Jokūbas Žiburkus, the Associate Professor, Neuroscience, from the University of Houston, as well as active partner of Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VGTU), received the nomination ''Connecting International Lithuanian Minds'' of Global Lithuanian Awards 2014, for continuous innovations and efforts, mobilizing the efforts of the governors and the researchers.
Jokūbas Žiburkus, the President of the Lithuanian Community in Houston, initiated the networking and strengthening of the ties between the U.S.A. and Lithuanian universities. While working at the University of Houston, he co-ordinated signing of the memorandum with VGTU – a commitment to cooperate actively in the fields of science and education. Each year, the scientist comes to Lithuania not only with Master's degree students of the University of Houston, who visit VGTU and are informed on the business environment of the country, but also for reading lectures: in the autumn session the Professor conducted a cycle of lectures on Neurology for the students of the Department of Biomechanics at VGTU.