Ambassador of Czech Republic to Hold Lecture at VMU
On 4.15 p.m., 15 March 2016, a public lecture by H. E. Ambassador of the Czech Republic Bohumil Mazánek will be held at the Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy (44 Gedimino g., Room 202, Kaunas) entitled “Contemporary Czech Foreign Policy and Presidency of the Visegrad Group”.
H. E. Ambasador Bohumil Mazánek graduated from the Institute of International Relations in Moscow. He has worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Asia Department), also, as the Attaché and Chargé d’Affaires in the Embassy in Vientiane, as the Attaché, Third Secretary and Chargé d’Affaires in the Embassy in New Delhi, as the First Secretary andChargé d’Affaires in the Embassy in Bangkok, as Deputy Director in the Asia Department of MFA, Prague, as the Consul General in the Consulate General in Katowice, Poland, and in Shanghai, PR of China.
The lecture is organised by VMU Department of Political Science.
The lecture will be held in English.
More information is provided by Mindaugas Norkevičius (m.norkevicius@pmdf.vdu.lt).
Professor from the U.S. Will Discuss U.S. Presidential Elections of 2016
On March 8th, 2016 Vytautas Magnus University students will have an extraordinary opportunity to hear dr. Paul Sracic’s lecture ‘‘The 2016 Presidential Election and U.S. Foreign Policy‘‘. Paul Sracic is Professor and Chair of the Department of Politics and International Relations at Youngstown State University in Ohio.
Dr. Sracic was selected as 2009 Fulbright Scholar in Japan, and spent a year teaching at the University of Tokyo. Dr. Sracic holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University, and an A.B. in Political Science and Economics from Albright College. Dr. Sracic has given lectures at the U.S. Embassies in Tokyo, Beijing, and Brussels. He has also been interviewed on CNN and NPR. In 2015, he recorded a TEDx talk entitled Ohio, the Swing State.
During the lecture professor will share his insights about U.S. president elections of 2016: voting system, candidates and their campaigns, implications of U.S. presidential elections to U.S. foreign policy.
The lecture will be held in VMU, Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy in Gedimino g. 44, room 302, 13 o‘clock. The lecture will be held in English.
Competition for the Erasmus+ Traineeship Grants
All fulltime degree students who would like to participate in the competition for Erasmus+ student or Erasmus+ recent graduate traineeship scholarships should submit their application documents until 24-04-2016.
Only last year students can participate in the competition for Erasmus+ recent graduate scholarships. Students who have already used more than 10 months of their Erasmus studies / placement mobility in the study cycle they are studying now, cannot participate in the competition. Non EU citizens must acquire TRP or RP before the start of the Traineeship.
Application Documents:
- application form;
- confirmation of the host organization / enterprise (according to the International Office confirmed form);
- recommendation of the faculty member (only for recent graduates traineeship).
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 master degree students should attach transcript of records of their bachelor / master degree to the application form).
Priority is given:
- to students whom placement is an obligatory part of their study programme;
- to students who have never been Erasmus placement student before.
Placement period – from 2 to 4 months (the latest date of the ending: for student traineeship – 30-09-2016, for recent graduates – in a year after graduation).
Application forms and more information can be found in VMU web site: http://www.vdu.lt/en/studies/internships/erasmus-traineeships/. Competition results will be sent to every participant via e-mail as well as published in the VMU web site and Information boards on the 4th of May, 2016.
Students with disabilities or special needs are eligible for extra funding to cover extra cost occurring (due to disability or special need) during the mobility. Please contact the coordinator.
Pardubice University Delegates Are Visiting VMU
In 17-18 February, a delegation from the University of Pardubice (Czech Republic) are visiting Vytautas Magnus University.
The visiting guests from the University of Pardubice are Vice-Rector for Development Professor Petr Vorel, Professor Karel Rydl from the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy, and Professor Milena Lenderová from the Institute of Historical Sciences.
During the visit, the delegation will meet with VMU Rector Prof. Juozas Augutis, the deans and vice-deans of the faculties of Social Sciences, Economics and Management, the Humanities, and Politics and Management. Possibilities of cooperation will be discussed and the memorandum of understanding will also be signed. At the end of their stay, representatives of the University of Pardubice will also present the possibilities of exchange to VMU students.
Prof. Robert Frost to Discuss Polish-Lithuanian Union
On 1.30 p.m., 4 March, Professor Robert Frost from the University of Aberdeen (Scotland) will hold a public lecture at the Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy (44 Gedimino St., Room 202) entitled “The Polish-Lithuania Union: Success or Failure?”.
