VISIT OF TEACHERS OF VMU AGRICULTURE ACADEMY TO CZECH UNIVERSITY OF LIFE SCIENCES PRAGUE

The teachers of Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy assoc. prof. dr. Midona Dapkienė (Department of Water Engineering, Faculty of Engineering), prof. dr. Laima Česonienė and assoc. prof. dr. Daiva Šileikienė (Department of Environment and Ecology, Faculty of Forest Sciences and Ecology) visited Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZU) according to Erasmus+ Mobility agreement on April 17th to 20th 2023.
The Czech University of Life Sciences is a public university. Currently the University has more than 18 000 students (10% are international students), 6 Faculties and 1 Institute. CZU offers over 170 accredited study programmes at BSc, MSc and PhD levels (in 9 BSc, 20 MSc and 18 PhD programmes the language of instruction is English). The University has 1 700 employees, of which more than 700 are professors or associate professors.
The one of faculties of CZU – the Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences is a unique institution in central Europe. The mission of this Faculty is the higher education of foreign and Czech students in the fields of tropical agriculture, rural development and the sustainable management of natural and energy resources in the tropics. This experience would be useful in VMU Agriculture Academy, as a large number of students from various African and Asian countries are attracted to study in this Faculty.
The representatives of VMU Agriculture Academy gave the lectures for bachelor, master and Erasmus students of the Faculty of Environmental Sciences in the field of wastewater treatment and reuse, influence of climate change on surface water status, environmental policy and Green Deal.
The Faculty of Environmental Sciences is divided into six departments (Department of Water Resources and Environmental Modeling, Department of Applied Ecology, Department of Ecology and other) which cover the whole field of education and science at the Faculty.
The teachers had an opportunity to familiarize with the study process and reasearch at CZU, to visit the laboratories of Faculty as well as to discuss the possibilities of the joint project.
The representatives of Agriculture Academy also had an opportunity to visit Amálie Smart Landscape, located in a rural area near Prague. The Amálie site is one of the pilot projects of the CZU, in which experts are implementing specific measures to increase the adaptation of the landscape to climate change. On an area of approximately 500 hectares of agricultural land owned by the CZU, measures are being implemented, in particular to retain surface water, restore natural wetlands, secure erosion-prone slopes and monitor the hydrological regime. The Head of Department of Applied Ecology prof. Jan Vymazal showed all the components of the pilot, introduced to the goals of the ongoing project and the benefits of Smart Landscape.

Invitation to the lecture

We kindly invite students to participate at the lecture by Michał Stocki on topic “Skills of the Future. Finance on autopilot: The current situation and the future of automating reporting processes”. Michał Stocki is an Analytics Solutions Senior Associate in Forecast Automation team at JP Morgan Chase, Warsaw, Poland. JP Morgan Chase is a global and diverse financial services banking company.

The lecture will be held on 24 April at 11.15, 420 room, Faculty of Bioeconomy Development of VMU AA.

SafeHabitus, EU Farm Safety project kicks off in Ireland

An international team of 45 farm safety experts, researchers, farmer and farm worker representative organisations met in Dublin on January 25^th and 26^th to begin implementing an ambitious initiative to improve farmer and worker health and safety across the EU. The SafeHabitus project has received 4.8 million euros in funding through the EU Horizon Europe programme and will run for four years.

Speaking at the meeting the project leader, David Meredith stated that SafeHabitus is focused on reducing injuries and fatalities amongst farmers and farm workers and strengthening the social sustainability of EU food systems. Farming is one of the most dangerous jobs in Europe. European statistics show that the farming fatality rate is 233% higher than other industries and the accident rate is 18% higher. Dr Meredith stressed that these figures underestimate the scale of the problem as a significant proportion of farm workplace fatalities, injuries and ill health go unreported, un-investigated, and prevention approaches are not learned. Improving farmers’ and farm workers’ health and safety requires action by a range of stakeholders to empower and support them to change unsafe practices and adopt new, safer and healthier ways of working.

SafeHabitus is led by Teagasc, the Irish Agriculture and Food Development Organisation, and involves 20 partners from 13 countries across Europe including Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Belgium, France, Spain, Ireland and the UK. Researchers assoc. prof. dr. Laura Girdžiūtė, assoc. prof. dr. Anastasija Novikova and assoc. prof. dr. Gediminas Vasiliauskas from Vytautas Magnus university are involved in SafeHabitus activities.

The project involves a network of researchers, farm advisory services and educators, who will work with farmers and policy makers at national and EU levels of design, develop and test practical initiatives that support improvements in the safety, health and wellbeing of farmers and farm workers, and overall contribute to the EU transition to social sustainability in farming.

