.

The “11th ADM VALENCIA: Training & job shadowing for administration staff“ program, developed by the Polytechnic University of Valencia, covered the technique of ‘job shadowing’, which focused on different administrative areas such as: human resources, accounting and finance, marketing and communication, quality and accreditation management and study administration. Representatives of the host units introduced the participants to the areas of work of their departments, challenges and strengths, later on discussions followed by the participants sharing their experiences at native universities. Participants in the Erasmus+ training visit took selected courses in ‘English’ or ‘Applied IT Tools for University Staff’ to strengthen their individual skills. Finally, each day the participants took part in active „Mediterranean Lifestyle“ seminars, organized by the host organization, during which they got to know the Mediterranean culture, Spanish way of life and traditions, and the cultural heritage of Valencia’s old town.

The Erasmus + training visit encouraged the mobility of non-academic staff, which achieved both organizational and personal development goals. The basic professional skills of the university administration staff were improved, communication and teamwork skills were strengthened, the competence of managing the University administration tasks was raised, more experience in managing strategic educational institutions was gained and lastly, strong internationally competitive cooperation relations between Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy and Valencia Polytechnic University were maintained. This Erasmus + training visit improved the basic professional work skills of the colleagues, strengthened their communication and teamwork skills, which and other good practices will be shared in raising the quality of work at the Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy.

Researchers at the VMU Agriculture Academy: Expert Services to the European Commission

The VMU Agriculture Academy has become a provider of expert services to the European Commission (EC). This is the strong sign of acknowledgement of the scientific potential of the Academy. The winning project by VMU Agriculture Academy has become its membership ticket to the consortium uniting 18 competent partners. This will enable the Academy to make a significant contribution to implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the future financial period of the EU focused on the dissemination of knowledge and innovations in agriculture.

Overarching Goal: Modernization of the Agricultural Sector

“The contract between the expert consortium and the EC came into effect this July and will remain effective for 9 years subject to yearly renewal, i.e. will cover the coming budget period of the EU and another three years that will involve further implementation of projects under various programs,” – Prof Antanas Maziliauskas, Rector Emeritus of VMU and one of the project initiators shared his joy. The consortium signed the contract under the measure “Networking Activities in Support of the Common Agricultural Policy”, Lot 2 “Support for networking activities focusing on specifically targeting innovation and knowledge exchange — EIP-AGRI”.

The overarching goal of the CAP is modernization of the sector by accumulating, sharing, and applying the knowledge to practice, implementing innovations, and improving digitalization in agriculture and rural areas. The objective of the consortium will involve facilitation and support to collaboration to promote the dissemination of innovations and knowledge in the areas of agriculture, forestry, and rural development at the EU level. This will open new possibilities to the researchers at the VMU Agriculture Academy.

Scope of Activities of the Consortium: from Analytical Work to Practical Workshops

“There is tremendous analytical work ahead for the consortium experts as they will be analysing the projects under various programs (Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, LIFE, INTERREG, EIP-AGRI, etc.) and identifying the innovations to be delivered by respective projects. They will also assess their applicability in the agriculture across the Community. The information shall be linked not only the key goals of the CAP, but also the Green Deal, in particular, the Farm to Fork, Biodiversity Strategies, and the new Forest Strategy that is still in the process of development.

Modern agriculture raises new questions to science, and one of the consortium objectives is to assess the relevance of these issues and direct them towards the Horizon Europe programme for the Community researchers to submit applications and conduct respective research.

The experts also collect and analyse remarks and requests by farmers practitioners to conduct research. This helps identify the most promising subject areas, including those of the specific projects of the EIP activity groups.

Another area of the consortium activity is promotion of knowledge and innovation sharing. This will involve organization of seminars, practical workshops, expert discussions that are expected to result in specific proposals. The team is in charge of preparation of three focus groups annually, expert selection, content of the activities, moderation of discussions, and preparation of reports. For example, the experts representing different countries and areas brought together in a focus group will be discussing on the environmentally friendly water management solutions not requiring big investments, but based on the innate capacity of the nature to recover, for one year,” – A. Maziliauskas has shared the agenda. Prof A. Maziliauskas will perform one of the major coordinating roles in the focus group.