Prof. Robert Frost was born and brought up in Edinburgh, educated at St Andrews University, the Jagiellonian University, Kraków, and the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London. His research interests include Polish history; war, state and society in the Baltic 1558-1721. Prof. Robert Frost held the Burnett Fletcher Chair in History at Aberdeen since 2013. In 2009 he was awarded a three-year Research Chair by the British Academy and the Wolfson Foundation for history of the Polish-Lithuanian union.
The lecture is co-organised by Polish institute in Vilnius, British Council in Lithuania.
The lecture will be held in English.
More information: Mindaugas Norkevičius (e-mail – m.norkevicius@pmdf.vdu.lt).
Conference “Europe, Nations, and Insecurity: Challenges to Identities”
Vytautas Magnus University in cooperation with the Association for the Study of Nationalities (ASN) is pleased to announce the joint conference “Europe, Nations, and Insecurity: Challenges to Identities”.
The Conference will be held on 30 June – 2 July 2016 in Kaunas, Lithuania
The panels of the conference will embrace a wide range of topics related to the political and economic situation in all regions of Europe. A serious consideration will be given not only to the persistent problem of state aggression and ethnic conflicts, but also to the newly emerging threats, challenges, and insecurities. These new uncertainties create serious threats for world stability and over the past years have become the only certainty in the modern world. Due attention will also be given to contested and challenged identities, ranging from Baltic, Nordic Eastern, Central and other European to all world’s regions and nationalities, be these identities state-controlled and manipulated or sporadically emerging and self-asserting. Programmatic themes encompass Nationalism Studies, Memory and Culture Studies, Migration and Diasporas, History, Politics, Gender Studies, Ethnicity and Violence, Minority Rights, Energy Security, Language, Literature and Education, Public Diplomacy, etc.
Conference panels will be organized according to the national and regional foci:
- Central and Eastern Europe
- The Baltic region
- The Balkans
- Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus and the Caucasus
- Middle East and Central Eurasia
The conference is organised by the Faculty of Humanities and the Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy of Vytautas Magnus University.
For more detail information visit here.
Summer Internship Programme (SIP) Registration Now Open
Youths from anywhere in the world are invited to register for Summer Internship Programme (SIP). SIP online registration is now open, the deadline is 15 March 2016.
The programme is a part of the VMU social project entitled World Lithuanian University (WLU). The participants do not have to be of Lithuanian origin: world Lithuanians and anyone interested in the southern-most Baltic country may apply. Students who successfully end their internship and defend the final project are awarded 6 academic credits (ECTS).
The length of the student internships is six weeks (from 7 July until 18 August 2016). The planned programme includes introductory week, Lithuanian language courses, accommodation at VMU dormitory, etc. Internship placements for the students are provided based on their chosen fields including finance and economics, politics and international relations, medicine and social work, communication and public relations, marketing, advertising, technology, engineering, etc. Opportunities are offered to do internship at workplaces or institutions which are social partners of VMU, including Kaunas city municipality, medical institutions, museums and NGOs.
Students from Gabon, Spain, South Korea, France, Brazil, Turkey, Ukraine and Germany have already taken the chance to participate in the Summer Internship Programme (SIP):
This programme united me not only with the native country of my grandparents, but also with all Lithuanians, who hold their motherland deep in their hearts no matter where they live in the world. I am pleased to have made new contacts and discovered something I have in common with other world Lithuanians: a shared history. (Thammy, Brazil)
My internship was beyond amazing. I gained various skills at many levels. The programme itself helped me to get to know Lithuania from different perspectives. I would love to actually apply again next summer (is it technically possible?!) and I would definitely recommend it to my friends since it only brings positive things. Thank you once more for everything! (Maelle, France)
More information on SIP programme will be provided soon.
**Students will not be registered for the programme if they cannot obtain a visa for travel to the Republic of Lithuania themselves. Vytautas Magnus University does not provide visas of any kind to foreign students.
Registration
Registration is now open online for the SIP programme, which will take place from 7 July until 18 August 2016. The registration deadline is 15 March. Registration fee is EUR 390.
About World Lithuanian University (WLU)
World Lithuanian University (WLU) is an initiative inspired by joint efforts of Lithuanian and Diaspora scientists who contributed to the reestablishment of Vytautas Magnus University a quarter-century ago. It became a pattern for further collaboration that fosters creative exchange between scientists and students from Lithuanian Diaspora, and aims to attract everyone interested in modern Lithuania, its daily life, traditions and culture.
