International Week 2022 at Kaunas University of Applied Sciences (Kauno Kolegija/ KUAS) 7th March – 11th March
The lecturer Līva Bodniece participates in the International Week in Lithuania and now she shares the acquired knowledge and experience.
Despite the restrictions brought on by pandemic and recent political collisions, our partners in Kaunas (KUAS) organized a really exciting and fulfilling international week. The main topic of this week – Sustainable approach to education – was reflected in every detail: from university souvenirs (stylish glass water bottles) and digitalized agenda to the trip to old town of Kaunas organizes by the local students, as well as networking events about distance learning opportunities and student and staff mobilities.
I was truly happy to represent RSU Red Cross Medical College at this inspiring event. The participants came from all over the world, including Republic of South Africa and Mexico. It did not come as a surprise, however, since this year Kaunas is European Culture capital that holds many key exhibitions and cultural events.
KUAS is one of the largest universities in Lithuania, offering more than 50 study programs. Students can learn technologies, social sciences, medicine, humanitarian sciences and art sciences. The focus of the studies is practical knowledge application and use of the newest technologies. Alongside with academic researchers, KUAS staff also has many professionals in the field.
During all the discussions, lectures and cultural events we held at this International week we were able to lay foundation to potential cooperation models. Many KUAS partners whom I met at the conference expressed their interest in possible cooperation opportunities with RSU RCMC. I used this visit as a chance to meet the International relation coordinator of the KUAS Medicine Faculty Povilas Beseckas and Head of the Pharmacology school Aurimas Galkontas. They guided me to a trip around freshly renovated premises of the Pharmacology school and one of the Medicine Faculty buildings. We also visited the laboratory where students design their final works. I was very proud to see that in KUAS Pharmacology laboratory all the containers and jars were labelled in Latin.
With colleagues from the Medicine Faculty we discussed how the pandemic has changed the education, and we shared our experiences and solutions that we had worked out. Lithuanian colleagues gave their positive feedback about Moodle platform. I had a chance to look at their lecturer courses and the way they are organized in Moodle. We agreed on the idea that the cornerstone of sustainable education is digital skills – for both lecturers and students. We also discussed challenges in Medical studies and quickly came to realize that Latvia and Lithuania share similar problems, even though not directly related to the field – language studies are very important even in medicine.
While discussing internationalization of the studies, we were able to compare different strategies and business models in education across different countries, and we also discussed the idea of remote and a-synchronous course development opportunities.
Every day at the conference was very fulfilling and meaningful, so I had plenty of food for thought on my bus journey back from Kaunas, and I am sure it will bear fruit. We can hope that some of the ideas mentioned in Kaunas will find their sparkle in Riga.
On the professional level, I met many new like-minded colleagues and got a lot of support on my journey as a language tutor and I learned a lot about research too – sustainable education goes hand in hand with technological and scientific development; it has direct application and is student-focused. I was happy to realize that the unity of like-minded people who share same values is a strong power in both academy and society, as it creates the sense of security, helps you grow and reach goals.
On the last day of my visit Lithuania celebrated its 32nd Anniversary of regaining the independence. This year alongside the Lithuanian flags were also flags of Ukraine.
