VMU to Celebrate Start of New Academic Year
Students, lecturers and employees – all members of VMU community are invited to celebrate the start of the new academic year by participating in the traditional events of 1 September. They will conclude the introductory week dedicated to the welcoming of first year students.
As usual, festivities of 1 September will begin with the Holy Mass at the Kaunas Cathedral Basilica (1 Vilniaus Street) on 12 p.m. At 1.30 p.m. this will be followed by meetings of faculty communities with the first year students. International students will attend events of the Orientation Days organized by the International Office.
Later, everyone will be welcome to join in the festive parade, which will start at 2 p.m. from the Monument to Vytautas the Great (96 Laisvės al.). The meeting point of the international students is outside the VMU International Office’s building (27 S. Daukanto g.) at 2.10 p.m. International students are requested to come on time and take their country’s flag if they have it with them.
The final part of the celebration will begin at 3 p.m. in the VMU Great Hall (28 S. Daukanto g.): some of its most anticipated parts will be the VMU Rector’s greetings and the tasting of the big festive cake.
Notably, Tuesday 1 September is not only the day of festivities for the entire university, but also the first day of classes for BA degree students.
Program of Festivities on 1 September
| 12.00 p.m. | Holy Mass at the Kaunas Cathedral Basilica (1 Vilniaus Street) for the communities of Kaunas universities |
| 1.30–2.00 p.m. | Meetings of first-year students with faculty communities. |
| 2.10 p.m. | International students meet outside VMU International Office (27 S. Daukanto) before the festivities near the Monument to Vytautas the Great. |
MONUMENT TO VYTAUTAS THE GREAT (LAISVĖS AL. 96) |
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| 2.30 p.m. | Start of celebration |
| 2.35 p.m. | Congratulations |
| 2.50 p.m. | Festive procession to VMU Great Hall |
VMU GREAT HALL (S. DAUKANTO G. 28) |
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| 3.00 p.m. | Start of event. National anthem of Republic of Lithuania |
| 3.10 p.m. | Speech by VMU Rector Prof. Juozas Augutis |
| 3.20 p.m. | Freshmen’s oaths |
| 3.25 p.m. | Congratulations |
| 3.50 p.m. | Gaudeamus Igitur (student anthem) |
| 4.00 p.m. | Festive cake of September 1st |
Public lectures by Alpo Rusi
19-23 September, public lectures by prof. Alpo Rusi, visiting professor at Vytautas Magnus University, will be held.
Prof. A. Rusi served in the Foreign Ministry of Finland in several assignments (Hamburg, Copenhagen, New York, Bonn), and from 1994 to 1999 as foreign policy adviser to the President of Finland Martti Ahtisaari. He also served as EU Coordinator for the Sarajevo Summit 1999 and deputy Coordinator of the Stability Pact for Western Balkans in 1999-2000. He worked as professor of International Relations, 2000-2003, at Lapland University and in Hamburg. Later on 2007-2009 he was senior adviser in the Cabinet staff of the President of the UN General Assembly.
A. Rusi was from 2009-2014 the ambassador of Finland to Switzerland, with accreditation also to Liechtenstein and the Holy See. A. Rusi is a recognized scholar in the field of international relations and history of Finland, and has published several books in Finland, and in the United States and Great Britain.
| Date | Place | Title of the lecture |
| 19 September 16:30 | Gimnazijos g. 7 – 206 | The UN System within the global change |
| 20 Septermber 13:15 | Gedimino g. 44 – 202 | The conflict between the West and Russia – repercussions in the Baltic Sea Region and in the global international order |
| 21 September 11:15 | Gedimino g. 44 –202 | EU and Turkey. What‘s next? |
| 22 September 11:15 | Gimnazijos g. 7 – 411 | After Brexit. The future of the EU |
A. Rusi. European Energy Security
Prof. Alpo Rusi, a visiting professor at Vytautas Magnus UniversityE
European Energy Security – Is the EU too weak to compete with the Energy Companies and to contain Russian geopolitical pressure based on energy interdependence? Nord Stream 2 is a case in point.
My intention is to introduce a couple of viewpoints on European energy security mainly in light of Russia’s new confrontational approach towards Ukraine and the West. As stated in the introduction of the theme of this panel ”it is not surprising that the debate about energy security in the European Union is pushed forward” in order ”to find reliable sources of alternative supplies for limiting of energy blackmail”. My question is also whether the EU is too weak to compete with the Energy companies and too weak to contain Russian geopolitical pressure based on energy interdependence? Additionally, Nord Stream 2 is a case in point.
Europe is not anymore divided as during the Cold War but there already exists an identifiable political and military dividing line between Europe and the Eurasian states controlled by the Russian federation. The economic structures of the post-Soviet economy made it difficult, even impossible to integrate Russia into the European institutions. The question was not about the lack of political will but about history and geopolitics. Schock therapies or other quick methods failed to reform post-Soviet Russian economy. Nationalism replaced communist ideologue as a unifying force and a vertical power system regionalization.