WLU is involved in a variety of activities: VMU Summer Academy events, study and internship programs for students and researchers, Lithuanian education projects, etc. At the same time, WLU functions as a conceptual, virtual entity, which is open to various initiatives. More information is available on the WLU website.
VMU Opens Great Opportunities
Each year more and more international students are applying to Vytautas Magnus University to get an undergraduate or a postgraduate degree in various study programs that this university provides in English. Just recently two international students from Azerbaijan Samil Niftaliyev and Amil Sadigov successfully defended their theses and were awarded master’s diplomas in the field of Diplomacy and International Relations. They gladly agreed to share their experiences and thoughts about studying in Lithuania and VMU.
How did you hear about Vytautas Magnus University and this study program?
SAMIL: I was looking for universities abroad which would fit me by my IELTS score. It is funny to say, but I actually found this university through Google. After that, I talked with my friends about this university and fortunately I found my groupmate from bachelor degree, who studied here. She successfully graduated and defended her thesis. She also told me that it is a nice place to study in Europe. So I applied, got accepted and came here.
AMIL: About me…One of my friends also informed me that there is a university in Lithuania which provides affordable tuition fee for our expenses. He also said that education here is more developed and that it is one of the best and most innovative universities in Eastern Europe. Later I Googled it on the Internet and looked for suitable courses which would allow me to continue my field of studies at master’s level. Finally, I applied to this university with two of my friends and fortunately we all got accepted and I’m very happy about that.
Was it challenging to go study abroad in a completely different environment? Were you not scared? Lithuania should be much colder than Azerbaijan …
AMIL: Of course in the beginning it was a bit challenging, it is much colder here than in our country. However, here in Lithuania I met some people who now are my best friends. What is more, the sense of European values was one of the best things here for me. We also had an opportunity to go for exchange as Erasmus students in Italy, which is one of the main advantages of the university.
SAMIL: In my case, it was the first time I went abroad as a student. Before I had visited several countries, which were close to Azerbaijan, but they were not the same as Lithuania. Luckily, with the help of my mentor Lina, who helped me to adapt and not to feel strange, it didn’t take me a long time to feel comfortable. Of course the weather was a big challenge, in Azerbaijan if we have zero degrees Celsius, we consider that it is already cold, but here we had to live under minus 20! However we managed to adapt to it and in the end it was not that bad. Actually one of the biggest challenges for me was the language, because if I see someone who does not speak Russian or English it was hard to communicate, but as Kaunas is a student city, with a lot of young people living here, I did not have to face this problem too often.
How did your studies at VMU differ from your bachelor studies?
SAMIL: First of all, the relationship between students and professors here is completely different than in Azerbaijan. Because of the big problem of corruption in Azerbaijan’s education system, professors do not work under a strict plan and sometimes they make it hard for students to pass the exam successfully. Here it is different, I did not feel that my professors would want me to fail an exam, they are working under a well-structured plan and try to share the knowledge of their field of study with their students as much as they can.
AMIL: For me the major difference was the well-organized credit system according to which the studies at VMU are held. It was new for me, because in Azerbaijan we are studying in a different system. Secondly, while studying here I learned a lot about methodology, to which I was not introduced that much before. It helped me to improve my research skills, which I used while writing my master’s thesis. The skills and the knowledge I gained at the faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy helped me to successfully finish my internship at the Delegation of the European Union to Azerbaijan, where I was able do to some research using the abilities I gained while studying at VMU. Finally, I really appreciated the help and the effort that my supervisor Dr. Giedrius Česnakas made while helping me in the process of writing my final thesis.
SAMIL: Also one thing I would like to add is that while I was studying in Baku in my university the majority of foreign students were Turkish, whom we do not really consider as foreign. Here we had a chance to meet with people from Germany, England, the USA, Spain, Italy, France and lots of other countries all around the world. The environment at VMU is really multicultural and you have a chance to learn about different countries and cultures just by interacting with foreign students. This would be also one of the major differences.
I wanted to congratulate you on successfully defending your master’s theses and receiving your diplomas. What are your plans for the future?
SAMIL: For now I would prefer to stay and find a job related to diplomacy and international relations in Europe. I think that it would be perfect for me to find a job in a company working in this field and to continue improving myself as a specialist.