Lecture by Łukasz Lewandowski: Towards CO2 reduction, healthier soil, lower fuel and working time costs

On the 30th of March, Łukasz Lewandowski, a business partner who came under the Erasmus+ program, visited the Faculty of Agronomy and gave a lecture to the gathered students and lectures about the application of Strip-Till technology, the preservation of moisture in the soil, the reduction of gas emissions, the modernization of the farm and the economy of its management. The speaker shared his practical experience in business and his own farm, theoretical knowledge, colleagues’ from Poland and the first results of his own scientific research.

During the meeting, there was a discussion about the negative impact of intensive farming and heavy use of chemical agents on agricultural and natural ecosystems. As one of the possible solutions, the lecturer proposed the Strip-Till seeding technology for strip tillage, soil fertilization and sowing at the same time. By sowing directly into the stubble field, high soil fertility is maintained, about 30% less fertilizer is used before sowing, fuel consumption is reduced by 3 times, time and human resources are saved. The seeds are placed in moist, well-aerated, well-structured soil. Favorable air and moisture conditions lead to intensive plant rooting, development and, of course, abundant, good quality harvest. Applying technologies with a sustainable impact on the environment, abandoning intensive soil plowing and cultivating, together with reducing fuel consumption, can significantly limit CO₂ and N₂O emissions.

The end of the lecture was crowned by a discussion between the gathered students, lectures and the speaker. Łukasz Lewandowski was willing to share his thoughts on reducing pesticides on the way to sustainable and healthier farming.

Public lecture “The experience of world communities in the implementation of solutions for sustainable rural development”

We kindly invite to participate at the public lecture by assoc. prof. dr. Pavel Kotyza from Prague University on topic “The experience of world communities in the implementation of solutions for sustainable rural development”. The lecture will be held online on 5 April 17 p.m. (EEST).

CONNECTION LINK

Date: 5 April
Time: 17 p.m. (EEST)
Place: online

Vytautas magnus University Agriculture Academy (VMU AA) Faculty of Bioeconomy Development Department of Business and Rural Development Management professor dr. Vilma Atkočiūnienė

Invitation to A Free Webinar on The Field of Customs and Its Knowledge Management

In 2023, Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy (VMU AA) Faculty of Bioeconomy Development execution begins the first MBA (Master of Business Management) study program in Lithuania in the field of customs Customs Process Management for individuals and managers working in business.

If you want to know more about the customs field and knowledge management in this field, we invite you to the Customs Knowledge Institute free webinar Day-to-day customs and trade compliance management. The webinar will take place on 2023 April 4.

In this webinar, the head of the development group of the MBA study program Customs Process Management, associate professor of the Faculty of Bioeconomy Development dr. Erika Besusparienė will make a presentation “Knowledge management: understanding generation Z (GenZ) in the workplace”.

Date: 2023 April 4

Time: 15:00-16:00 CEST

Place: online

REGISTRATION FOR THE SEMINAR

GreenCool Newsletter

GreenCool project Newsletter.

VMU to Host Conference of Young Sociologists and Anthropologists

The Department of Sociology at Vytautas Magnus University and the Lithuanian Sociological Association would like to invite you to participate in the 9th annual National conference of young sociologists and anthropologists “Actual Research in Sociology and Anthropology: Problems and Contexts”. The conference will be held on April 21^st, 2023, in the Faculty of Social Sciences at Vytautas Magnus University, Jonavos St. 66, Kaunas.

National conference of young sociologists and anthropologists is a traditional annual event that provides a platform for beginning researchers to present their bachelor, master, and doctoral research, share their discoveries, discuss future research and meet like-minded people.

This year’s conference theme is “Own-Alien-Other: building borders and crossing borders in the context of the current geopolitical situation”.

Our social life consists of constantly building borders and boundaries, and constantly crossing them. In the literal sense – as building walls and urgently guarding state borders against “illegal” migrants and in fear of war, but also as free crossing of these borders by us – as emigrants. Borders and boundaries also have a more metaphorical sense, meaning the constant determination and negotiation of where are the boundaries of our social, religious, ethnic group, and where the “stranger” or the “other” begins. But we must remember that borders are not just something negative – without borders, without the “stranger”, we would not be able to define ourselves – without defining these “others”, “we” would not exist.

The organizers of conference welcome all students and young researchers from a wide range of study disciplines – sociology, anthropology, and related disciplines such as political science, economy, communication, creative industries, psychology, social work, history, ethnography, and many others which use social research methods.

Submissions can propose theoretical and empirical presentations. Conference languages – Lithuanian and English. The participation in the conference is free of charge.

You are welcome to submit an abstract for the conference by email sk@vdu.lt until 3 April 2023.

Requirements for the abstract:

Maximum 250 words, including the title, major idea and arguments of the presentation;
Please, indicate the name and surname of the presenter, institution, position, and the stage of studies (if you are a student), contact information (email address).

