VMU Agriculture Academy Community Gained Knowledge from Foreign Teachers During the International Staff Week of the ERASMUS+ exchange Programme

The International Staff Week under the ERASMUS+ programme took place on May 2-6 at the Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) Agriculture Academy. 15 scientists from 8 countries got acquainted with the Academy, gave lectures to the community of VMU Agriculture Academy and participated in various activities with the colleagues.

Two foreign lecturers visited the Department of Plant Biology and Food Sciences of the Faculty of Agronomy – assoc. prof. dr. Ajla Ališah from the university of Sarajevo and prof. dr. Ewa Czarniecka-Skubina from the Warsaw University of Life Sciences. Visiting lecturers gave lectures and discussed topical issues to 2nd-4th year students of the first cycle study programme Food Quality and Safety. Scientist A. Ališah presented the results of her ongoing research during the presentation “Hygienic, health-technological and economic aspects for the quality prevention of broiler chicken”, and scientist E. Czarniecka-Skubina presented a lecture on the topic: “Development of new food packaging”.

“The researchers answered the questions of students and invited them to take the opportunity to come to the universities of life sciences in Sarajevo and Warsaw for study and practice under the ERASMUS+ programme. The guests were happy to communicate and share their scientific experience with the Dean of the Faculty of Agronomy, the staff of the Department and doctoral students. During the visit the possibilities of cooperation in scientific and project activities were discussed”, – prof. dr. Elvyra Jarienė and assoc. prof. dr. Judita Černiauskienė summed up the visit of foreign lecturers.

During The International Staff Week of the ERASMUS+ programme two foreign lecturers – prof. Romeo A. Gomez and assoc. dr. Olesea Cojocaru – visited the Department of Agroecosystems and Soil Sciences. Visiting scientists gave lectures to 2nd year students of the Agronomy programme and to the 1st year students of the Food Quality and Safety programme. The lecture on the topic “Biologically active soil health – the basis of organic farming” was given to the community of VMU Agriculture Academy by dr. O. Cojocaru Prof. dr. R. Gomez shared his knowledge on the topic “Traditional rice-based ecosystems (TRBEs) in Ifugao and Benguet, Philippines”. The lecturer from the State Agrarian University of Moldova dr. Mr Cojocaru gave a presentation on “Soil resources in the Republic of Moldova”, and prof. dr. R. A. Gomez from the Benguet State University in Philippines introduced the report on topic “Environmental and Sustainability Issues in Traditional Rice-Based Ecosystems (TRBEs)”.

“I am glad that in addition to lectures and other centrally organized activities of the university, the invited lecturers had the opportunity to have a warm and businesslike conversation with the Dean of the Faculty of Agronomy assoc. prof. dr. Aida Adamavičienė, as well as to discuss with many lecturers and researchers of the Department of Agroecosystems and Soil Sciences during the breaks between lectures. During these conversations, discussing the possibilities of future scientific cooperation, the idea to acquaint the guests with the possibilities of the VMU Agriculture Academy Test Station, with the research carried out here and the available equipment has arisen. This visit to VMU Agriculture Academy Test Station was organized and the guests were kindly supervised by assoc. prof. dr. Zita Kriaučiūnienė”, – said assoc. dr. Rimantas Vaisvalavičius.

Two scientists from Egypt – Mansoura University dr. Mohamed M. Awad and Cairo University dr. Sheriff Mehanny – visited the Department of Mechanical Energy and Biotechnology of the Faculty of Engineering. Dr. M. M. Awad gave the lecture to the community of VMU Agriculture Academy on the topic “Modeling of Two-Phase Frictional Presure Gradient in Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Systems”, and dr. Sh. Mehany introduced the lecture on topic “Biocomposites & Nanocellulose”.

The Faculty of Engineering, Department of Water Engineering was visited by two foreign lecturers – Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW), Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Director of the Water Center doc. dr. hab. Wojciech Sas and doctoral student Justyna Dzięcioł.

The invited teachers had the opportunity to participate in the opening event of ERASMUS+ International Staff Week and listened to the traditional national songs of all Lithuanian regions, learned the peculiarities of Lithuanian folk dances “Oira oira…”, tasted Lithuanian food and drinks.

Invited scientists gave lectures on “Problems of anthropogenic materials – soils in geoenvironmental engineering”, “Problems of waste management used in civil engineering in the aspect of product Life Cycle Monitoring”. W. Sas presented the scientific activities of SGGW Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Water Center to the staff of the Department of Water Engineering, and discussed the possibilities of cooperation. Doctoral student Justyna Dzięcioł went on a trip to Vilnius organized by VMU, both invited lecturers also visited cognitive objects in Kaunas.

Besnik Krasniqi, the researcher from the University of Pristina, visited the Faculty of Bioeconomy Development. The scientist gave the lecture on topic “Research Methodology” to the students of the Business Logistics programme. After the lecture, the members of the scientific community together with the Dean of the Faculty of Bioeconomy Development doc. dr. Bernardas Vaznonis discussed general possibilities of cooperation in science and studies. The lecturer from the Palze Birzeit University in Mohabad Abu Rjailah also visited the Faculty of Bioeconomical Development.

