Annual conference Human and Nature Safety

Vytautas Magnus University
Lithuanian Academy of Sciences

27th International Scientific-Practice Conference
HUMAN AND NATURE SAFETY 2021
5–6 May 2021

Annual conference Human and Nature Safety is organized on occasion of the International Days of Health, Environmental Protection and Occupational Safety & Health.

The purpose of the Conference is to discuss interrelated human safety & health and environment protection problems, create opportunities for scientists and other researchers (especially younger) share the research results not only among researchers and students, but also between farmers, agricultural experts, representatives from forestry and other sectors. Also, to promote safe, healthy, and environmentally friendly lifestyle.

Conference program, MS Teams login links and other information

An invite to a different Spring Festival 2021

“Self-realization during self-isolation” – with this year’s Spring Festival’s slogan Vytautas Magnus University Student Council (VMU SC) is inviting people to spice up their routine on May 12-15: experience, feel, remember.

Spring Festival has been uniting not only university but also the whole city of Kaunas community for 20 years now. The project stands out with its bright yellow colour, mascot Vytautas The Spring, student initiative and a blasting concert during the festival’s closing.

This year it stands out even more. The world is forced to stop for more than a year, but not the Spring Festival! Given the current restrictions, activities will take place in different ways: live (in city squares, parks, public spaces), remotely (Facebook live streams, Zoom and MS Teams platforms) and drive in (participation will be possible without getting out of the car).

This time participants will be offered with creative workshops, dancing, more than a few discussions on taboo topics, e-sports, social actions and like mentioned before – booming drive-in concert to celebrate the closing of Spring Festival.

Self-realization during self-isolation – let’s discover ourselves while being together in a distance, quarantine is not a reason to miss out on the brightest spring adventures!

Find out more about Spring Festival on Facebook and check out mascot’s Vytautas The Spring Instagram to see the jolliest moments from the festival.

Apply now: Final Erasmus+ Traineeship Competition

A competition is open for Erasmus+ student or recent graduate traineeship grants. Application deadline is the 31st of May, 2021.

Note, those students who are graduating studies on June 2021 and wish to take part in Erasmus+ recent graduate traineeship, this is the last deadline to apply.

The placement period is from 2 to 6 months. Recent graduate traineeship must end – in a year after graduation.

Selection

All VMU fulltime degree students who have not used more than 10 months of their Erasmus mobility (study / traineeship) period are eligible for the Erasmus grant.

Selection documents

For student traineeship (traineeship during student’s year of studies)

Filled-in application form „Outgoing-Application for Erasmus Student Traineeship (EU countries)“
Confirmation by the company or organization (obligatory).

Documents must be submitted online.

For recent graduate traineeship (application must be submitted during the last year of studies)

Application form „Outgoing-Application for Erasmus Recent Graduate Traineeship (EU countries)“
Confirmation by the company or organization (obligatory);
Recommendation by a faculty member (obligatory).

The priority in the selection is given to

students whom traineeship is an obligatory part of their study programme;
students who have never been Erasmus traineeship students before.

Selection criteria

student’s motivation;
good knowledge of the language which will be used during the traineeship;
student’s work, study, traineeship, participation in the international / academic projects, social activities experience in Lithuania and abroad;
conformability between the chosen traineeship and student’s study programme;
study results (first year MA students should attach transcript of records of their BA/MA degree to the application form).

The competition results will be sent to every participant via e-mail.

More information

Changes in the Library from April 22

Item loan / return

The library will lend books to home on the basis of pre-orders in the library catalogue or virtual library, provide remote services, the staff consultations available by e-mail: info@bibl.vdu.lt, telephones. Pick up your requested items after receiving e-mail about confirmation of the request. You can pick up and return items in these departments of the library:

L. Donskis Library (V. Putvinskio St. 23, Kaunas) I–IV, 9–17, V, 9–16: loan of requested items and return from L. Donskis, M. Romeris, V. Biržiška Libraries and Central Repository Libraries. Books ordered from M. Romeris Library are brought on Mondays and Thursdays. Books ordered from the Central Repository are brought every day at 16.00.
Music Academy Library (V. Čepinskis St. 5-429) I, 9–17, IV, 9–17;
Education Academy Library (T. Ševčenkos St. 31, Vilnius) I–IV, 9–17, V, 9–16;
Agriculture Academy Central Library (Studentų St. 11, Akademija, Kaunas region) I–IV, 9–17, V, 9–16: loan of requested items and return from Central and Textbook Libraries.

