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Apply Now: Online T4EU Science Communication Courses for PhD Students

On 23, 29 and 31 October, PhD students are invited to attend online T4EU Science Communication Courses.

The Science Communication Courses will equip participants with the tools to effectively communicate their research to the public. Delivered through online workshops between October 2024 and July 2025, each course will be provided by a different partner within the Transform4Europe (T4EU) alliance, focusing on key aspects of science communication.

The initiative aims to increase both the creation and consumption of scientific content, making it more accessible to global audiences. By improving communication skills, academics and students can better present their work to the public, fostering a greater understanding of science worldwide.

The Science Communication Courses will begin with the ‘Around Writing Series’, a series of 3 workshops open to the participation of any PhD student belonging to any university of the Transform4Europe Alliance. The first edition of this series is dedicated to three foundational and initiation topics around writing.

Application Deadline: 21 October via this registration form.

Calendar
Session #01 | 23 October – Wednesday, 4-7.30 p.m.*
Session #02 | 29 October – Tuesday, 4-7.30 p.m.
Session #03 | 31 October – Thursday, 4-7.30 p.m.
*Lithuania time

More information

International industrial hemp business event “Cannabis Hub.LT 2024”

International industrial hemp business event “Cannabis Hub.LT 2024” is being organized by the Centre for Business and Social Partnership at the VMU Agriculture Academy and the Association of Industrial Hemp Growers, Processors and Business Innovators on 8–9 November 2024

“Cannabis.Hub.LT 2024” is a traditionally organized annual international hemp business conference , which will include a hemp business exhibition. The theme of this year’s conference: “The Contribution of the Industrial Hemp Business to the Development of Restorative (Regenerative) Agriculture and the Circular Economy in Rural Areas”. Everyone interested in fiber hemp business opportunities, legal regulation and support of this business, and the latest technological achievements are welcome at the event.

The themes of the exhibition:

  • Construction using hemp composite materials;
  • Certified seeds of industrial hemp and modern cultivation technologies;
  • Organic fertilizers, plant protection products and bio stimulants;
  • Equipment and technology for drying and storing industrial hemp products;
  • Fiber hemp products (food, cosmetics, etc.);
  • Selection, research and consultancy services of industrial hemp;
  • Other.

Attendance at the event is free.

Organizer

Improving the viability and competitiveness of high added-value by-products from berries

An Operational Group from Lithuania called InoBerry aimed to improve the viability and competitiveness of high added-value by-products from berries. The project, which ended in 2023, tested and promoted a model which combines technological and commercialisation processes. It is based on sustainable management techniques as well as cooperation, creating links between farmers for more efficient production.

The partnership, led by Vytautas Magnus University (VMU), included six berry producers, a second university, and a consulting company. The project took place in Kauno apskritis, a county in the centre of Lithuania, and the idea was to develop a model which could support berry production in all other regions.

The production of berries in Lithuania has been steadily increasing in recent years. Audrone Ispiryan, one of the participating farmers, explains why the project was so important:

Previously, farmers lacked knowledge about innovative production technologies and laboratory research that could enhance the added value of their berries. There was also a lack of awareness regarding commercialisation opportunities for by-products, which made it challenging for them to compete in both local and international markets. The project aimed to address these gaps by fostering collaboration between farmers and scientific institutions.Audrone Ispiryan

The berry producers were strongly involved in shaping InoBerry’s outcomes. As the farmers already have a deep understanding of their farm management and production processes, this ensured that the innovations developed were practical, sustainable, and beneficial for both the farmers and the broader agricultural community.

The project activities were carried out over four years. The first key phase was to conduct an in-depth analysis of the berry farming sector; this involved both technological assessments and market studies to determine the most viable products and their commercialisation strategies. The next phase was to conduct field tests and collect data to evaluate the new techniques and management models. The tests were carried out on numerous farms across different regions to ensure the new methods could be scaled and adapted to different areas, farm sizes, and types.

Innovative technologies were tested which enabled farmers to diversify their product ranges. An example is ‘supercritical CO2 extraction’, which is used to extract oil from berry seeds after juicing, without the need for chemicals. The process not only adds value to what was previously considered waste, but also allows farmers to produce high-quality, natural oils that can be used in cosmetics and nutraceuticals. They also introduced cooperative management techniques that encourage shared resources, equipment, and knowledge among farmers.

As a result of these investigations, the project partners produced an innovative, sustainable management model for the production and commercialisation process of high added-value by-products from berries. Sustainability is an important part of the model, as it ensures the long-term success, resilience and competitiveness of farms by focusing on environmentally friendly practices, efficient use of resources, and innovative marketing strategies, to create additional revenue streams for farmers. This in turn enhances the social and economic well-being of rural areas. The model was disseminated to berry producers across Lithuania as part of the project activities via conferences, demo-days, social media and more.

Another of the participating farmers, Daiva Filistovic, shared her experience:

The model has truly transformed the way we approach berry farming. We’ve been able to significantly reduce waste and improve our production efficiency. We are now producing higher-value products and have better access to markets, which has increased our profitability and made our farm more sustainable for the future.Daiva Filistovic

Related info

This Operational Group was one of the 73 Operational Group projects with a stand at the Innovation exhibition during the EU CAP Network conference ‘EIP-AGRI Operational Groups: Innovation in practice’ which took place 6-8 May 2024, in Estoril, Portugal

The EU CAP Network will organise two events in 2025 linked to the topics that this Operational Group dealt with:

  • Workshop on ‘Circular Bioeconomy – Valorisation of by-products’ in March 2025
  • Workshop on ‘Innovation in logistics to improve the position of farmers in a supply chain’ in May 2025

Ensure you are signed up to Innovation & knowledge exchange | EIP-AGRI newsflashes to hear the information as soon as calls are released.

VMU community invited to an open introductory baseball practice

Are you dreaming of trying out baseball, but haven’t found the opportunity to do so? We offer you a great opportunity from the VMU Sports Center and the Kaunas Baseball Club ‘Lituanica’!

We invite the entire VMU community — students, staff, and alumni — to an open introductory baseball practice with the coaches of the Kaunas region baseball club ‘Lituanica’ at the baseball field in the VMU President Valdas Adamkus Sports Center (Studentų g. 9A, Akademija, 53361 Kaunas district).

The open introductory baseball practices will take place on two days — September 23 and 25 — so you can choose the day that is most convenient for you. The practices will start at 5:00 PM.

Registration required

Ass. Prof. Dr. Antonio Comparetti visited VMU AA for Erasmus+ training, strengthening research cooperation and promoting mobility between Lithuania and Sicily

Within Erasmus+ inter-institutional agreement between University of Palermo (Sicily, Italy) and Vytautas Magnus University, Antonio Comparetti, Associate Professor of the University of Palermo – Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences and Departmental coordinator of this agreement, visited again Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy (VMU AA), from Monday 22 to Monday 29 July 2024.

During his mobility period, he carried out the following training activities, according to Erasmus+ Agreement Staff Mobility for Training:

  • visit of Laboratory of Fertilizer Spreading Machines, guided by Prof. Egle Jotautiene;
  • visit of Laboratory of Crop Sprayers, guided by Prof. Egle Jotautiene;
  • visit of Laboratory of Progressive Agricultural Engineering, guided by Prof. Egle Jotautiene;
  • visit of Laboratory of Agricultural Machines Technological Process Research, guided by Prof. Egle Jotautiene and the PhD student Andrius Grigas (whose supervisor is Prof. Dainius Steponavicius);
  • visit of Biogas Laboratory, guided by Prof. Kestutis Navickas;
  • visit of Environmental Research Laboratory and Laboratory of Chemical and Biochemical Research for Environmental Technology, guided by Prof. Laima Cesoniene and the Junior researcher Dr. Kiril Kazancev;
  • visit of Water Engineering Laboratory, guided by Lecturer Raimundas Baublys.

During his mobility period, Prof. Antonio Comparetti also strengthened the profitable and friendly research cooperation between University of Palermo and Vytautas Magnus University, as well as he promoted student and staff mobility between the two involved institutions, within the above Erasmus+ agreement.

 

Visit of Laboratory of Fertilizer Spreading Machines: test bench for fertiliser spreading and centrifugal fertiliser spreader for spatially variable rate application of granular biofertilisers.

Visit of Laboratory of Crop Sprayers: wind tunnel used for studying the spraying of herbicide or pesticide mixture.

Visit of Laboratory of Progressive Agricultural Engineering: VERIS Multi Sensor Platform, MSP 3150, used for measuring and mapping apparent soil Electrical Conductivity (EC), soil organic matter and pH.

Visit of Laboratory of Agricultural Machines Technological Process Research: test bench used for growing Hydroponic Wheat Fodder (HWF), in presence of Andrius Grigas, Antonio Comparetti and Egle Jotautiene (from left to right).

Visit of Biogas Laboratory: vertical minidigesters (left) and horizontal biodigester (right) used for Anaerobic Digestion (AD) process.

Visit of Laboratory of Chemical and Biochemical Research for Environmental Technology, in presence of Antonio Comparetti (left) and Kiril Kazancev (right).