Three researchers from Portugal visited the Faculty of Forests and Ecology during The International Staff Week of the ERASMUS+ programme. Jorge Manuel Rodrigues Tavares, the researcher from the Beja Polytechnic School of Agriculture, presented the report on topic “Sustainable animal production.” Scientist Flávia Matias Oliveira da Silva gave the lecture on topic “Use of phytoremediation to remove pharmaceutical compounds in constructed wetlands”. Researcher Maria Teresa Borralho Marques dos Carvalhos shared knowledge with the VMU Agriculture Academy community on the topic “Emergent organic contaminants in water: advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) treatments for recalcitrant compounds”.

Students invite to participate in The Conference of Addressing People in VMU

REGISTRATION

Lecture “Ukrainian agriculture in the conditions of war: current state and global challenges”

Vytautas Magnus university Agriculture academy community invited to participate in a public distance lecture “Ukrainian agriculture in the conditions of war: current state and global challenges”, on May 17th 6 p.m.

Lecture dr. habil. Vitalii Dankevych, Dean of the Faculty of Law, Public Administration and National Security in Polissia National University.

The webinar will be moderated by prof. dr. Vilma Atkočiūnienė, Business and Rural Development Management Department, Bioeconomy Development Faculty, Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University. Preliminary duration of the webinar 2 hours.

Lecturer: dr. habil. Vitalii Dankevych, Dean of the Faculty of Law, Public Administration and National Security in Polissia National University
Data: May 17
Time: 6 p.m.

LOGIN

An event “Languages for Brunch” will take place in Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy

A special event, “Languages for Brunch” will take place at Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy Campus. The participants of the event will learn Bulgarian, Estonian, German, Italian, Lithuanian, Polish, Spanish and Ukrainian by playing a game as well as receive prizes for active participation.

Where? In the park in front of the Central building of VMU Agriculture Academy (in case of stormy weather, the event will take place in Building 3 of VMU Agriculture Academy, Universiteto Str. 10, Akademija)

When? May 6, 2022; 11:00-13:00

We are inviting the members of Vytautas Magnus University, the schools and other Akademija community members to join this special and unique spring event and get acquainted with students from other European countries!

The event is organized by VMU Institute of Foreign Languages, the Agriculture Academy and “Transform4Europe” European University. This event is a part of the international European Festival of Culture organized by Vytautas Magnus University and the universities of the “Transform4Europe” alliance on May 4-8.

Since nothing is likely to unite people as much as a shared experiences and food, the guests and participants of the event will have the opportunity to enjoy both new knowledge and a brunch. We will taste kibinai, which are already well-known to Lithuanians, Ukrainian borscht and other dishes.

The event will be photographed, filmed and publicized through various channels of social media of the university alliance, Agriculture Academy, the Institute of Foreign Languages and Vytautas Magnus University.

Kaunas – the European Capital of Culture 2022 and JSC “Mantinga” contribute to the organization of the event.

The content of this event represents the views of the author only and is his/her sole responsi-bility. The European Commission and the Agency do not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.

Online course on „Introduction to Novel Optimization Methods in Economics“

You are welcome to attend the course „Introduction to Novel Optimization Methods in Economics“, which will be held online on 23-27 May, 2022.

Course content

The course is an introduction to novel optimization methods (linear and fuzzy linear optimization, genetic and memetic algorithms, swarm theory, bacterial evolutionary algorithms, etc.). Basic theory with economic application examples. Basic ideas of artificial intelligence are also presented (fuzzy systems, neural networks). Excel and Matlab are used for examples.

Learning outcomes

Basic knowledge of novel optimization methods. Ability to construct economic optimization models.

Course participants

Doctoral students in economics. Other students or young researchers interested in this topic are also welcome.

Course lecturer

Professor dr. Vesa Niskanen is researcher at Helsinki University (Finland) and Vytautas Magnus University (Lithuania). His main research areas are computational intelligence (i.e. fuzzy systems, neural networks, probabilistic reasoning, evolutionary computing, logico-methodological problems, decision making), general methodology, mathematical & statistical modelling, and the human sciences (i.e. methodological problems, e-learning).

Course “Introduction to Novel Optimization Methods in Economics” schedule

Date	Topics	Duration of activity	Time
23 May, 2022	– Introduction to optimization methods and central artificial intelligence approaches.	3 acad. hours	14:00-16:15
24 May, 2022	– Introduction to optimization methods and central artificial intelligence approaches. – Introduction to Excel optimization and Matlab environment.	3 acad. hours	9:00-11:15
25 May, 2022	– Optimization applications with Excel and Matlab. – Introduction to fuzzy cognitive maps.	3 acad. hours	9:00-11:15
26 May, 2022	– Optimization applications with Excel and Matlab.	3 acad. hours	9:00-11:15
27 May, 2022	– Optimization applications with Excel and Matlab.	3 acad. hours	9:00-11:15

This online course will take place at the Faculty of Bioeconomy Development in Vytautas Magnus University. Lectures will be held online, using “Zoom” platform. Participants (who attended no less than 50 % lectures) will be awarded certificates.

