Cooperation ​

Cooperation with VU non-academic departments and other organizations ​

VU Library ​

Cooperation with the Library went smoothly. All ideas relating to assistance to people with disabilities and adaptation of infrastructure have been adopted and their implementation has begun to be considered. VU SR shared important events and surveys for the library. There were monthly meetings, most of them at a distance, a couple of times live. The opinion of VU SR was taken into account when collecting ideas for a new strategy and formulating it.

Universiteto LGBT+ grupė ​

During the reference period, VU SR's "Be etikečių" program cooperated mainly with the University's LGBTQ+ group. The group contributed to the LGBTQ+ culture festival "Culture for All" organized by the program "Be etikečių", after which a discussion on LGBTQ+ rights in Lithuania and Europe was organized together "At the end of the list: history repeats itself".

KJOSAS ​

During the reference period, KJOSAS communicated with VU SR in the Kaunas Faculty. The faculty representatives participated in the general meeting of KJOSAS members, where a new board, control commission and the head of the organization were elected. Representatives of VU SR also had a meeting with the KJOSAS Board to discuss the possibilities for cooperation.

VU Sveikatos ir sporto centras ​

This year, in cooperation with VU Health and Sports Centre, for the first time, a team of VU Leagues Of Legends was formed, which represented the University in inter-university competitions. VU SR also contributed to the orienteering games organized by the Health and Sports Centre for the birthday of VU.

LiJOT ​

Representatives of VU SR went to the conference "Mental health of a young person: his own or the state's concern?" organized by LiJOT, where Neda Žutautaitė gave a presentation. Representatives of VU SR also contributed to LiJOT initiatives on psychological health. In the post prepared by LiJOT "Mental Health. The problem of today or tomorrow" Julija Jarutytė shared her thoughts on the mental state of students in higher education and how it can be improved. At the same time, a proposal was submitted to the Lithuanian Youth Council on how to improve the mental health of young people, what measures should be taken to improve the mental health of young people in higher education institutions, municipal and national level, and how to promote the increase of funding for this issue.

LSMU SA, LiMSA, JGA, Vilniaus universiteto rezidentų taryba ​

In cooperation with these organizations, a common position on the Law on Science and Studies Amendment of Article no. XI-242 77, new draft law aimed that doctors who have completed residency studies with state funds should work in public Lithuanian personal health care institutions for several years after graduation. Together with the above-mentioned organizations, VU SR spoke out against this proposal, arguing that the problem of specialists in the regions needs to be solved in other ways, since this proposal is discriminatory in nature, as well as stressing that this resolution was not consulted with the organizations representing junior doctors.

KTU SA ​

Together with the Kaunas University of Technology Students' Representative, a study on the integration of foreign students at the Universities of Lithuania was prepared for the implementation of the project of the Ministry of the Interior. Together with KTU SA, questions were created and data analyzed. The collected data has been submitted to the Ministry of The Interior.

ŽEF ​

The Knowledge Economy Forum (ŽEF) is an association open to all ideas that promote the growth of the priority area of Lithuania - the knowledge economy. ŽEF invites the society to work together to create a more modern future for the country based on modern technologies and knowledge.

ŽEF experts also participated in the implementation of the ECSTRA (Employability Competencies for Students Through Implementation and Recognition of Activities) project.

VJOS AS ​

During the reference period, VJOSAS participated in the meetings, the management club. VU SR representatives also had several meetings with VJOSAS members, during which we discussed possible issues of further cooperation.

International cooperation ​

1. VU SR has accepted student representatives from the Arqus University Alliance (7 can be listed, in addition to Poles and Portuguese). Organized a visit, presented good practices, participated in student council meetings. (October 3rd-7th)
2. Representatives of VU SR went on a visit to the Universities of Helsinki and Aalto in Finland, met with members of their students' representations. They gained experience of the structures of student unions, students' organizations, and the students' welfare system. He got acquainted with the national social dimension plan and shared good practices in representing the university's governing bodies. (The visit took place during the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania project) (October 19-22)
3. VU SR has accepted student representatives from the Warsaw School of Economics. Shared good practices in the implementation of student businesses and entrepreneurship education projects. A networking event with VU SIF, VU CD, VU TechHub was organized. (December 1st-3rd)
4. Representatives of VU SR visited the partners of the Arqus Alliance Network at the University of Bergen in Norway. During the visit, the student-led "welfare" system, student social businesses and student participation in academic activities were studied. (February 10th-13th)
5. Delegated representatives of VU SR participated in the Arqus Annual Conference in Padua, Italy. Dominyka Goldbergaitė, delegated by VU SR, became vice-chairperson of the Student Council. Also, during the conference, the Student Council adopted a resolution prepared by representatives of VU SR on the involvement of the Ukrainian academic community in the activities of the Alliance. (April 2nd-7th)
6. Representatives of VU SR went on a visit to the University of Minho in Portugal, which this year became a new member of the Alliance of Arqus Universities. In communication with the student union, we studied the organization of the activities of student sports organizations, the experience of students participating in the management of the university. (Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania) (April 20th-23rd)
7. On 19th-21st of July, 10 delegates from VU SR participated in the UNICA conference. This conference attracts hundreds of students from all European countries. The main theme of the conference was the University after the Covid-19 pandemic. Representatives of VU SR became involved in different topics and working groups. The conference prepared letters, positions on the development of universities after the pandemic. During the conference, students from different European countries were met and the European Student Union was introduced.
8. The President of VU SR participated in the meeting of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) Bologna Process Follow-up Group for the Social Dimension (EHEA BFUG working group on social dimension) meeting representing Lithuania. The Group's activities are aimed at ensuring that the Agreements of the European Higher Education Area for the development of the social dimension in the countries are implemented, the group is attended by representatives of each EHEA Member State.

Participation in other conferences ​

LiJOT conference "Mental health of a young person: his own or the state's concern" ​

On 18th of June 2021 VU SR President Neda Žutautaitė participated in the conference, which discussed who should take responsibility for the psychological state of young people. In her report, N. Žutautaitė emphasized that the mental health of students in higher education is not only their personal concern – we must understand that this is a question of relations between the academic community, studies and the environment related to them. The practices applied by foreign universities aimed at improving the psychological environment and supporting the creation of a community were also presented.

Discussion of the Committee on Education and Science of the Seimas "Social dimension – for the quality of studies" ​

On 8th of October, during a discussion organized by the Committee on Education and Science of the Republic of Lithuania, Neda Žutautaitė had the opportunity to share the experiences accumulated by VU SR, to emphasize why it is worth prioritizing the social dimension and what difficulties students face today before joining, during the period of accession, during the study period, when entering the labor market and what we can do to avoid them.

During the discussion, the President of VU SR emphasized that by developing targeted measures based on good foreign experience, we will be able to ensure equal conditions for studying all groups of society.

4th Student Forum organized by the Centre for Quality and Evaluation of Studies ​

On 10th of December, the Centre for Quality and Evaluation of Studies invited students to the forum to discuss the quality of studies and the involvement of students in order to ensure it.

During the forum, the quality of studies was discussed from the perspective of the participants – first of all, the students(s) who are the main axis in the study process – the sooner the higher education institution accepts this, the easier it is to strive together for the quality of studies. There was also a discussion about the development of the career path of the sitter(s) and the assurance of didactic competences, which is no less important for the quality of studies. All participants of the forum agreed that not only the functioning of student representatives is important, but also the feedback provided by each student(s) in the study process, without which changes are difficult to achieve.

Discussion on the psychological state of VU students and support measures at the Meeting of the Council for the Promotion of Mental Health ​

On 8th of April 2022, VU SR President Neda Žutautaitė participated in a meeting of the Mental Health Promotion Council, where she discussed how to improve the mental health of young people. Together with representatives of STRATA, the World Bank Laboratory, the Department of Youth Affairs and other youth organizations, it discussed how the mental health situation is changing both in Lithuanian schools and universities, and what challenges still exist.

Neda Žutautaitė presented to the participants of the meeting the problems that most often arise for students(s) and the ways in which the University community tries to respond to them. Situation is not ideal – the number of consultations that can be provided is not enough to respond to the need of students(s), in remote academic departments there is a lack of live consultations, psychological measures for foreign students(s) in English are already being started, but not yet developed.

"I am glad that Vilnius University, both during the COVID-19 pandemic and now, in the context of the war, can see efforts to allocate resources to ensure as much as possible that the community and students can receive psychological assistance when they need it," N. Žutautaitė said in the presentation.