For studies and research, we invite you to use the Library website one window search in various Lithuanian and foreign resources or to search in separate resources – library catalogue, virtual library, subscribed databases, research management system (VMU CRIS), Lithuanian Academic e. Library (eLABa). If you want to read found but licensed by the University resources, log in remotely (enter the University e-mail login details (username: first name, last name; password: e-mail password)).

You can find out where and how to find the necessary information resources for studies and research, how to correctly cite the sources of information used in studies or research by watching video lectures (using Adobe Connect (recommended) or through a browser; logins – e-mail data) at your convenience.

VMU First-year Student Survey Results

In the survey, the students indicated the most important sources of information that had been helpful to make the decision where to study, and the main reasons for choosing their studies as well as study expectations at VMU. They also evaluated the usefulness of VMU’s introductory study week and study experience at VMU. Moreover, the first-year students revealed the time allocated for studies, their activities in the free time after studies and participation in the activities of VMU. Finally, the students made suggestions for improving the quality of studies.

593 first-year VMU students took part in the survey – 41.64 percent of bachelor and integrated studies’ first-year students.

We invite you to get acquainted with the summarized results of the survey. Detailed results of the survey are presented to the administration of faculties and academies, study program committees, requesting to share this information with the community.

VMU Agriculture Academy Expands its Partner Network: Cooperation Agreement Signed with the Tashkent State Agrarian University

A cooperation agreement was solemnly signed on 19 April between Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) and Tashkent State Agrarian University (TSAU) situated in the capital of Uzbekistan during a remote ceremony.

The partners intend to cooperate actively in preparation of the dual degree programmes in agronomy, forestry, bioeconomy that would be partially conducted in Lithuania and Uzbekistan. There are also the plans to hold joint student and teacher internship, student exchange, joint seminars and workshops, scientific conferences, and conduct joint research projects.

The agreement was signed by VMU Rector, Prof. Dr. Juozas Augutis and TSAU Rector Academician Botirjon Sulaymonov. The ceremony was attended by Prof. Dr. Astrida Miceikienė, Chancellor of the VMU Agriculture Academy; Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Aušra Blinstrubienė, international coordinator Lect. Dr. Ekaterina Makrickienė, Deans of the five Faculties at the VMU Agriculture Academy: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bernardas Vaznonis, Prof. Dr. Edmundas Bartkevičius, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Algis Kvaraciejus, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rolandas Domeika. The TSAU was represented by Vice Rector Dr. Abduaziz Abduvasikov, Faculty Deans Xusniddin Mashrapov, Dilshod Mamadiyarov, and Holiq Allanov.

Jubilee festival “Primavera en español” will take place online

The 10th annual “Primavera en español” festival (held remotely) will begin on April 20 at Vytautas Magnus University (VMU). The jubilee festival of Spanish culture will last for three weeks, and will feature meetings, lectures and creative workshops (program).

“Every spring for the past ten years, we’ve invited the VMU community to not only communicate in Spanish, but also to get to know the cultural diversity of Spanish-speaking countries. We’ve pooled our wisdom and experience gained during this year into the tenth-anniversary festival. That’s why the festival will begin with a scientific conference on the subtleties of the modern Spanish-speaking world. Together with experts from Lithuania and abroad, we will try to summarize the most important issues of the region, including a discussion about Spanish studies in Lithuania,” said Vigilija Žiūraitė, Vytautas Magnus University Spanish language lecturer and one of the festival organizers.

The first week of the festival is sure to delight participants with its rich program. On April 21, translator Nomeda Miselyte-Lukoševičienė, who has translated many popular Mexican telenovels and Spanish films, will share her experience about the way the characters speak Lithuanian. The following evening, in an unprecedented event in the festival’s history, Dr. Lucila Gonzalez Alfaya will invite you to learn phrases from one of the official languages of Spain, Galician, and well as the region’s history. An important tradition of the festival, International Book Day, will be commemorated on April 23, and will feature María Ortega García, a teacher, writer and poet from Spain. The first Book Day at VMU was celebrated in 2013, when the idea was proposed by the then Kaunas “Žalgiris” coach Joan Plaza, while members of the Miguel de Cervantes Club on gave books and roses to passers-by on Laisvės Alley, following the tradition of Catalonia.