Furthermore, Russia has an interest to push its sphere of influence westwards.”To end up the breaking of Russia”. Contrary to other BRIC countries, Russia displays a propensity to use force to achieve its strategic objectives. The neighboring states of Russia are targets of an advanced hybrid war including direct military threats. Instabilities have reached The Baltic Sea Region but much less in case the Nato enlargement would not have covered the Baltic states.
One of the key tactics to promote Russian geopolitical interest is energy interdependence. Since the vertical Putin system was established during his first term as President, natural gas, even more than oil, became perhaps the most powerful tool of foreign policy. Oil trades freely, gas requires fixed pipelines. The network of pipelines, dating to the Soviet era, gave Russia clout and, with rising energy prices, Putin understood early 2000, that it constitutes the core of Russia’s power. Ukraine, through which most of gas passed, had to be firmly nestled in Russia’s geopolitical embrace.
In the early summer 2005 Gazprom took over with a direct involvement of Putin a major private oil company Sibneft with the cash of 13 billion dollars from the funds of the state’s coffers. Putin controlled the company by picking loyal friends to run it at all levels. Gazprom became one of the largest corporations in the world and a powerful arm of Russian foreign policy from Asia to Europe. By strengthening Gazprom, Putin aimed at strengthening Russia’s geopolitical reach to regain after the collapse of the Soviet sphere of influence.
The construction of the longest underwater natural gas pipeline, Nord Stream 1, was launched already 1997 when Gazprom and the Finnish Neste (later on Fortum) formed a joint company North Transgas, later Nord Stream for the construction of a gas pipeline from Russia to Northern Germany across the Baltic Sea. The project was strongly facilitated by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder who had approved one billion loan to Gazprom two weeks before the elections in September 2005, but it took until November 2009, before the Swedish and Finnish authorities gave a permit to lay the pipeline from Viborg to Greifsfald of 1,222 kilometers in their exclusive economic zones. A consortium made up of Russian Gazprom and energy companies E.ON, BASF/Wintershall, OMV, ENGIE and Royal Dutch Shell was created for the Nord Stream 2 project, slated to expand the existing Nord Stream pipeline with current capacity of 55 billion cubic meters.
Nord Stream 1 that was operational in the autumn 2011, and the parallel pipeline the following year had two immediate goals: (1) to bypass the old Soviet pipeline network through Ukraine, Belarus and Poland, and (2) to increase Europe’s dependency on Russia. The project was called by Polish defense minister ”the energy version of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact”. For many others is was only a major business deal. In Finland it was even considered that it will strengthen stability in the Baltic Sea because both Germany and Russia were committed to stability for the sake of the pipeline. In 2016 a high share of gas supplies going from Russia to Europe has to pass through Ukraine. Nord Stream 2 is scheduled to be constructed by the end of 2019 which is the same year as the contract between Russia and Ukraine expires.
The war between Russia and Georgia in August 2008 was seen by many as an intense geopolitical contest over the flow of Caspian Sea energy to markets in Europe. The former Prime Minister of Finland, Paavo Lipponenannounced a few days after the war in Georgia that he had signed a contract to become a consultant for Nord Stream in order to ”build bridges between the EU and Russia” and because the issue was comic ties, not politics although the Baltic states expressed strong worries about its security policy repercussions.
First a few words about the ongoing energy revolution and about the geopolitical transition in the international system. With reference to the analysis of Professor Peter Lund of Aalto University, we experience an energy revolution at the moment. Old energy sources, like gas and oil, are loosing ground to new energy sources like solar energy and windpower. Russia’s oil and gas reserves are depleted by 2080. The driving force for this revolution is the threat of climate change, but also technology and opportunities it is offering for new jobs.
Lund estimates that by 2050 more than 50% of the energy sources needed are coming from solar energy and windpower. It is needed, however, approximately 50 trillion for investments to achieve these goals. Lund is paying tribute to the US, China,Switzerland, Denmark and Germany for their ambitious strategies to replace the old energy sources with the renewable and clean energy sources. In case professor Lund has predicted the future by and far correctly, the energy revolution may take place parallel with a major geopolitical transition too.
The European security system is fragile but the international order as well The conflict between Russia and the West, but also increasingly there exists a conflict between China and the West with geopolitical dimensions. It has been emphasized that the interconnected infrastructure of the global economy provides the battleground for so called connectivity wars and economic interdependence has been ”weaponized” accordingly, the supply cuts of gas by Russia and the increase of tensions in the South China Sea as examples of ”the connectivity wars”.
Could the EU limit the energy dependency on Russia , that is the most important external supplier of energy to the EU (30% of gas and oil import to the EU) and to develop a united energy community and energy foreign policy for the EU members states? For example Finland gets about 50% of its energy from Russian sources and out of which almost 100% of gas and 85% of raw oil and 12 % of electricity. No gas will come to Lithuania from Russia anymore and Lettland and Estonia follow the suit. This is a major achievement because in 2000 Lithuania was 100% dependent on Russian oil and gas and Lithuania had to use more Russian energy sources again due to the closing of Ignalia nuclear reactor between 2004 to 2009. The getting of rid of the Soviet era electricity transit network BRELL, will take at least one decade to be completed, but bio mass and LNG (liquefied natural gas)-terminal in Klaipeida are examples of the transition taking place in energy sector in Lithuania but also in Lettland an Estonia.
