SEMINAR Innovative research in agriculture and environmental engineering for the bioeconomy development

The Bioeconomy Research Center of Excellence (BioTEC) of the Academy of Agriculture of the Vytautas Magnus University invites teachers, researchers, doctoral students and students to participate in the seminar: Innovative research in agriculture and environmental engineering for the bioeconomy development.

Date: 2024 May 9 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

REGISTRATION

THE PROGRAM

Join the pre-seminar remotely HERE

CONFERENCE “YOUNG SCIENTIST 2024”

The 21st annual conference of young scientists “YOUNG SCIENTIST 2024” organized by the Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy (VMU AA) will be held on April 11 2024 remotely. The conference is intended for the first, second and third degree students. The purpose of the conference is to involve students in scientific activities, develop the ability to publicize scientific research results, present their scientific research achievements and discuss topical issues of bioeconomy, green course, climate change, ecosystem sustainability, rational use and protection of natural resources.

There is no conference fee for students. Certificates of conference participants will be awarded to the speakers of the conference.

Speakers will be able to publish articles in the collection of articles of the conference “YOUNG SCIENTIST 2024” or in another scientific publication, for example, in the scientific journal „Agricultural engineering“ or another, after submitting articles that meet the requirements for articles in a scientific publication.

Conference topics	Subtopics
Bioeconomy	Accounting and finance: challenges and opportunities
	Bioeconomy, sustainability of agriculture and food sector
	Innovations and solutions in business logistics
	Management of agri-business and other bioeconomy business organizations
	Sustainable development of rural areas
Biosystems engineering	Energy engineering
	Land management
	Mechanical engineering
	Technology engineering
	Transport engineering
	Water engineering
Sustainability of agricultural, forest, and water ecosystems	Agronomy
	Food quality and safety
	Sustainability of agricultural ecosystems
	Ecosystem services
	Sustainable forestry
	Wildlife population management

Pre-registration for the conference until February 15, 2024.

PROGRAM

Articles for the conference “YOUNG SCIENTIST 2024” are accepted until March 8, 2024. (the link to upload the article). The articles must be prepared according to the recommendations for the authors of the articles (Annex 1_Article template, Annex 2_Authors guarantee letter).

SKF company representative visited VMU Agriculture Academy

SKF (Luton, UK) company Operation manager and Visual management expert Colin Chapman 24-28 April 2023 visited Faculty of Engineering at Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy (VMU AA). SKF is worldwide know company (distributors can also be find in Lithuania). SKF opened its first UK sales office in London during 1910 and the following year bearing production commenced in Luton, at its first manufacturing facility outside of Sweden. Today, SKF Limited has 13 locations throughout the UK, including ten manufacturing facilities (four rolling bearings and six machined seals), with approximately 1,250 employees. One of SKF office is located in Lithuania as well.

SKF was listed as one of the world’s most sustainable companies by both the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI) and the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for Europe. SKF has achieved a Platinum Medal from EcoVadis, one of the world’s most trusted providers of sustainable ratings for use in supply chains on 15th December 2022 (Gothenburg). This is the third year SKF has been awarded the Platinum medal and now ranks in the top 1 percent of all companies assessed by EcoVadis. In addition, SKF has received an A- Climate Change rating from the CDP, the global non-profit that runs the world’s largest climate and environmental disclosure system for companies, cities, states and regions.

University students have got acquainted with the principles of development of engineering management and types of engineering management in a world-class company. Students were introduced to CDP Climate Change and 5S visual management score that provides a snapshot of a company’s disclosure and environmental performance. The scoring methodology provides a comparable dataset across the market. Visual management technique enables production operatives to identify “abnormal vs normal” in the workplace using the “at a glance concept”. This in the fast pace of manufacturing saves time and reduces waste which in turn make the facility more profitable (delivering a quality product to the customer on time and in good quality. The sort stage of 5s sorts necessary from unnecessary (basically sorting through items of little to no value to items of value and need) clears the work place of clutter and only relevant and needed items remain.

5s is now part of the culture at SKF Luton which was first developed by the car manufacturer Toyota.

To earn leadership recognition, companies must show environmental leadership, disclosing action on climate change. Setting new standards and creating partnerships to contribute to the development of clean technology solutions, improvements in energy efficiency, and the needed reduction of CO₂ emissions across industries. SKF solutions play a key role in reducing CO₂ emissions across a range of industrial applications. SKF also committed to decarbonizing them entire production by 2030 and having net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in our full value chain by 2050.

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.

Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Nature-based Solutions for Disaster and Climate Resilience

Massive Open Online Course on ‘Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for Disaster and Climate Resilience’ will officially launch at the end of January 2021. This free course has been developed by experts from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction (PEDDR); with support from the European Union. It will be hosted by the SDG Academy, as part of edX, one of the largest online course platforms.

Here are two reasons why this course is different:

The course provides content that is easy to follow, educational, interactive, and entertaining; in contrast to the typical lecture style structure of online courses.
Course instructors cover each topic in simple terms while providing real-life examples, animations, and even a few surprises!

Why sign up for this course:

You will receive a free course certificate from UNEP upon completion of the course.
You can choose to take the course from any one of these 7 languages: English, French, Chinese (Mandarin), Spanish, Arabic, Hindi, and Indonesian.
You will meet & interact with environmental experts and practitioners.
You will have access to 6 hours of free learning materials, with exclusive footage from world leaders.
You will become part of a global learning community with participants from 140+ countries.
You will have the opportunity to expand your professional and personal networks.

COMPETITION FOR EXCHANGE STUDIES AT non-EU/EEA COUNTRIES (Erasmus+ and VMU Bilateral Exchange)

Students are invited to participate in a competition for one semester exchange studies at non-EU/EEA countries with Erasmus+ or VMU Mobility scholarship.

Students have to submit completed online application form (Outgoing – Application for Bilateral and Erasmus Study Exchange) until 1^st of March, 2020

Selection criteria:

compatibility between the plan for studies or research at the Higher Education Institution abroad and the study programme at VMU;
motivation;
results of studies or research during the last two semesters (for VMU Mobility scholarship GPA should be no less than 8.0);
good knowledge of the language in which lectures will be taught.

Selected students will receive Erasmus+ or VMU Mobility scholarship.

Students will be personally informed via email about the results of first selection stage and invitation to second stage – interview.

MORE INFORMATION

ERASMUS+ training visit to Limassol

In February 10–16 associated professor Rytis Skominas from the Faculty of Water and Land Management and associated professor Bernardas Vaznonis from the Faculty of Bioeconomy Development participated in training courses “Leadership and Management in Educational Establishments” in Limassol, Cyprus. The main topics of training courses were – “Strategic Leadership and Management”, “Managing Delivery of the Vision”, “Motivating and Inspiring People”, “Working with Organisational and Individual Key Performance Indicators and Competences” and “Strategically Managing the Environment, and Planning”. The courses had the following elements: lectures, group discussions using a brainstorming format, workshops. During the courses the biggest attention was given for management of educational institutions, cultural diversity environment, improvement of intercultural communication and language skills. During the visit Rytis Skominas and Bernardas Vaznonis also visited Cyprus University of Technology.

At the end of the visit Rytis Skominas and Bernardas Vaznonis had a stopover near the Kouris Dam. Kouris is the largest dam of a network of 107 dams in Cyprus. The dam was constructed in 1989. It is made from earth and has a height of 115 meters with capacity of 115 mln. m3 of water.