On February, 5–6th, 2015 the Lesya Ukrainka Eastern European National University delegation led by Rector Ihor Kotsan visited one of the best universities in Lithuania – Vytautas Magnus University in the city of Kaunas. Among other guests from EENU were Ihor Chulipa, Acting Head of the International Relations Department, Tetiana Mamchych, Associate Professor of the Department of Higher Mathematics and Computer Science, Anna Levchuk, Head of the Working Group on Student Campus Construction, Associate Professor of the Applied Linguistics Department.
An Agreement on the Foundation of the Baltic-Ukrainian Academic Consortium was ceremoniously signed at the working meeting on the first day of the visit. The Consortium consists of Vytautas Magnus University, Lesya Ukrainka Eastern European National University, Vasyl Stefanyk Pre-Carpathian National University, State School of Higher Education in Chełm, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, and the European Association for International Education (Stockholm, Sweden). The Consortium has proved to be extremely effective in coordinating academic initiatives. In particular, the combination of science and human resources in professional education has always given positive results, and today has become a necessity. The advanced technical infrastructure for training activities and mobility of teachers and students is a prerequisite of effective development of the university. The key objective of modern national education and science is the integration into global academic educational space. The Baltic-Ukrainian Academic Consortium is to provide solutions to all these problems.
In his speech, Ihor Kotsan, Rector of Lesya Ukrainka Eastern European National University, specifically addressed the current situation in the state. He noted that recently our country has united the entire world around itself. And Lithuania, as one of the first states which supported Ukrainians in their European aspirations, has shown a great support for the Ukrainian people in the struggle for the unity and integrity of their Fatherland. Prof. Kotsan admired Dalia Grybauskaite, the President of Lithuania, for her taking a strong stance and for her commitment to democratic values. The unity of the world leaders, European countries and Ukrainians themselves, is viewed as the way to victory, as “Together we will win!”, concluded Ihor Kotsan.
During the subsequent meeting of the working group roundtables were held at the faculties of Kaunas University, which helped define the priority areas of cooperation, including joint projects in energy security (under the NATO auspices), preparation and organizing of the mathematical summer schools and a number of joint research projects in the field of Information Science, development of the EENU Botanical Garden, etc.
Ihor Kotsan had a meeting with Ukrainian students who study at the Vytautas Magnus University. They discussed the prospects of future employment in the European Union and the students’ plans to return to Ukraine. The majority of the students expressed a desire to use their knowledge and experience in order to develop their Fatherland.
At the final meeting, Mr. Kotsan thanked Zigmas Lydeka, Rector of the Vytautas Magnus University, and Juozas Augutis, Vice-Rector for Research, for cooperation, facilitation of the integration of our university into the educational and scientific community of the EU. Our Rector was confident that Ukraine would win and become a full member of the European community with such a support and understanding.
Own Information
When using this information reference to the source is obligatory