During the new CAP period, the consortium will continue the activity of the EIP-AGRI SF support office established in 2013 for innovation and knowledge sharing. The experts work in their respective fields of expertise. The group of the Consortium of organisations consists of public agencies, R&D centres, two universities (including the VMU Agriculture Academy), NGOs, advisory agencies from 15 EU countries. The coordinator of the Consortium is the Belgian Flemish Land Agency (VLM). It has provided its facilities in Brussels and hosts the office of EIP-AGRI SF support service for knowledge and information sharing. The consortium partners delegate their respective representatives to the office. The office team consists of Brussels stationed experts as well as other “regular” and “non-regular” experts living in 14 member countries, working remotely, and attending the events in Brussels or other EU countries.

Responsible Roles Allocated to the Researchers at VMU Agriculture Academy

The representatives of VMU Agriculture Academy are involved in different subgroups. Prof Dr A. Maziliauskas is the expert of research and innovations in the area of climate and natural resources, and Assoc. Prof Dr Rasa Pakeltienė is the expert of knowledge and innovations in the area of cooperation and knowledge and innovation sharing. The both representatives of the Academy have already started their work in the main expert team for contract implementation. In case of a large volume of works, there is the possibility to include more researchers at the VMU Agriculture Academy into the contract activities.

The Consortium pursues a particularly important goal of active engagement with the administrations of the member countries. Its objective is promotion of cooperation between the national CAP networks and all the entities creating, implementing, and disseminating innovations.

With dissemination of knowledge and innovations (AKIS) being one of the key umbrella activities, part of the experts will focus particularly on the promotion, analysis of agricultural knowledge and innovation activities, and provision of the recommendations on the improvement thereof and reduction of fragmentation of the activities. The team works under the principles of clusterisation, analyses, and provides consultations to different AKIS clusters. Assoc. Prof R. Pakeltienė is responsible for the analysis and consultation of the AKIS cluster of and dialogue with the Western European countries.

New Challenges Promoting the Demand for Expert Services

When preparing the CAP strategic plans, the EU countries prioritized development of the cooperation networks and dissemination of agricultural knowledge and innovations. Innovations and knowledge sharing are promoted for the agricultural, forestry sectors and rural areas to become more sustainable and competitive, help the farmers, foresters, and local rural population create more sustainable sources of income, strengthen resilience to the global changes, help save on the resources, reduce the use of fertilizers and chemical materials, at the same time maintaining an optimum investment to revenue ratio.

For the above reasons, the interdisciplinary knowledge, development, acceleration, and coordination of the cooperation networks is a very important part of the CAP, and the researchers at VMU Agriculture Academy will contribute significantly to the implementation thereof.

For more detailed information about the EIP-AGRI activities and opportunities for cooperation and expert work, please visit the EIP-AGRI website using the following link.

VMU Career Day 2021

Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) Career Centre invites all international students participate the VMU Career Day virtual event on November 29^th, 5 PM, on the MS “Teams” platform. Estimated event duration – 1 hour.

During the Career Day, students will learn how to build their careers by using social networking as well as social networking in a targeted way, and how to build an online image of yourself to your future employers or organizations. Information will be provided on how to find and get a job in Lithuania. Additionally, the Erasmus+ recent graduate traineeship programme will be presented. It provides an opportunity to adapt to the labour market demands of the entire EU, improve professional skills, and familiarize oneself with a specific country’s economy, social system and culture.

The Career Day’s programme:

“Peoplelink” Recruitment Consultant Akvilė Sabulytė will share some advice on how build your social networks, engage with employers, and get noticed on social media.
Society Lithuanian Red Cross Employment Specialist Toma Čekanskaitė will provide information on how to find a job in Lithuania, including the ways and subtleties of finding a job, the need for highly skilled professionals, etc.
Representatives of the VMU International Cooperation Department will talk about Erasmus postgraduate traineeships as a career and skills development opportunity.

We encourage all VMU students to not miss this opportunity, participate in the VDU Career Day virtual event, and meet with potential employers and the university’s community without leaving their homes.