One of the most ambitious projects of the EU Commission is the Energy Union proposed by Donald Tusk when he was Prime Minister of Poland in 2015. The reason for this initiative was, not necessarily climate change but Russia’s cuts of gas supplies to Europe, once in 2006 and again in 2009. The annexation of Crimea by Russia made the establishment of the Energy Union for energy security a much more important goal.
Russia’s room for gas games is constrained by its own capacities, the gas strategies of other players, and the EU’s ability to project its regulatory power. One of the first victims of the annexation of Crimea was South Stream pipeline. Understanding the difficulties, Putin killed the project in December 2014. The sanctions hit hard the inner circle of Putin, like Gennady Timchenko, the owner of Gunvor, an oil trading company registered in Switzerland. He managed to sell all his shares just before the sanctions were introduced.
Vladimir Putin certainly believed that the price of oil would not fall so drastically as it did from the level of 147 (11.7.2008) dollars per barrel and it was believed that the days of affordable oil were over. In December 2008 the price of oil dropped to 32,40 dollars level per barrel being somewhere between 35 to 50 dollars per barrel in 2016. No surprise that Putin accused Washington for the finance crisis of 2008, but for sure he did not predict the collapse of the price when went to war in Georgia. In the US Dept of Energy predictions the price of oil has been estimated in three scenarios: (1) 200 dollars, (2) 130 dollars and (3) 50 dollars.The last one may be closer to the truth which is a catastrophic scenario for Russia.
Since the annexation of Crimea and the sanctions set up against the Russian companies, banks and individuals by the EU and the US, Russia has both intensified its aggressive foreign policy but also improved its economic relations with China and all countries that can avoid punishments by the EU and the US. Presidents Putin and XI have criticized US unilateralism, stepped up their military cooperation and signed major energy deals, like 400 billion dollars Power of Siberia Gas pipeline project. Mongolia managed to get rid of their huge debts by signing an energy contract with Russia. Russian ”oil diplomacy” still plays a role in Asia.
A case in point is the planned gas pipeline Nord Stream 2. The question is whether the plan would contradict the plans of the European Commission. The decision should be taken in the early autumn of 2016 and the construction completed by 2019.
- What kind of an impact will Nord Stream 2 have on the European energy security?
- What are the commercial, legal, and political-policy issues that could potentially prevent the pipeline from being built?
- Is Nord Stream 2 pipeline a geopolitical project that seeks to diminish Ukraine’s gas supply and its role as a transit country for Russia or is Nord Stream 2 a business plan that will help Europe meet its energy demands amidst European Union’s climate change goals?
The Nord Stream 2 has become a very divisive issue inside the EU and the transatlantic community. Within the EU solutions are being sought to prevent Nord Stream 2 from dividing the union into losers and winners. In the Baltic states it is considered as a geopolitical tool and as a bad business deal. In April the Swedish-Estonian community published a resolution in protest of Nord Stream 2 for security reasons. At least the EU has been able to say to Russia that ”comply with our laws and sell as much as you can in our market”. However, this has not solved the political problems. The US administration is skeptical of the argument that the pipeline is a commercial project, pointing out that the existing Nord Stream is not running at full capacity and it could kill LNG-strategy of the Energy Union based mainly on the US reserves.
The timing of Nord Stream 2 is certainly not good. However, energy policies are not based on short term interests. In the early 1980s chancellor Helmut Schmidt pushed a pipeline project forward with the Soviet Union against the objection of Ronald Reagan. Schmidt did not want the Soviet Union to increase its geopolitical influence in Western Europe, but both for the long term consolidation with Moscow as well as for energy security for Western Europe. Today the EU is dealing with the similar kind of problem although the diversification of energy sources are not pushing Europe to the brink of scarcity as it was the case in the 1980s. Prices of electricity may rise, but this does not lead to shortage shocks of energy as it was the case during the oil crises in the 1970s.
In Europe the business community is not unified on Nord Stream 2. One can agree that the commercial and political issues cannot be separated regarding Nord Stream 2. In German business as well as political community in particular they emphasize the need to let the markets fix and support Nord Stream 2. Especially the Social Democrats are advocating the project also for political reasons.
One of the most critical arguments has been expressed by a Swedish scholar Anders Åslund. In his view the EU Commission is too weak to check the big European energy giants and they are now colluding with Gazprom to build a completely unnecessary pipeline to beat Ukraine and get oligopoly with higher prices for European consumers. The EU is not sharing this criticism but insists to keep Ukraine as one of the key transit routes for gas in the future too.
Although oil and gas may loose their attraction in the longer term, Russia is an energy power in the field of nuclear energy and in the search of new territories for energy, like in the Arctic, as part of its geopolitical enlargement strategy. Rosatom has invested to Fennovoima, a Finnish company, to build a new nuclear reactor to Pyhäjoki. The chairman of the Green party Ville Niinistö has criticized the project as a new sign of finlandisation.
Finland will chair the Arctic Council next year and Finland would like to chair the summit for the Council members. Let us hope that this afford would stop militarization of the Arctic.
Conlusions:
1. The short-term question for Europe should not be how to break energy bonds with Russia, but how to limit the damage caused by the Russian aggressive strategy to weaponize energy interdependence. Nord Stream 2 should not be implemented in case no real political unity achieved inside the EU on the project. In particular Finland and Germany should reconsider their business first approach in supporting of Nord Stream 2 in case the Baltic states and Sweden are against.
2. Taking into consideration the ongoing energy revolution and Russia’s problems in the longer term, the EU, for the sake of its energy security, should invest still more effort in finding alternative sources of energy to make itself less dependent on Russian gas. Here again a Baltic-Nordic co-operation is needed for the control of electricity prices as for example Sweden is closing its nuclear reactors and the dependence on Russian gas diminished.
3. The Arctic should be safeguarded from geopolitical competition and for environmental reasons.
4. Energy security needs to be better integrated to an overall security strategy of the EU taking into consideration hard security (geopolitics), energy revolution as well as soft security (i.e. environmental factors). Consequently, I would like to raise the question whether there exists a conflict of interest after the annexation of Crimea by Russia that two former heads of the governments of the EU are involved as well paid experts in Nord Stream 2 project. President Vladimir Putin can be identified as the real initiator of Nord Stream pipelines also for geopolitical interests of Russia.
EUROPEAN AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION | POLITICAL DIALOGUE & ANALYSIS
Conference of the Working Group of Young Foreign Policy Experts in Stockholm
May 26, 2016, 17:30-19:00
Stockholm, Sweden
First Hotel Norrtull
Sankt Eriksgatan 119
Public lecture of an energy security expert
Dr. Tomas Vlcek, an expert of energy security from the Czech Republic will give lectures on nuclear dimension of energy security and activities of Russian nuclear company in Central and Eastern Europe on 12-15 September, at the Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy.
Dr Tomas Vlcek is a specialized researcher at the International Institute of Political Science and lecturer at the Energy Security Program, International Relations and Energy Security Centre at Masaryk University. He is a member of the academic association Czech Nuclear Education Network. His academic interests include the energy security of the Czech Republic and Central and Eastern Europe, especially in relation to the nuclear and electricity sectors. He wrote his Doctoral dissertation on the Druzhba pipeline and alternatives to Russian crude oil supply for the Czech and Slovak Republics.
Dr. Tomas Vlcek will give the following lectures:
12 September, 13:15, Gedimino st. 44 – 202 – “Crude Oil Infrastructure Alternatives in Central Europe”.
12 September, 15:15, Gimnazijos st. 7 – 101 – “Nuclear Energy in Central and Eastern Europe and the Operation of Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation”.
13 September, 13:15, Gedimino g. 44 – 203 – “Rosatom in Central Europe – a Putin’s Hand or Effective Company?”
Facing the Storm – Two Years in the Tusk Cabinet
September 5th, 2016 (Monday) at 1:15 PM at the Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy (Gedimino st. 44 – 202) a public lecture by the Deputy Head of the Cabinet of the President of the European Council Donald Tusk André Gillissen on the subject “Facing the Storm – Two Years in the Tusk Cabinet”. During the lecture guest will present how the Cabinet of the President of the European Council Donald Tusk operates, what challenges the Cabinet faces and how they deal with them.
The Cabinet of Donald Tusk faces unprecedented challenges for the European Union: BREXIT and leading the European Union while trying to map future of the organization accepted by all member states; migrant crisis because of the instability in the Middle East and work with heads of states to deal with it; Russia’s invasion in Ukraine, annexation of Crimea and the EU response to Russia’s actions when searching for solidarity.
Call for papers to Lithuanian Foreign Policy Review
Lithuanian Foreign Policy Review (LFPR) calls for papers. Send your manuscript to the editor at editor@lfpr.lt
LFPR is peer review journal which aims to publish research articles on foreign and security policy of small states and middle powers, especially focusing on Central Eastern European and Northern European regions. It is published twice a year in cooperation with the Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy of Vytautas Magnus University. Financially, the journal is supported by Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, editorially, it is independent open access publication.
The Journal Publishes in both print and online version. For more information, visit the official website of the journal www.lfpr.lt.
Why do foreign students choose studies in VMU?
Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) is a classical university of liberal arts which pays a particular attention on the internationalization of the studies and research. It is one of the most international universities in Lithuania and the wider Eastern Europe and Baltic region. Every year an increasing amount of foreign students has been coming from European, Asian and American continents to study here. What are the main reasons of their choices? Why do foreign students choose studies in VMU? About the choices and experiences – we speak with the students, who came from the very different countries (USA, Morocco, Ukraine, Georgia, Venezuela and Turkey) and decided to study “International Politics and Development Studies”, one of the most popular bachelor level program among foreign students.
Internationally recognized diploma for an affordable price
Olivia Wells: I was studying at University of Southern California and I did an exchange program to Greece. After spending a year in Greece I decided that I wanted to switch my major, which was classics, to international relations. I also wanted to stay in Europe, so I did a lot of research about programs in English in Europe in political science and international relations. VMU fit my requirements and it was also very affordable for me. That was a huge factor. As it is known, studying (especially getting your undergraduate degree) in the US is ridiculously expensive. The financial aspect of my studies was very important.
NewYorker (USA) Olivia Wells became the president of UN students Club
Nikoloz Chkheidze: There was a correlation of few factors that motivated me to come and study in Lithuania. Firstly, finishing studies in Lithuania would have been more recognized and accredited worldwide rather than finishing studies in Georgia. Secondly, the prices were more convenient and attractive than those in Western Europe, and lastly my Lithuanian friends that I have made in school period – made me decide to come to study in Lithuania.
Anna Romanenko: It was a great opportunity to study abroad and to get an international diploma, because the diploma from Ukrainian universities is not so recognized in the European countries. It also gives me a great opportunity to get a perfect job.
Muhammed Nas: Actually, my main motivation to come to Lithuania was because it is really affordable and my plan was to transfer my credits from Lithuania to the United Kingdom but I saw that I really achieved very good success at Vytautas Magnus University, so I decided to stay here.
Calm, students oriented city and historically interesting regional environment
Olivia Wells: I realized the benefits of staying in Europe while studying international relations. You’re sort of in the middle of everything that’s going on. It is also really interesting to study in this part of Europe considering Russia and the dynamics of the Cold War, which is an important aspect of international relations. I didn’t have a lot of preconceived notions about Lithuania. You have to understand that in the US it’s very much grouped with the other Baltic States and Eastern Europe in general. So when we study what happened in this part of the world, we don’t go into the individual states. It’s very much monolithic block vs. Russia and how Russia interacts with Eastern Europe as a whole, which is unfortunate, but it’s true.
M.Zakaria Belmehdi: Why exactly Lithuania? Because, first of all, I want to study in Eastern European country, because of the culture, because of history- these are the first factors that attracted me. For me coming to Lithuania was not challenging in comparison to the UK. As concerning integration with people, for me it was easy here, because Lithuanians are open-minded. So, I do not have any problems, as far as I want to integrate. Of course, there are little challenges, but in general, my experience was very positive here. Before coming to Kaunas, I had a concern, because the population of Kaunas is 98 per cent Lithuanians. On the other hand, I wanted to live in a homogeneous country meanwhile having some multicultural experience. I met many friends and people from different countries not only from VMU, but from other universities as well. For me, Kaunas is really suitable for a student life since there are a lot of activities, at least during the academic year.
Mohamed-Zakaria Belmehdi came from Morocco
Muhammed Nas: Kaunas is a beautiful city. It has a warm environment and very beautiful green places and historical places as well. Actually, the people are nice, multicultural communication is very vivid here and I totally agree that it is a student city. Here there are more than 3 universities, hence it includes very different types of nationalities and thus these international students make the city more rich culturally and colorful.
Nikoloz Chkheidze: I would agree, not only that Kaunas is full of international students, but it is also a city, where a lot of Lithuanians come from other parts of their country – this makes Kaunas a multicultural student city.
Konrad Petraitis: Sometimes while walking the Liberty Avenue you feel how quite it is. That was new experience since you would never ever experience that in Venezuela. You could be in the middle of nowhere in Latin America and you still hear people screaming and shouting. That’s why people here look at me weird if I talk more loudly. So Lithuania taught me the difference between talking and shouting, and inside and outside voices. Although Lithuanians are quiet, but they are very curious as well, so they do want to get to know foreigners, they do open a lot of doors for you. With some of Lithuanians I even get along better than with my siblings.
Anna Romanenko: Lithuania is not so far from Ukraine and we share some common history such as the Soviet period, so sometimes I can talk in Russian with adults, because a lot of older generation people know Russian and it is really helpful for me. So I didn’t really feel like in a completely different environment.
Ukrainian Anna Romanenko will seek to apply the university knowledge in her country after graduation.
Liberal, friendly and welcoming university atmosphere
Nikoloz Chkheidze: The friendly acceptance coming from university staff, teachers and students of Vytautas Magnus University made it much easier to adapt. Together with my friend, we were always feeling the support coming from locals in anything we needed whether it was something related to university or a completely different issue. The atmosphere is amazing in the university, no matter how involved and active you are, it makes you feel to be part of it, as the city is also small and full of students, this makes the inside of university even more comfortable and cozy. The constant movement of flows of people in different buildings makes you alive and motivated to go out and do something. The university offers you opportunities such as doing an Erasmus abroad and participating in many local and international events of political scope.
Konrad Petraitis: I applied for several other universities but VMU just convinced me, honestly, the treatment I got here just applying, really, it took me over, I can’t complain. VMU kind of hit the tone with me, they are very relaxed people, they are very down to earth, they provide you with the tools to succeed and if you don’t want to take them, it’s up to you. But VMU invented itself so, that you not only take them, but it would do everything for you. I have that impression, which, I assume that some people need more than the others.
M.Zakaria Belmehdi: University atmosphere is friendly, international and funny. Friendly because both Lithuanians and foreign students that I’ve met here are really friendly, open-minded and open to other cultures, so we have a lot of cultural exchanges. It is really easy to make friends here. It is really international, because there are foreign students from around 50 countries. Although the majority of them are from Europe, there are students from outside Europe as well. Moreover, university has a lot of student clubs, which help students to have fun, to relax, enjoy his moment and time here in Lithuania.