There will be an opportunity to publish the scientific articles, based on the presentations, in the peer-review scientific journal “Culture and Society: Journal of Social Research”, published by the VMU Department of Sociology. If you plan to prepare such an article, please, indicate this in your abstract.

The conference email: sk@vdu.lt

Competition for the Scholarship of S. Banaitis

Saliamonas Banaitis scholarship was established at the University in 2016 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the restoration of Lithuanian statehood by his grandchildren living in Canada. The aim of the scholarship is to support and encourage the most talented students at the University conducting research related to personalities, organisations, events or processes of the First Independent Republic of Lithuania (1918-1940), which in one way or another are connected with the activities and environment of the signatory of the Act, S. Banaitis.

In this context, a thematic competition is being launched for students at all levels who are writing a thesis or carrying out research in one or more of the themes indicated by the founder of the scholarship:

History of Lithuania relating to the activities, professional interests, or achievements of Saliamonas Banaitis, his family or relatives.
Lithuanian culture (art) related to the activities, professional interests, or achievements of Saliamonas Banaitis, his family or relatives.
transportation of goods or people by land and water (priority is given if there is any connection with S. Banaitis, his family or relatives);
communication, publishing and dissemination (priority will be given if there is any connection with Mr Banaitis, his family or relatives);
the family economy and its development (priority is given if there is any link to S. Banaitis, his family or relatives);
amateur, village (barn) theatre or folk music (priority is given if there is any connection with S. Banaitis, his family or relatives).

The scholarship in the name of S. Banaitis, signatory of the Act of Independence of the Republic of Lithuania, with a preliminary amount of ~ 2,200 EUR(up to half of the amount of the scholarship, i.e. ~ 1,100 EUR if the scholarship is awarded to two persons), will be given to the student(s) who is/are most relevant to the field of study, and who is/are intending to have his/her/their research published.

The decision to award the scholarship is made by the Lithuanian Canadian Foundation (LCF), with which VMU has concluded a cooperation agreement, according to which the nominal S. Banaitis Scholarship is awarded to the best students at the University whose studies and/or research interest is related to the history, culture, and achievements of Lithuania. Priority is given to students who are interested in the activities, professional interests or achievements of Saliamonas Banaitis, his family, or relatives, thus encouraging students to achieve professional and academic excellence.

Students who are willing to apply for S. Banaitis scholarship has to complete an electronic application form in Student self-service portal until March 10^th. How to do this?

log in to the VMU Student self-service portal using your personal login provided by the University;
select the Applications in the menu box and click on the Requests button;
select the application category Finances and Scholarhips and other support, click Nominal scholarship (form F-005), complete the form, justifying the area of study or research interest in the priority list of topics above and indicating its relevance: identification of work in progress, etc. and submit it.

The candidate(s) selected by the Founder of the Fellowship will be informed personally of the conditions and deadlines for the award of the scholarship by the end of May.

For more information on the scholarship and its award, please contact the Student Affairs Department at e-mail srd@vdu.lt or by phone at (8 – 37) 327 976.

11th International Scientific Conference “Rural Development 2023: Bioeconomy for The Green Deal”

We kindly invite You to the 11th International Scientific Conference “RURAL DEVELOPMENT 2023: Bioeconomy for the Green Deal”, which will take place in Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy (Lithuania), 26-28 September, 2023.
This conference is aimed at providing interdisciplinary scientific discussion, presenting new ideas for rural development processes in the context of Bioeconomy, Climate Change, Innovations and Social Progress.

The main topics of Conference sessions:

Agro-innovations and Food Technologies;
Biosystems Engineering and Environmental Integrity;
Multifunctional Approach for Sustainable Use of Bio-Resources;
Social Research for Sustainable Bioeconomy and Climate Change.

Business and Science Forum “Connecting the Dots: A Roadmap for Lithuanian Bioeconomy Development” will be held during the Conference.

Conference keywords: Innovations, Integrity, Bio-resources, Well-being.

Important dates and deadlines:

Until September 15th, 2023 – registration  (extended)
Until September 26th, 2023 – article submission (extended)
Until September 10th, 2023 – payment of participation fee
January, 2024 – publishing of the Conference proceedings

Participation fee	In person (EUR)	Online (EUR)
Authors until August 27th	250	170
Authors after August 27th	300	220
PhD students	125	100
Non-authors	150	Free of charge

Participation fee in person covers not only the Conference proceedings, but also coffee breaks, lunches and gala dinner. The costs of accommodation, cultural (social) programme and transport should be covered by the participants of the Conference.

Speakers of the conference pay the participation fee after receiving information about the confirmation of the topic of the presentation.

Certificates of participants will be sent by e-mail after the conference.

More information about the Conference
Online Registration on the Conference website.
Information for authors.

New design, more user-friendly Conference website: https://www.ruraldevelopment.lt/
Conference e-mail: rural.development@vdu.lt

This Conference starts a cycle of events dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy.