From June 10 to July 9, VU Kaunas Faculty hosted Lithuanian Language and Culture Course for international participants. The courses were attended by 12 students: four from Latvia, three from Turkey, one from Poland, one from Germany, one from Kazakhstan, and two students of Lithuanian origin from the United States. The participants studied Lithuanian with Assoc. Prof. Dr. Saulutė Juzelėnienė and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eglė Gabrėnaitė and explored Lithuanian culture with Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rita Baranauskienė and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Saulutė Juzelėnienė.

The intensive programme combined Lithuanian language classes with cultural activities. Participants learned about Lithuania’s and Kaunas’ history, art, music, folk traditions, literature, cinema, and culinary heritage. Their interest in the courses was motivated by a desire to discover one of Europe’s oldest languages, compare it with their native languages, and learn more about the development and history of Lithuanian.

For some participants, the language classes provided an opportunity to acquire the basics of Lithuanian and communicate with teachers and fellow students using A1-level phrases by the end of the course. Others improved their existing Lithuanian skills and were able to communicate in Lithuanian during classes and excursions.

On June 19, the most important event of the academic year—a graduation ceremony—took place at the Kaunas Lutheran Holy Trinity Church. 68 bachelor’s and 49 master’s students received their diplomas at the celebration. Vilnius University bachelor’s and master’s diplomas were presented to the graduates by Vilnius University Pro-Rector for Studies Assoc. Prof. Dr. Valdas Jaskūnas and Dean of the Faculty Assoc. Prof. Dr. Giedrius Romeika.

The graduation ceremony featured an inspiring speech by Vilnius University Pro-Rector for Studies Assoc. Prof. Dr. Valdas Jaskūnas. Congratulating the graduates, the Pro-Rector emphasized that the value of the university is not limited to professional knowledge alone – it is a place where one discovers and realizes one’s true calling. V. Jaskūnas wished not to be afraid of the challenges that await in the future, to be confident in oneself and not to be afraid of changes: “The university is an immeasurable space of opportunities, which is created and changed by rebellious hopes. You need to have a very vivid imagination to call Vilnius University rebellious. Still, the paradox lies in the fact that instead of rebelling itself, it ignites rebellious hope in the heart of every student. It arises from the desire to know what is unknown, to experience what is not experienced, and to make mistakes that we will make anyway. Without it, there would be no openness to the world, to our own and others' future. However, this hope alone is not enough. It must be nurtured, transformed into a new reality, change and be changed. Therefore, use the opportunities that open up to you and be sure – you will never be ready for changes. And if you feel ready – there will be no changes.”

The guests were also congratulated by the Dean of the Vilnius University Kaunas faculty, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Giedrius Romeika. On behalf of the faculty, symbolically thanking the graduates’ family members and friends for their patience and support, he promised to return the students’ time, thoughts and emotions devoted to their studies. The dean emphasized that the VU Kaunas faculty is always open to returning: “A new stage of life begins, in which a Vilnius University diploma opens many new doors all over the world. And even though the world is getting wider, I just want to remind you of one thing – you are always welcome in our common academic home.”

Under the Lithuanian Studies Priority Implementation Program of the Research Council of Lithuania for 2025–2030, Professor Aurelija Leonavičienė of the Institute of Languages, Literature and Translation Studies, who has assembled an international team of researchers, has received funding for the scientific project “Transposition of Cultural Meanings in Translations of Lithuanian Literary Texts into English, Spanish, Italian, French, and German (1990–2026)”. The project will be implemented from 1 July 2026 and will last four years.

In the first stage of the project, a bibliographic index of translations into English, Spanish, Italian, French, and German for the period 1990–2026 will be prepared. This will be a structured, interactive and reusable digital open access database, which will serve as a basis for further research into the dynamics of the field of translations.

By examining the transposition of cultural meanings in translations into the aforementioned languages, it will be investigated how the cultural meanings of the Other in Lithuanian literature were received in translations from different countries, which translation methods and strategies were chosen by the translators. It will also aim to reveal what Lithuanian literature translations reveal about the systematic knowledge of Lithuanian culture and the representation of the Other in the cultures of translation.

From 15 to 19 June 2026, the VU Kaunas Faculty hosted the international “Erasmus+” Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) "ENGAGE+: Immersive Technologies for Customer Experience Management in Digital Business". The programme focused on exploring the application of immersive technologies and customer experience management in the context of digital business.

Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) is a short-term international learning initiative that enables students to participate in lectures and seminars, collaborate on team projects, and gain experience in an international academic environment alongside peers from different countries.