Open-minded administration supports students’ initiatives
Olivia Wells: I like it and I was very surprised by it. There are definitely things that need to be worked on, however, I like that it’s smaller because I’ve been in smaller and very large universities and in larger universities there’s a gap between the students and the administration. You don’t feel like you can easily approach any of the staff and it’s very bureaucratic, so it’s difficult to get anything done. I’m really grateful that it is easy to talk to people here and they are helpful. I liked the administration – from there I decided that I wanted to get involved in different extra curricular activities. It’s quite easy to do all these extra curricular activities and if you are the kind of person that wants to get involved, it is a great school for that because the university really supports students’ initiatives.
Anna Romanenko: From the first letter of acceptance and even starting from when I sent my documents to the international office, I was really happy that they were speaking to me warmly, they were really friendly and when I came the environment was also very friendly. Also Eglė, from International Office, really helped me a lot in the beginning, and even now, when I have some questions, she is always happy to help me without any problems.
Muhammed Nas: I tried to be as active as possible. So, during my studies I did a lot of initiatives. One of them was the establishment of United Nations students club. After the meeting with the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, who visited VMU, we decided to establish this organization. Within the activities of this student organization we widely announced our university name while communicating with diplomatic representatives, especially in the Embassy of Sweden, the Embassy of Republic of Turkey, the Embassy of the USA and so on. So people really appreciate our initiatives. So after achieving this, I decided to stay here, I had very good success which is going to be very useful for my future life.
Turkish Muhammed Nas was one of the initiators of UN students Club
Focus on personal development: interesting and challenging studies in multicultural environment
Olivia Wells: Simply speaking about my knowledge base, it has really expanded, that’s undeniable. I could also say that I’ve been the most active as a student in university life and involving myself in extra curricular activities than I ever was in the US. So that has been really great for me. I was able to work and do a lot. Of course, it depends a lot on the person.
Nikoloz Chkheidze: It gave me also a better understanding of myself, my strengths and weaknesses as well as it determined me more as a person, knowing exactly what I want and what to strive for. By choosing to study in Lithuania, I believe I made a very good choice and I am satisfied. The program turned out to be exactly what I was interested to study.
Konrad Petraitis: It gave me a lot more that I could ever express in any interview. I am eternally indebted to this university, to every single professor, to every single staff member and it is going to be my alma mater forever. VMU will give you every single thing to you to succeed and it’s only up to you whether you’re willing to take them. You will have to work, play your part, but as I said, VMU has that big fish in a small pond mentality that helps people to succeed.
M.Zakaria Belmehdi: When it comes to this particular study program, for those, who wish to study politics, I definitely recommend them to come to study here. Also, people who are looking for fun, for good quality of education and international environment- I recommend them to come to VMU.
Anna Romanenko: When I came to the faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy I was really surprised by the level they are teaching, because the level of English of lecturers were really good, they are helpful and the lectures are interesting for me. I understood that I am happy to be here and I’m lucky to study in such a university. In the beginning it was really difficult for me due to everything was in English, every lecturer wants something from you, and you need to write and read a lot of, hence the first year was really challenging for me. But then I started to develop myself and improve my language and communication skills, I started to read more. So I believe I really grew up as a person.
Muhammed Nas: I had very intelligent and professional lecturers, who are open-minded, informative and smart. This study program is a comprehensive, the content of the program is acceptable by other universities worldwide and it includes very good topics. Besides of being a good political scientist, you can increase your knowledge and it really contributes to your life, because you can select very different type of elective courses such as Media Art, Philosophy, Biology and so on. So I really call people, who want to study political science to come here. If they are going to struggle, because if there is no struggle, there is no achievement, if they are going to study hard, VMU is very international university and therefore they will achieve the goals.
Dr. Sima Rakutienė: „ There is no question that multicultural environment creates opportunities not only to know, but also to feel and hear the voices of different peoples and cultures right here in the classroom, to study international politics in the international community, to analyze the effects of global importance, socio-political and economic processes. Each year the program attracts foreign students from various parts of the world (Morocco, Venezuela, Ukraine, Georgia, USA, Nigeria, turkey and etc.) and creates an invaluable intercultural environment and experience for both: teachers and students“.
Dr. Sima Rakutienė, Head of the Department of Regional Studies
International environment helps to develop your skills
Alumni of VMU bachelor study program “International Politics and Development studies” shared her experience about the studies in VMU.
Currently the international and multicultural environment in the program consists of permanent foreign students from the USA, Venezuela, Turkey, Morocco, Georgia, Ukraine, Nigeria, Azerbaijan, Italy and other countries. Also, every semester the lecture rooms receive an additional influx of Erasmus from various European countries. Undoubtedly, for Lithuanian students it is an interesting and memorable experience to study in an international community. Roberta Sadauskaitė, a graduate of the program, shared some thoughts with us about the acquired experience and the seized opportunities.
Roberta, you have chosen to study in Lithuania, but the language of instruction of your studies is English. Are you satisfied with your choice?
