For Petras Barsauskas, the rector of Kaunas University of Technology, this agreement forms part of a wider strategy of collaboration with businesses. "We are focused on the high quality of our study programmes, and we can achieve this through active collaboration with companies. This means that our students can get practical experience, whilst we improve study programmes in order to match business needs and can invite business people to give lectures."
Mr Baršauskas also noted that initiative from both sides ─ business and university ─ is growing and more joint projects are being implemented, and believes that they motivate and engage students: "success stories inspire students the most."
"The new centre will open its doors in September 2015. New creative projects will be born here. Real and significant problems the company has will be solved here by teams of students. And these projects will involve not only informatics students, but also students in marketing and economics and, of course, some lecturers" – said Egidijus Kazanavicius, head of the centre of Real-time Computer Systems at KTU.
The 345,000 litas (100,000 euros) will be used to build a creative hub at the Faculty of Informatics of KTU, to obtain special equipment, to fund student projects, to hold events on information technologies and to establish scholarships for the best students in information technologies.
The sponsorship agreement will run for at least six years, with the funds set to be distributed across the 2015─2020 period.
According to Lukas Jankauskas, manager of Intermedix Lietuva, close collaboration with higher education institutions is one of the company's top priorities, as it gives them the opportunity to implement practical training programmes, and to test and improve their products.
The company has over 2,000 employees and branches located in 27 US cities. At the end of October, it officially opened a new centre of IT services and services for the medical sector in Kaunas.