The programme brought together students from Estonia, Croatia, Poland, and the VU Kaunas Faculty who were studying Manufacturing Information Systems, International Business Management, Information Systems and Cybersecurity, and Marketing Technologies. The diversity of academic disciplines created an interdisciplinary learning environment, encouraged collaboration in international teams, and fostered interest in different fields of study and academic cultures.

We invite the community of the Kaunas Faculty of Vilnius University to discover Bridge—an intellectual card game often compared to chess. It is the only card game in the world that is officially recognised as a sport. Bridge requires strategic and logical thinking, a good memory, teamwork, and the ability to understand the logic behind your partner’s strategy.

This game originated in Great Britain in the late 19th century and is now popular worldwide among people who enjoy intellectual challenges, strategy, and social interaction. Bridge is particularly popular in university communities (such as Cambridge, Yale, and others), where it brings together enthusiasts of strategic thinking, logic, and teamwork.

If you want to learn to play Bridge or meet like-minded people, we invite you to our first meeting, led by Assoc. Prof. Dr Liepa Bikulčienė.

The meeting will take place on May 27 at 5:30 p.m. in the J. Jablonskis Auditorium.

We look forward to welcoming curious members of the Faculty community who want to try a new intellectual activity and spend their time meaningfully.

The defence of the Bachelor’s and Master‘s Theses is open to the public.

Everyone who is interested is welcome to attend the defence of the Bachelor’s study programmes:

• English and Another Foreign Language (Swedish) on 3 June 2026 at 10:00 EEST, at M. Biržiška auditorium (second floor, Building No. IV, Muitinės Str. 14);
• Audiovisual Translation on 8 June 2026 at 11:30 EEST, at M. Biržiška auditorium (second floor, Building No. IV, Muitinės Str. 14).

Everyone who is interested is welcome to attend the defence of the Master’s study programmes:

• International Business Management on 3 June 2026 at 10:00 EEST, at auditorium No 5 and at auditorium VeGa (second floor, Building No. II, Muitinės Str. 6);
• Audiovisual Translation on 8 June 2026 at 10:00 EEST, at M. Biržiška auditorium (second floor, Building No. IV, Muitinės Str. 14).

Good luck to the undergraduate and graduate students!

We look forward to seeing you at the graduation ceremony on June 19.

On May 8th, the 20th Prof. Vladas Gronskas International Scientific Conference invited young researchers and business experts to the Kaunas Faculty of Vilnius University to present the latest research results in economics, finance, business administration and management, and marketing, and to share insights and engage in discussions with business practitioners.

The sixty-first seminar will take place on May 21, 2026, at 15:00, on the 3rd floor. The topic of the seminar is “Models and Methods for Informatics, Environment, Education and Economics”. The presentation will be delivered in English.

The seminar will focus on the development of information technologies for near-duplicate document detection based on a multi-stage processing pipeline; the creation of an intelligent environmental monitoring system for pollutant emissions; the construction of information and analytical systems designed to support decision-making in water resource management; and the development and implementation of a technology for constructing the content of educational programmes through data structuring and algorithmization using artificial intelligence.

About the speakers

Dina Kantayeva
Dina Kantayeva is a researcher in the field of information technology and is currently pursuing her PhD in Computer Science at Astana IT University in Kazakhstan. Her research focuses on natural language processing, algorithm optimization, and the development of scalable architectures for intelligent document management.

Dilara Abzhanova
Dilara Abzhanova is a researcher in the field of information technology and is currently pursuing her PhD in Computer Science at Astana IT University, Kazakhstan. Her research focuses on intelligent environmental monitoring systems, data analysis methods, and the application of artificial intelligence technologies to environmental data processing.

Ayanbek Serikov
Ayanbek Serikov is a doctoral student at Astana IT University, Kazakhstan. His PhD research focuses on models and methods for forming the content of higher and postgraduate education programmes based on data structuring. His research interests include AI applications in education, hybrid human–AI systems for educational programme development, the impact of prompt engineering on the quality of generated content, and analytical models integrating labour market analysis with student performance prediction.

Aliya Aubakirova
Aliya Aubakirova is a doctoral researcher and lecturer in the field of information systems at Astana IT University, Kazakhstan. Her PhD research focuses on the development of models and methods for information and analytical decision-support systems aimed at efficient water resource management. Her research covers the application of GIS, remote sensing, IoT, and artificial intelligence in environmental monitoring and water resource analysis. She specialises in time series analysis, predictive modelling, and the integration of multi-source data for decision-making processes.

On behalf of the organisers

Prof. (HP) Dr Remigijus Čiegis