During the discussion students will be able to engage in discussions and ask various questions such as job options, internship opportunities or how to continue your studies at VMU. Registration is required to attend the event. We will send you log-in information to the online event via the email address provided in your registration.

Registration link

We look forward to seeing all of you. Participate and invite your friends!

#StudentsTalk: Lithuania Does Great Work in International Transportation

Perizat Yermakhan, Logistics and Commerce student from Kazakhstan

Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy is not only a space for studies and research, but also a space for creation, discussions, explorations, where cultural diversity and each innovative idea play an important role. The Academy would not have been this active, creating and improving as it is today, if courageous, eager students waiting to see the wide world would not study here. Realizing the importance of communion, we want to get to know these amazing students. We are interested in their experience in choosing studies in Lithuania and studying here at VMU Agriculture Academy.

Perizat Yermakhan, Logistics and Commerce student from Kazakhstan shared her experience.

– Why did you choose to study at Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy?

– I was interested in the perspectives of Lithuania because this country does great work in international transportation and is one of the main transit countries in the EU. So, I believed that I will gain experience of great value and learn from the leaders of Logistics and Supply Chain Management.

– What activities, study or practical experience at VMU Agriculture Academy was or is the most memorable for you?

– The most memorable practical experience at VMU Agriculture Academy is studying the behaviour of Lithuanian youth towards Sustainable Consumption. Currently, I am conducting research about this topic, and I find the study of the most relevant issue of the globe in relation to Lithuania really interesting.

– What did you know about Lithuania before coming here?

– I knew that Lithuania and my country were part of the same union and we got independence at one time.

Perizat Yermakhan is open to share her student experience and answer questions on social media for those who are interested in studying at VMU Agriculture Academy. Contact Perizat on:

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Online public event “The After Desvelopment Lectures”

Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence on Sustainability (ERASME) and partners are organising a week-long online public event on 13-17^th of December “The After Development Lectures”.

The aim of the event is to present recent work in the field of strong sustainability, with a focus on the “beyond growth/development” narrative. As an increasing number of academics and practitioners call for a shift to socio-ecological wellbeing within planetary boundaries, the lectures will address some of the solutions, pathways and theories designed for this transition and will foster discussions on their applicability and coherence.

On 14^th of December at 14.45-16.00 a lecture on the topic “Development of a Smart Rural Development Concept” will be given by VMU Agriculture Academy prof. dr. Vilma Atkočiūnienė.

“The After Development Lectures” are free of charge, but participants should register until December 7th by filling out this short registration form.

Detailed agenda.

More information about the event.

This one week event is part of ERASME’s training and education programme, which also includes an introductory online system dynamics course and a summer school on system dynamics for sustainability.

Happy International Students’ Day!

Secret Ingredient towards Being a Successful Student on the Occasion of the International Students’ Day

The 17^th of November is celebrated globally as an International Students’ Day. The Agriculture Academy of Vytautas Magnus University congratulates all the students – existing, prospective, and former – on this festive day and wishes everyone the best qualities necessary for any student to be successful!

Prof. Dr Astrida Miceikienė, Chancellor of the VMU Agriculture Academy, congratulates all the students and stresses the importance of this day for the whole academic world. “If not for the curious, courageous, eager students, the universities would not have been the active, creative, and improving organizations they are today. On this International Students’ Day, I call all the students to take more active part in the life and activities of our Academy, because a university is not only the study programmes, but also a space for creation, discussions, explorations, where cultural diversity and each and every innovative idea play an important role. I wish you all personal commitment towards the best learning outcomes, the youthful maximalism as your connections are expanding and you are discovering new activities that lead to your personal development. Continuous curiosity, the aspiration to create and discover are among the key qualities necessary for any student and prospective professional to be successful,” – says Prof. Dr Astrida Miceikienė, Chancellor of the Agriculture Academy.

Our academic community congratulate the students at VMU Agriculture Academy and worldwide and wishes you all the best.

VMU AA Spring Intake 2022. Apply Online!