AMIL: Same is for me, together with Samil we are already looking for various job opportunities in Europe. But first of all I will have to finish my military service!
What would you say to people who are still wondering whether it is worth it to study at VMU’s faculty of Political Sciences and Diplomacy?
SAMIL: First of all, regarding the budget, this university provides an affordable tuition fee for students and the cost of living in Lithuania is not really high itself. That provides students from less wealthy countries to access high quality education. Secondly, by choosing this university you will have an opportunity to go on exchange to a different country to study abroad and widen your experiences. Finally, from a non-educational point of view, even though it is a little bit cold during winter, you can still enjoy it and have fun during this time of year. What is more, you will start new friendships with the people you will meet here including Lithuanians and other exchange students.
AMIL: I would agree with all the aspects that Samil mentioned before about studying at this university. I think that it is a perfect place for students to get their higher education diploma and later you will have bigger opportunities to visit other EU countries or even continue your career here. I would definitely recommend studies at Vytautas Magnus University.
SAMIL: My last advice for future students of this university is to take Lithuanian language courses, which would open even more opportunities for you in the future.
Interview by Daina Naujokaitė
Apply Now: Competition for Erasmus+ Studies Abroad
VMU International Office invites students to participate in the competition for Erasmus+ studies for the 2016/2017 Autumn or Spring semester.
The competition is dedicated to those who wish to gain even more international study experience, improve their foreign language skills, become VMU Ambassadors and a part of even bigger international community. The participants are requested to fill in the online application form on trtdb.vdu.lt/en until March 1, 2016.
Eligible applicants are full time and part time students. Students with disabilities or special needs have an opportunity to receive additional funding.
The results of competition will be announced on March 10, 2016 on the VMU website and the VMU International Office’s bulletin board. Each selected student will also be informed personally by e-mail.
Additional information about Erasmus+ studies, partnerships with higher education institutions in foreign countries, criteria of the selection, scholarships, contacts:
- VMU website page “Erasmus+”
- Individual consultations with International Programme’s Coordinators in faculties
Erasmus+ Coordinators at VMU International Office
Faculty of Political Science andDiplomacy
Apply Now: Bilateral Exchange Abroad
VMU International Office has announced competition for bilateral exchange studies or internship abroad in autumn semester 2016/2017. Students wishing to apply can do so online: at the International Office’s website (for study exchange) and by filling in a Google Form (for internship exchange). The deadline is 1 March.
Internship may last from 1 to 3 months.
Participant Requirements
The participants eligible for the competition are students who:
- are Bachelor or Master students;
- have academic average higher than 8;
- are strongly motivated and have clear goals.
Students are requested to choose the accepting foreign university from the list of institutions that have signed bilateral agreements with VMU.
Application Documents
The following documents should be attached to the filled-in application:
- Curriculum Vitae (CV);
- your digital photo;
- confirmation from accepting organisation (only for internship applicants).
Before choosing a foreign university, participants are requested to check if that university’s suggested courses match their study programme at VMU. Students are also welcome to consult with international relations coordinator in their faculties.
Selected students will be awarded the entire or partial VMU Bilateral Exchange Scholarship. Students who have not been awarded mobility grants but meet the criteria will have an opportunity to go to VMU Bilateral Exchange using their personal funds.
The size of the scholarship depends on the chosen length and country of the exchange.
| Country groups | I | II | III | IV |
| Countries | Australia, Argentina*, Ecuador, USA*, Canada*, Japan, Israel*, New Zealand, South Korea*, Venezuela, Singapore, Brazil*, Mexico, Indonesia*, Malaysia*, India*, Taiwan* |
Ireland, Azerbaijan*, Denmark, Iceland, Lichtenstein, China*, France, Germany, Belgium, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Luxembourg, United Kingdom, Thailand* |
Austria, Greece, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Kazakhstan*, Cyprus*, Malta, Portugal, Russia*, Pakistan* |
Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Georgia*, Czech Republic, Estonia*, Latvia*, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, Hungary, Ukraine |
| Internship Scholarship | 600 EUR/month | 500 EUR/month | 450 EUR/month | 350 EUR/month |
| Study Scholarship | 500 EUR/month | 400 EUR/month | 350 EUR/month | 250 EUR/month |
* – asterisk marks the countries which you may choose for VMU Bilateral Study Exchange.
More information is available at the faculties and the International Office.
Apply Now: Bilateral Study Exchange
Apply Now: Bilateral Internship Exchange