This program not only helped me to acquire the necessary qualities for my future career, but it also provided me with many opportunities. It is also pleasant that the student initiatives are supported, thus encouraging comprehensive development. Moreover, the fact that the language of instruction is English, which nowadays has become the international lingua franca, gives an advantage in the job market due to the acquired competence.
Did studies with foreign students create a bigger added value and a different study environment?
The greater added value and the different study environment are felt once Lithuanians and foreign students engage in discussions together both at the university and outside its territory. It not only allows you to broaden your mind as you get acquainted with various different opinions, but also enables you to broaden your cultural knowledge without going out of your city. Additionally, it may provide you with knowledge that cannot be found in any scientific article. It is a truly remarkable experience which helps you to develop your competences that are necessary for specialists in the development field, to expand your comfort zone, and to nurture tolerance.
Aside from English, which is the language of instruction, you have also studied one of the selected regional languages (Arabic, Russian, French or Turkish).Which language did you choose? Does the extra linguistic knowledge open better opportunities for you in the job market?
Due to my interest in the post-soviet states, I chose to study Russian. In my opinion, it is a huge advantage in the job market, especially for those who aim to become the specialists in development and international relations. Language knowledge also not only expands your communication possibilities, but is also an inseparable part of cultural knowledge that is important t0 everyone working in the field of development or international relations.
During your second year of studies, you won the competition and went to study at Tbilisi University in Georgia under bilateral exchange program. Why did you choose that country? How different was your study experience in this country?
My desire to study at Tbilisi University was firstly motivated by the wish to become better acquainted with a post-soviet country that is still just creating itself and is moving towards democracy. It was also very interesting to see by myself a country that is suffering from two separatist regional conflicts. Its culture was very interesting as well. The study experience in Georgia was truly unique not only owing to the fact that I had to study with the first-year master students, but also because the lectures were conducted by practicians, famous politicians, hence the tasks that were assigned to us were more practical. I was also eager to get to know my future career prospects, therefore while being in Georgia I got the honour of observing the EU monitoring mission in the country, also I went together with its employees by the border of South Ossetia, and finally
I visited the IDP camp, which is situated next to Tbilisi and where I got an opportunity to listen to some stories of the people touched by internal conflicts.
Later, after winning the competition of Erasmus study exchange you decided to study at the University of Glasgow for a semester in the United Kingdom. The universities in the United Kingdom are considered to be some of the best in the world and more and more Lithuanians are choosing to study in this country. Could you distinguish the biggest differences you have noticed in the study process in Scotland in comparison with studies in Lithuania?
The first difference about the study process in Scotland that caught my eye is the excellent conditions for studying, as the university has a 12-floor library that works from 7 am to 2 am. I was also captivated that we were studying in small groups of up to 15 students who sat in a circle, which resulted in a pleasant and comfortable environment.I could also note that the lectures were conducted by the principle of seminars, during which the lecturers actively supported discussions and debated, thus making the study process more effective and interesting. Another difference that I noticed was that at the University of Glasgow huge importance is placed on independent individual learning, which encourages analytical thinking. Of course, I was also impressed by the fact that in the university campus you can spend your leisure time well and have a short break from studies: in the campus you can find everything from the gym to a couple of pubs.
You are one of the brightest students in this program and undoubtedly a good example of how it is possible to successfully take advantage of all provided opportunities. During your senior years, you also succeeded in winning the competition of Erasmus+ internship exchange. Which institution did you choose for your internship?
Since I’ve always dreamed of testing myself in the role of a diplomatic officer, I decided to participate in the competition of Erasmus+ internship exchange, which provided me with an opportunity to do my qualification internship at the embassy of the Republic of Lithuania to the Italian Republic, in the consular department. It enabled me not only to get to know the daily work of the embassy, but also to contribute to finding solutions for consular issues.
Did studies provide you with enough knowledge and competencies to conduct practical tasks at the embassy of the Republic of Lithuania to the Italian Republic?
My knowledge of international and diplomatic law proved to be very useful while doing my daily tasks. Of course, critical thinking, team work, diligence, and responsibility are necessary competences while working in such institution and which I acquired during my studies.
What are your plans for the future?
Currently I am planning to do a two month Erasmus+ graduate internship at the International Alliance of Women and to acquire a master degree at the Sapienza University of Rome.
Thank you for the conversation.
Impressions from the first year in the Faculty
Felix Hoffman is a BA student from Germany, who is studying International politics and development at the Faculty. After being here for one year, Felix agreed to share his perspective.
What motivated you to choose this field of studies?
I have a strong general interest in politics and history. Specifically, a word “development” seemed to be interesting, since it looked more about applied politics, than theory. For me it means to look into exemplary cases, into current development politics of specific players, looking into history and thinking about the future.
What did make you interested in this particular program at PMDF?
I decided to come to Lithuania because of personal reasons in the first place and then started to look for an international program to study in. The choices for international students in politics and history weren’t too many, so I decided to choose international politics and development. I thought this program would suit my personal interests the best. Moreover, I liked the idea of learning another language, which was provided by this faculty.
What were your first impressions about studying here? Did they change over the time?
The concept of giving first and second year students a required amount of general education seemed a really great idea, quality of the side classes could be improved, though.