Another “Primavera en español” tradition, the “El mundo hispanohablante y yo” schoolchildren’s Olympiad, will take place on May 5. There will also be no shortage of adventurous events, which are always an integral part of the festival. A reunion of all festival organizers will take place on May 6, and the festival will end with a flamenco concert by performer Jorge Arena.

“Primavera en español” is organized by the Miguel de Cervantes Spanish Language and Culture Club and the Vytautas Magnus University Institute of Foreign Languages, in cooperation with the Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain in Lithuania. The festival, which became an integral part of Vytautas Magnus University in the spring, was organized for the first time in 2011, and is continued yearly by university students and Spanish language lecturers, as well as by international exchange students.

Festival events are open to anyone who wishes to attend. Participants are invited to fill out a registration form to receive reminders about upcoming events. Live events will also be broadcast on the Miguel de Cervantes Club website.

More information about the festival can be found on Facebook.

VMU to Hold Online Events for Those Interested in MA Studies

On 26 and 28 April, Vytautas Magnus University will host online events for students who are planning to apply for master degree studies. The event series, titled I Got the Degree… What’s Next?, will offer webinars, present Erasmus+ mobility possibilities, introduce master degree studies at VMU and other activities related to VMU and employment in Lithuania. Participants are invited to register online in advance. Please note that the schedule of all activities is shown in local Lithuanian time (GMT+3), make sure to convert it to your time zone.

During the events, students will be able to not only discover useful information about master degree studies, their exceptional features and joint degree programmes, but also attend various webinars. The first event will present the mobility possibilities of the Erasmus programme. Since VMU is a partner of about 800 foreign universities, it can provide plenty of international exchange or traineeship opportunities for its students or graduates.

Afterwards, the participants will be provided a general introduction of MA studies at VMU, explaining the key strength of master degree programmes at the university, which is open to innovations but also draws a lot of inspiration from deep-rooted historical traditions. In total, VMU offers 23 MA degree programmes that are taught in English.

The events will continue with introductions of MA studies at individual VMU sub-divisions: the faculties of Economics and Management, Law, Political Science and Diplomacy, Social Sciences, Humanities, Natural Sciences, Informatics, as well as the Agriculture Academy, Education Academy, and Music Academy.

The final event will provide important tips and other information for those who plan to stay and work in Lithuania, detailing the most noteworthy employment possibilities in this country.

The online events can be attended by senior-year students from VMU or other universities and colleges.

Registration is required. The links to the online meetings will be sent to the email address specified during the registration.

Programme of events

More information

75th Anniversary of the Faculties of Engineering Sciences at VMU Agriculture Academy

This year is marked by the 75th anniversary of the Faculties of Engineering Sciences at Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy (VMU Agriculture Academy) counting over 20 thousand of alumni. The celebrated period saw the evolution of the science areas at the Faculties in response to the relevant priorities and technological advancement. At present, the Faculties represent the science field that address the most recent global and national challenges such as environmentally friendly construction; technologies of renewable energy resources and biomass engineering; innovative aquaculture technologies; smart soil and water engineering; smart agricultural and mobile machine systems; tribological processes in mechanical and biological systems; sustainable engineering systems, and mitigation of the effect on climate change.

The Faculty of Engineering Sciences was founded at the VMU Agriculture Academy on 25 June 1946. In autumn of the same year, 50 students were admitted to study under the specialities of hydromelioration, land management, and agricultural mechanization each.

Four Departments were established along with the Faculty of Engineering Sciences: Geodesy, Physics, Hydromelioration and Agricultural Mechanization. In 1947, the Department of Engineering Structures and Department of Tractors and Automobiles were established.

On 1 May 1948, the Faculty of Engineering Sciences was reorganised into individual Faculties of Hydromelioration, Land Management and Agricultural Mechanization.

In 1949, the Departments of Hydraulic Structures and Mathematics and Mechanics were established at the Faculty of Hydromelioration and the Department of Land Use Planning was established at the Faculty of Land Management. In 1950, the Faculty of Hydromelioration and Faculty of Land Management were merged into a single Faculty. In 1961, the Department of Land Use Planning and Department of Geodesy were merged. In 1967, the Department of Descriptive Geometry and Graphics was established at the Faculty, and the Department of Mathematics was transferred to the Faculty of Agricultural Mechanization. In 1977, the Department of Operation of Hydromelioration Systems (subsequently renamed into the Department of Water Management) was established.

