The Covid-19 pandemic has also affected the 170,000 young people involved in Erasmus+ or the European Solidarity Corps. Find out how the EU is helping them.

On Wednesday, May 6, 2020 “Reitingai” magazine announced their annual rankings of Lithuanian higher education institutions. Among the criteria of the Rankings are the quality of studies and current and future academic staff, student satisfaction, teaching staff competencies and employability of graduates. For more than five years, Kaunas University of Technology sustains a strong second position and keeps increasing the overall ranking score.

The Government has approved of the allocation of at least EUR 100 000 for the development of a COVID-19 vaccine and ensuring universal access to it. Alongside the previously donated EUR 100 000 to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Lithuania is thereby contributing to the fundraising initiative by President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and several global organizations in response to COVID-19, donating funds to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).

KTU together with LINPRA (Lithuanian Association of Engineering Industry) invites start-ups and small-medium-enterprises (SME) to participate in the EIT Manufacturing Gazelle Accelerator programme aiming to provide knowledge in product and service development, which would help these companies find investors and would encourage innovation development in Europe. The call is open until May 25, 2020.

Ponte Morandi bridge collapse in Genoa, Italy, in 2018, because of structure corrosion; Xinjia Express Hotel that was used as coronavirus quarantine centre collapsed this year in Quanzhou, China; Alexander L. Kielland oil platform accident in 1980, because of defective weld condition – these are just a few global disasters examples of the last few decades. They could have been prevented or at least significantly reduced if the internal structural defects were found on time, and people were warned that it was no longer safe to work there.

Kaunas University of Technology School of Economics and Business (KTU SEB) continues the selection of the ERA Chair project “Industry 4.0 impact on management practices and economics” (IN4ACT) research team. 52 applications from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and South America were received.

By the resolution of the Rector of Vilnius University, Professor of the Faculty of Medicine the Department of Anatomy of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Dr Rimantas Jankauskas, Associate Professor Dr Žydrūna Miliauskienė and researcher Dr Justina Kozakaitė have been honoured by the commemorative awards for significant scientific achievements in 2019, in the category of the best applied research of Vilnius University researchers. Scholars were evaluated for the identification of the remains of 1863–1864 years rebel commanders and detailed anthropological investigation.

Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) has started providing support for students who experience financial difficulties as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. A special fund has been established for this purpose.

Taking into account the situation in the country, it has been decided to continue distance learning at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VGTU) until the end of the academic year 2019-2020.

The world’s public health professionals are unanimous: a strong immune system helps us to stay healthy by increasing our resistance to viruses and infections. Experts from the World Health Organization say that a healthy diet and physical activity are the most important factors in boosting the immune system. The quarantine and self-isolation announced during the COVID-19 virus pandemic has changed our lives and our eating habits. Professor Rimantas Stukas, head of the Department of Public Health of the Institute of Health Sciences of the Faculty of Medicine at Vilnius University, urges everyone not to succumb to temptation and not to forget that a healthy lifestyle should be cultivated even in the face of a pandemic.