In the first semester I had an introductory class to Development which was really good! The lecturer had deep knowledge of her field, held very interesting conversation, always had a suiting exemplary case for any question connected to development, tried to challenge the students and their opinions and most importantly, she spoke really good English!
What do like about studying here?
There are a lot of opportunities to engage into university life besides the curriculum and you are encouraged by the university to take opportunities for internships, exchange programs, etc. As a student you definitely get not overloaded with work, yet personally I like to be pushed and challenged more often, also within the subjects!
The Moodle and the FirstClass online systems, as well as a general strong online presence, surely are big plusses for the University and studies. I also still believe that teaching general knowledge to younger students is a great idea.
How would you estimate the quality of the teaching?
Of course, it depends on the particular subject and lecturer. There are classes like my Arabic course, which I was very happy to attend, because I knew I would learn something. On the other hand, at some classes I wasn’t happy with the quality of teaching.
Which are your favourite subjects?
Arabic, History of Civilization, History of Lithuanian culture, introductory class for development, International relations and governance.
In your opinion, what could be improved in your program?
There should be more classes connected to the actual field of studies (Politics and development), in my opinion. Yet the language classes should be kept up, I believe it’s important to speak more than one or two languages in this field of studies, but maybe one more mandatory political class could be added.
Interview was taken by Anton Chernetskyi (student of the Faculty of Political science and Diplomacy).
Why to participate in Model UN?
Mock Model UN
The main event of the second day of PMDF days was a mock version of a Model UN, hosted by the United Nations Student Club. It was a fun exercise familiarizing students with how a Model UN works and enabling them to decide if they would like to participate in a real Model UN session held on May 25-26 in VDU small hall (https://www.facebook.com/events/1725060061074262/ – Facebook page of Kaunas International UN Model event).
The topic of the event was War in Syria. For 2 hours Lithuanian and international students became representatives of US, Turkey, Syria, Russia, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Israel, Iraq and Canada.
Olivia Wells is an American student at the Department of regional studies, enrolled into Bachelor’s program International politics and development studies. As a president of the United Nations Student Club Olivia kindly agreed to answer a few questions:
Why did you choose this particular topic?
Because it is really relevant, and the actual Model UN will be particularly about the refugee crisis. Today we were talking about the war, but I’ve worked with a lot of humanitarian groups, so the topic is close to me, and I plan to write my thesis on it. I think it is important to see if students from all over the world can try to find a solution to this, when our leaders are failing to.
Was it the main goal of this event?
The main goal was just to give students a taste of how it works and acquaint them with the rules, which I think, can be quite difficult, like not referring to yourself, but it’s quite fun when you get into it, and also to sort of prepare people to participate in the official one.
Was it successful, in your opinion? What would you like to improve?
To be honest, I would have liked to see more people. It is always a struggle to get people to come, and even if they come, it’s like pulling teeth to get them to actually participate. For example, I don’t know much about France, and I just jumped in, so anyone can do this. Especially politics students should have some ideas, so we haven’t really figured out how to reach out for students.
Why? How do you think? There were a lot of students on the Facebook page of the event…
Exactly! It’s mainly with Lithuanian students, to be honest. The international students are the ones that are mostly coming and more active. Even in the classroom Lithuanian students are really quiet and shy and they don’t speak up for themselves. Now, after living in this country for a while, I understand that it’s the post-soviet mentality in many ways. I mean, we did have some Lithuanians here, so slowly, slowly… But it seems that if something is not required at the university, they won’t do it. In this kind of event, if they have to do something more, like reading this paper, they won’t do it. They prefer to sit and watch. We are going to the individual classes, saying that it will help them in public speaking and it looks good on the resume. This argument would work with students in the US, but here it doesn’t have the same effect, so this is the most difficult thing about all these events.
Was faculty administration supportive?
Yes, they were really great, I cannot complain. They are great in a sense that they say “whatever we need”. The thing that is a bit weird, we’ve had problems with, is that something like a Model UN is a big deal, so you’d think in other universities normally the whole school gets behind it and promote it, and the head of the school would come and talk, and here it’s only our faculty that is really behind it. So our faculty is really great, but the school as a whole… I asked if the head of the school could come and talk at this Model UN, and the woman I was speaking with said that he probably won’t, but when I said that US ambassador is coming, she said “okay”.
Did you just want to see the reaction?
No, the ambassador is probably coming. I talked to her assistant today. Also I asked university to make a post on the FirstClass, as a pop-out, and they also said “No, you can’t do it”.
Was today a rehearsal for the official Model UN in the end of the month?
Yes. This was a good thing to get people to talk and interact. And since we are doing an official one it made sense. Okay, not a lot of people came, but now three more people signed up for the other one, so it’s really good.
Do you expect more people in the end of May?
Yes, but the thing is, I still suspect, that most people will just come to watch. We’ll have probably about 20 people, but it should be more like 30-40, that would be ideal. I guarantee you there will be more people sitting in the back, than here participating. It is hard for me to understand. Why wouldn’t you participate?
Interview by Anton Chernetskyi (student of the Faculty of Political science and Diplomacy).