In the early periods of restored independence, the scope of competence of hydraulic engineering specialists was expanding and covering more water engineering related areas. In response to the developments, in 1990, the Faculty was renamed into the Faculty of Water and Land Management. In 1996, the Faculty had 6 departments: the Department of Physics, Hydraulic Engineering, Land Reclamation, Building Structures, Water Management and Land Management. As a result of national reorganization of the research and education institutions, the Lithuanian Water Management Institute (former Lithuanian Research Institute for Hydraulic Engineering and Land Reclamation) in Vilainiai, Kėdainiai district was integrated into the faculty structure in 2010. In 2012, following the structural reorganisation of Aleksandras Stulginskis University, three institutes were established at the faculty: the Institute of Hydraulic Engineering, Water Resource Engineering, and Land Management and Geomatics. In 2014, the Aquaculture Centre was established at the Faculty.

In 1949, the Department of Machinery Servicing and Department of Thermal Equipment and Agricultural Electrification, in 1961 – the Department of Machinery Operation were established at the Faculty of Agricultural Mechanization. The period 1966–1976 gave rise to the Departments

of Occupational Safety and Practical Training, Animal Husbandry Mechanization and Thermal Technology, Machine Parts, and Department of Electrical Machines, and the Department of Mathematics was assigned to the Faculty. In response to the growing number of students, the Faculty of Agricultural Electrification was established in 1976. In 1985, the Department of Education and Teaching Methodology was opened at the Faculty. In 1994, after the reduction in the number of students, the Faculty of Agricultural Electrification was reunited with the Faculty of Agricultural Mechanization, and the Faculty was renamed into the Faculty of Agricultural Engineering. In 1996, the Faculty had 6 departments: the Department of Energy in Agriculture, Department of Mechanics, Department of Occupational Safety and Engineering Management, Department of Thermal and Biotechnology Engineering, Department of Transport and Power Machinery, Department of Agricultural Machinery. In 2010, the Institute of Agricultural Engineering became an individual unit of the Faculty. In 2012, the former 6 departments and the Institute of Agricultural Engineering were merged to form 3 Institutes: the Institute of Energy and Biotechnologies, the Institute of Power and Transport Machinery, and the Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Safety.

Within the 75-year period, the both Faculties had more than 20,000 alumni. At present, the engineering faculties have 55 teacher and researcher positions, of which 11 are the professors. There are three doctorship schools in the science area of Technologies: Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Transport Engineering, with 30 PhD students in total. High school graduates are invited to pursue the Bachelor degree in Smart Engineering, Agricultural Mechanical Engineering, Water and Land Engineering (offering three specializations: Aquaculture Engineering, Water Resources Engineering, Land Use Planning). Graduates of the Bachelor study programmes are offered to choose one of the 6 Master degree programmes: Hydraulic Engineering, Transport Engineering, Sustainable Energy, Agricultural Engineering and Management, Agricultural Mechanical Engineering, and Land Use Planning.

RURAL DEVELOPMENT 2021: Business and Science Forum for Implementing and Developing the Green Deal

Business and society face a variety of challenges while the European Green Deal strategy promises a bright future. In order to find the right solutions to implement the Green Deal strategy, we invite you to business and science forum “Green Deal: the Way improving the Well-being of Society and Business”, which will take place in 21^th September, 2021. The business and science forum will take place during the 10^th International Scientific Conference “Rural Development 2021: Challenges for Sustainable Bioeconomy and Climate Change”.

Solutions and direction for developing the sustainable EU’s economy will be discussed. The business initiative for efficient resources moves to a green and circular economy to ensure biodiversity and reduce pollution, effecting local and global decisions to achieve goals regarding well-being of people and business.

Business and science forum will start with good practices from business representatives in developing organic products and technological innovations for agriculture. After the business of good practice dissemination, we invite to participate in the panel discussion “Farm to Fork Strategy – for a Fair, Healthy and Environmentally-Friendly Food System”. Scientists, business representatives and policy makers will discuss and look for a compromise on these issues – effective implementation farm to fork strategy; how to ensure healthy and environmentally friendly food; how to deal with food loss and waste. In the last part of the scientists and business will present presentations on the topic “Business Incentives to Address European Green Deal Challenges”. Scientists, business representatives and policy makers’ discussion will crown the summary of discussions and presentations.

You are welcome to register and participate in business and science forum “Green Deal: The Way improving the Well-being of Society and Business”. Please find more information here.