Registration to the course: press here.

We will send you a link to the “Zoom” platform as a reminder after registration. For more information, please contact Jevgenija Furgasė, e-mail jevgenija.furgase@vdu.lt.

Virtual conference “Young Scientist 2022”

We kindly invite You to participate in the virtual conference “Young Scientist 2022” (Jaunasis mokslininkas 2022), which will take place on 21 April. More than 200 student papers, grouped into 16 scientific sections, will be presented at the conference.

CONFERENCE PROGRAMME*

* – By clicking on the active title of the Plenary Session or the selected scientific section in the conference
programme, the access to the MS Teams meeting is activated.

13th International Scientific Conference “Accounting and Finance for Business 2022: Towards Sustainability”

The traditionally conference on accounting and finance is held biennially at the Faculty of Bioeconomy Development under the Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy (VMU AA). We welcome you to join the 13th international scientific conference “Accounting and Finance for Business 2022: Towards Sustainability” on 10-11 November 2022. The Conference will be held online.

Sustainability in business has been gaining momentum as a result of the increasing awareness about climate change and social inequality. The 13th conference on accounting and finance is dedicated to further exploration of this topic. Sustainability-oriented accounting and finance are the tools of measurement and analysis of the social and environmental effect of business. Researchers at the Faculty of Bioeconomy Development under the VMU AA consider the role of accounting and finance to play a significant role in business sustainability and the potential of these areas.

The main objective of the conference is to present and discuss innovative and sustainability-oriented accounting and finance trends, share new insights that are important for greater competitiveness, business performance, and promotion of partnership between the small and medium-sized business and the public sector. The 13th international scientific conference “Accounting and Finance for Business 2022: Towards Sustainability” will bring together the leading academic scientists, researchers and research scholars in accounting and finance to exchange and share their experiences and research results relevant to business, and the specialists in accounting and finance at the business and public sector organizations who are not indifferent to the changes aimed at sustainability in business.

The Conference will host panel discussion “What are the risks for a business importing or exporting goods if financial and accounting specialists do not have the necessary customs knowledge?” that will be moderated by the Association of Customs Partitioners, social partner of the Faculty of Bioeconomy Development. Special session on the agenda is dedicated to the ongoing project “A Digital Learning Platform for Generation Z: Passport to IFRS” implemented by VMU together with its partners.

The EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION is open until 1 June 2022. Individuals intending to make an oral and/or poster presentation have the chance to pay a reduced participant fee during the early bird registration period. Regular registration of the speakers is open until 7 November 2022. The Conference is free for the audience.

For more information on key dates, fees, and other relevant details about the 13th international scientific conference “Accounting and Finance for Business 2022: Towards Sustainability”, please visit the Conference website at https://afk.vdu.lt/en/.

Scientists of Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy visited University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro

On March 28th – April 1st associated professor Bernardas Vaznonis, associated professor Gintarė Vaznonienė from Faculty of Bioeconomy Development and associated professor Rytis Skominas from Faculty of Engineering visited University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD) within the frame of a project “Development of a Comprehensive University in the Context of the University Network Reform”.

UTAD is situated in Vila Real, Portugal. The University is divided into five schools: School of Agrarian and Veterinary Sciences, School of Human and Social Sciences, School of Science and Technology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences and School of Nursing.

During the visit Bernardas Vaznonis, Gintarė Vaznonienė and Rytis Skominas had meetings with UTAD academic staff, where discussed about the possibilities to collaborate in study and research fields and looked for the prospects to strengthen research in the field of bioeconomy. Good practice on applied study methods and organized research activities for students was shared during the visit. Opportunities to encourage students to participate in mobility programs were also discussed.

Scientists of Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy had a tour at the University, with the aim to get acquainted with the scientific infrastructure of different schools and their research. There were organized field visits to the bioeconomy business subjects, where good practice examples of sustainable development and circular economy were presented.

Apply now: Erasmus+ Traineeship Competition

A competition is open for Erasmus+ student or recent graduate traineeship grants. Application deadline is the 30th of April, 2022.

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.

Erasmus traineeship competitions will be organized each month until June 2022.

More information

Assistant K. Gesevičienė shared her scientific experience at the University of Agriculture in Kraków and discussed the possibilities of university cooperation

On March 22-25, Kristina Gesevičienė, an assistant at the Faculty of Bioeconomy Development, Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy went on a teaching visit to the University of Agriculture in Kraków, Faculty of Agriculture and Economics, when participating at Erasmus+ Staff mobility for teaching program. The intended objectives were achieved during the mobility, i.e. shared the experience in the field of dissertation research – the impact assessment of the effectiveness of environmental subsidies – and during the meeting with researchers from the host university the possibilities of institutional cooperation between Vytautas Magnus University and the University of Agriculture in Kraków in the field of joint research and projects were discussed.

According to K. Gesevičienė, the teaching mobility helped me to acquire new competencies in international cooperation and improved professional teaching skills.