Considering studying abroad? Would like to gain strong knowledge, solid skills, and invaluable international experience? Thinking about an unforgettable European student adventure studying in Lithuania, located in the center of Europe? Would like to live in Kaunas – a European Capital of Culture 2022?

Choosing studies at VMU Agriculture Academy You can take both – an Adventure of a Lifetime and an Invaluable Experience.

Spring Intake Application: October 1 – December 1, 2021.

Spring intake study programmes:

Smart Engineering (BA)
Logistics and Commerce (BA)
Business Logistics (MA)

Information about Application and Admission Procedures: Admission to Degree Studies | VDU

Information about Scholarships: Scholarships | VDU

Apply here

Contact person: VMU Agriculture Academy International Coordinator Ekaterina Makrickiene ekaterina.makrickiene@vdu.lt +370 37 752 200

More Information about VMU Agriculture Academy study programmes: Study programmes for international students | VDU Žemės ūkio akademija

Jurgis Sirusas’ Nominal Scholarship Foundation: 10,000 US Dollars for the Students at VMU Agriculture Academy

Mr Jurgis Saulius Sirusas, a long-standing active member of the Lithuanian community in the U.S., and his wife Gražina have established a foundation dedicated to the memory of Mr Jurgis Sirusas’ father and development of Lithuania’s economy.

The prerequisites for eligibility and initiative of the scholarship were discussed during a remote meeting between Mr Jurgis Saulius Sirusas, his wife Gražina, and representatives of VMU Agriculture Academy administration: Chancellor Prof. Dr Astrida Miceikienė, Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Aušra Blinstrubienė, Head of the Museum of the Agriculture Academy Assoc. Prof. Dr Rasa Pranskūnienė, Head of the Administrative Team at the Agriculture Academy Laima Skauronė, Marketing Coordinator at the Agriculture Academy Deimena Montvydaitė, and representative of the Marketing and Communications Department at the Agriculture Academy Živilė Mediekšienė.

Mr Jurgis Saulius Sirusas, founder of the scholarship, shared the history of his family, their connections to agriculture and Lithuania, and the story behind the initiative to establish the scholarship for the students at the Agriculture Academy. Mr Jurgis Saulius Sirusas was born and raised in Lithuania, was attending an agricultural school by Plikšiai Manor in Mažeikiai district in the interwar period. The agricultural school was marked the beginning of Mr Jurgis Sirusas father’s professional path. During the meeting, Ms R. Pranskūnienė, Head of the Museum at the Agriculture Academy, presented the archive information about Plikšiai Manor where Mr Jurgis Sirusas worked after graduation of the Agriculture Academy. In 1944, the Sirusas’ family fled the country to escape the war and found themselves in a German refugee camp. In the refugee camp, Jurgis Saulius’ father founded and ran a Lithuanian school. In 1949, the Sirusas’ family emigrated to the U.S. where they started building their life by purchasing a small 30 ha farm and establishing a tree nursery. The story shared by Mr Jurgis Saulius Sirusas reflected strong connection of the family with agriculture, nature, development of crop production and horticulture. “There’s no better goal than to support Lithuania’s youth who love agriculture and nature,” – claimed Mr Jurgis Saulius Sirusas. Therefore, the founders of the foundation decided to dedicate the Jurgis Sirusas’ nominal scholarship to the students at VMU Agriculture Academy who prepares the specialists for agricultural sector in Lithuania.

The scholarship foundation of 10,000 U.S. dollars has been provided for 10 years, i.e. 500 EUR two times a year for two students who will have shown exceptional progress and motivation.

Allocation of the scholarship has been sealed in the Memorandum of Agreement signed by Mr Jurgis Saulius Sirusas, founder of the scholarship, and the representatives of the Lithuanian National Foundation.

The Lithuanian National Foundation is the patron of the Jurgis Sirusas’ nominal foundation. The organization uniting the Lithuanians all around the world has been operating since 1944 when it was founded at the refugee camps in Germany. Since 1955, the Lithuanian National Foundation has been operating in the U.S. and supporting the efforts to establish the democratic order and promote national awareness among the Lithuanian youth.