Visit of Water Engineering Laboratory: river basin model for forecasting erosion, sedimentation and river meander development.

Methodological Training on Meta-Analysis

Methodological Training on Meta-Analysis: an Introduction and an Overview of Advanced Topics

Session 1 (October 2, 3 – 5 P.M.): meta-analytic process, research questions, searching, coding, statistical integration.

Session 2 (October 8, 3 – 5 P.M.): heterogeneity, moderation analyses and advanced topics.

Language – English.

Duration of the workshop – each session/90 minutes lecture + 30 minutes Q&A (2,5 academic hours).

Format – online workshop via MS Teams. Please register for the workshop here.

All registered participants will receive MS Teams link to the workshop a few days before the training.

Certificates will be issued after the training for participants who attend all two sessions. No prior knowledge of the topic is necessary.

Trainer: Dr. Gunnar LemmerPhilipps (University Marburg, Germany), Department of Psychology, section: Psychological Methods. Gunnar has been giving lectures and seminars on statistical methods for several years. He has been working with meta-analyses for a long time in the field of psychology and is the author and co-author of several publications of research using meta-analyses.

Training will be moderated by V. Kavolis Institute Project Expert dr. Gintarė Pocė.

Description of the training

Meta-analysis is a statistical method for the combination of multiple quantitative studies on the same research question. Our training will cover the entire meta-analytic process.

At the beginning of session 1 of our training, we will get to know the structure of the meta-analytic process. We will then deal with meta-analytic research questions, searching for relevant studies, and coding relevant studies in terms of study characteristics and effect sizes. At the end of this session, we will get to know meta-analytic models for the integration of the effect sizes of the included studies (i.e., fixed effect model and random effects model).

Session 2 will start with methods for the analysis of heterogeneity of effect sizes. In order to be able to explain heterogeneity, we will then deal with meta-analytic models (e.g., mixed effects model) and meta-analytic methods (e.g., meta-regression) for moderation analyses. This session will also give a short overview of more advanced topics like three-level-meta-analysis and meta-analytic path models.

For more information about the workshop, please send an email to vki[eta]vdu.lt.

The workshop is a part of the project “Strengthening the R&D activities of the Vytautas Kavolis Transdisciplinary Institute for Social Sciences and Humanities (SOCMTEP)”. The project is funded by the Research Council of Lithuania and the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Lithuania, Contract No S-A-UEI-23-13 (2023-12-27). The funding programme is the “Excellence in Universities Initiative” (No V-940).

Innovative Teaching Competition

All VMU lecturers are invited to apply for the first-ever “Teaching Innovation Competition”, which will award cash prizes to the winners.

The competition is organised in order to promote pedagogical innovations and their application in the study process, to provide an opportunity to share best practices and to improve the quality of the University’s studies. University lecturers can participate individually or in a group. The deadline for applications is 25 October.

The winners will be selected by a jury of VMU faculty, staff, students and social partners. Each winner can receive a cash prize of up to EUR 1,000 for one teaching innovation, and the winners will be announced at the VMU’s “Quality 360°” event on the occasion of the World Quality Day, on 14 November.

There are two ways to enter the competition:

1. By filling in the Teaching Innovations Application Form yourself.

2. Nominated by a colleague, academic department, study committee or others by completing the nomination form. The nominated teacher(s) will be contacted by the organisers. Nominated lecturers participate in the competition by completing the Teaching Innovation Application Form.

Applications are welcome in six categories:

– Active teaching methods;

– Digital learning technologies using artificial intelligence;

– Innovations for assessing student achievement;

– Encouraging Entrepreneurship;

– Inclusive and personalised teaching methods

– Co-teaching and co-creation.

Applications will be accepted until 25 October.

The award amount per teaching innovation is up to EUR 1000.

Teaching innovation application form.

Nomination form for a colleague. 

Awarded lecturers are invited to publish a short summary of the teaching innovation and a video for publicity, as well as to share the innovation with their colleagues, to provide training for the University community, etc.

The competition is organised by the Study Quality Unit of the Department of Studies. The awards are funded by the VMU Teaching Innovation Promotion Fund.

It is planned to organise the competition annually in the future.

We kindly invite teachers to apply or nominate colleagues!

If you have any questions, please contact: kokybe[eta]vdu.lt

“Being honest with Cypriots will help you make new friends”

Anastasiia Puha, a student of Diplomacy and International Relations // Erasmus+ traineeship in Cyprus

Most universities include internships in undergraduate study programmes. This is necessary for the student to gain skills and experience in work and to understand the field of activity. Information is needed from the people working with it (not only from textbooks or teachers).

Since I am an international student, I decided that I wanted to practice in an international environment and visit a new country. VMU (VDU) opportunities helped me with this, namely, Erasmus+ traineeship which opened new possibilities and experiences for me.

After a lot of searching and many letters to companies, I got an offer from a company in Cyprus. This is how my journey into the world of finance and the incredible country of Cyprus began.

Well, let’s first talk about the uniqueness of the Erasmus+ traineeship programme. Erasmus+ traineeships is an internship programme in another country. This programme allows you to gain experience and skills from the company as well as discover the world of new countries, features, and people.

What makes this programme special is that you receive a scholarship that depends on the country where the company is based. However, students should show their motivation and persistence to learn new skills to take advantage of this opportunity!

Now let’s back to my incredible trip to Cyprus, a country of wonderful colors, exclusive culture, delicious food, and open people. The peculiarity of Cyprus is its weather and the sunny people who live there. I guarantee you that you will never be stranded on this island, because it is simply not possible. People of any age know English and will happily help a tourist or expat. Thanks to the Erasmus+ traineeship, I received a new family, this time – a Cypriot family whoever is so worried about me, rejoices in my victories and waits for my return. They showed me all the incredible, colorful places and food, and invited me to local festivals.

After my eloquent story about Erasmus+ and Cyprus, here are some tips for both:

  1. To participate in the programme, you must be motivated and show good academic results. Don’t be afraid to participate in student conferences or projects; it will help you with your skills and provide additional motivation.
  2. Choose the company and country you like, as only your motivation and desire for self-development will help you get closer to victory.
  3. Cyprus is a multinational country but there are very delicate topics that should not be touched upon until you get to know each other better. Their historical and military conflicts should be bypassed and studied in the historical museums on the territory.
  4. The best seafood and fish can be found on the coast, and souvlika (meat) – in the capital Nicosia. Be sure to go to the local tavern and play bingo
  5. Be prepared for sincerely open people who are interested in every little detail. Being honest with Cypriots will make you new friends.

“Sharing is Caring” Event: Helping Students Make Kaunas Their New Home

On August 30th, Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) held its 3rd “Sharing is Caring” event, where more than 100 new exchange and full-time students gathered to find kitchen, hobby, and study essentials, as well as other useful items to start their new life and academic year in Kaunas.

As part of the Orientation Days, the “Sharing is Caring” event showcased a variety of items, including kitchen utensils, electronics, books, sports equipment, hobby materials, stationery, cleaning tools, umbrellas, mirrors, hangers, and more. The event also featured a lottery where registered participants, selected by a random number generator, won great prizes such as table lamps, a hairdryer, an electric kettle, a rice cooker, a drying rack, and other unique finds to make their new homes cozy.

Earlier, during May and June, former exchange students and graduates donated new or gently used essential items for the new cohort of students. All items were collected and stored in the dormitory storage rooms over the summer. Clothes, shoes, and bedding were donated to homeless people at the “Ateik” day center of the Kaunas Archdiocese Caritas in July.

The event was organized as part of the DON@ Donation Opportunities for Newcomers project, which aims to support the integration of students with fewer opportunities and improve their living conditions by fostering mutual support, inclusion, and sustainable development. We sincerely thank the International Cooperation Department, the Student Affairs Department, the dormitory administrations, and our dedicated volunteers for their invaluable assistance in making this event possible.

The DON@ project started in September 2022 and will last until October 2024 from the program Erasmus + KA220-HED – Cooperation partnerships in higher education.

Learn more:

May 2024 – The DON@ Project’s Multiplier Event focuses on Student Integration

February 2024 – The DON@ Project is Entering Its Final Phase

January 2024 – DON@ Project: Fostering Reciprocal Help Among International Students and video

August 2023 – DON@: International Students Embrace “Sharing is Caring” Event and video

Opportunities for studies or traineeship abroad

Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) International Cooperation Department invites all university students to use the opportunities for studies or traineeship abroad.

Additional competition for VMU bilateral exchange and Erasmus+ studies (in non-EU/EEA countries).

Submit your applications by 30 September.

Competition for the Erasmus+ traineeship grants in all of world countries.

Submit your applications by the 30 of September.

On September 12th, 3 p.m. we invite you to join the online presentation (in English) and learn more about study and traineeship opportunities. Click here to join.

NOTE! An additional Erasmus+ competition for studies in EU/EEA countries will NOT be announced for the spring semester of the AY 2024/2025. The main competition for the AY 2025/2026 (autumn and spring semesters) will be announced in February, 2025.

More information.