Deans of Vilnius University: We Must Follow Work Principles of the World’s Universities
The experience of foreign universities shows that campuses not only create opportunities for researchers representing different fields to cooperate, thus ensuring the development of interdisciplinary research projects, but also create an environment allowing students to acquire the competencies necessary for the modern labour market. Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics of Vilnius University (VU) Prof Paulius Drungilas and Dean of the Faculty of Chemistry and Geosciences of VU Prof Aldona Beganskiene say that investing in the construction of new VU faculties of Mathematics and Informatics as well as Chemistry and Geosciences in the Sauletekis academic campus will create conditions to speed up the currently insufficient development of interdisciplinary studies and science.
Currently, the Sauletekis academic campus accommodates six faculties of VU as well as the Scholarly Communication and Information Centre, the Centre for Physical Sciences and Technology, and Tech Hub. After the transfer of the faculties of Mathematics and Informatics and Chemistry and Geosciences to the Sauletekis academic campus, the latter will be the largest nucleus of life, physical and technological sciences in Lithuania and the Baltic States.
Prof Beganskiene says that she has been to several research centres and universities, the environment of which meets the requirements for scientific work and high-level studies, with student dormitories located in the vicinity and other necessary services provided for the residents of the academic campus. According Prof Beganskiene, this is an example of good practice.
Prof Drungilas is of the same opinion. He is convinced that the establishment of the faculties of Mathematics and Informatics and Chemistry and Geosciences in the Sauletekis academic campus will enable the key Lithuanian university to concentrate science and studies following the principle typical of other world universities in creating an academic campus, as higher education institutions have not yet developed a better model of their activity.
Exact sciences would become more attractive
The both deans believe that investing in new faculty infrastructure would pay off in many ways: information communication and technology (ICT), mathematics, chemistry, biochemistry and other studies would become more attractive and there would be more students willing to study these programmes – this is now hardly achievable due to small auditoriums, laboratories and the lack of other infrastructural space. The unattractive environment of faculties does little to attract scientific staff not only from Lithuania but also from abroad.
“Lithuania is already facing a shortage of research staff: mathematics is a difficult science, besides there are not so many gifted students and even fewer who want to study. We must at least make studies attractive to a younger generation; we must create a modern science centre. Otherwise, young people will choose other, less difficult professions.
The quality and extent of training IT specialists is also a vital issue for Lithuania: if we want to lead in the field of digitization of the European Union (EU) market, we must ask ourselves: who will ensure this? Who will provide knowledge, educate new market developers and participants? Education challenges need to be addressed together with state challenges. Universities must educate a generation of high-tech business developers that will be able to create efficient companies in Lithuania, able to survive even without EU funding,” Prof Drungilas says.
The deans say that the newly formed nucleus of life, physical and technological sciences could contribute to solving the problem of low-level proficiency in exact sciences in Lithuania. In the summer, 30 percent of 15,241 school leavers failed the math exam. The results of the chemistry exam were much better – as many as 97% of school leavers passed it. However, the fact that only a little more than 1,000 students chose to take the chemistry exam is not satisfying. Statistics reveal the bitter truth that the number of school leavers taking exams in the field of exact sciences has been steadily declining over the last four years.
Professors Drungilas and Beganskiene are convinced that scientists from various fields could work together in such centres to analyse and perform empirical research, which would help to understand and reveal what mistakes are made in teaching students the subjects of exact sciences.
According to Prof Drungilas, for a long time exact sciences were taught based on the “perspective of simplification”. In mathematics, for example, only sequences of actions are used, with no verbalism, which promotes students deeper understanding of why they are performing the actions they are doing. Prof Beganskiene also notes that it is necessary to ensure the harmony of theoretical and practical knowledge in educating students.
“Successful chemistry training is possible only by combining theoretical and laboratory knowledge. Unfortunately, not all schools have laboratories. I we had new modern laboratories, we would be able to encourage teachers and students to perform experiments and thus get acquainted with the wonderful world of chemical elements,” Prof Beganskiene points out.
Focus on interdisciplinarity
The dean of the Faculty of Chemistry and Geosciences of VU points out that physicists, chemists, mathematicians and scientists working in one place form a critical mass of thoughts. The disappearing boundaries between sciences encourage interdisciplinarity. Working together, researchers and students from various areas discover new fields of science and are able to solve and find solutions to problems relevant to society.
“Teams of VU researchers from various fields work together to carry out a lot of significant research and develop various technologies. For example, VU researchers, together with researchers from the University of Malmö in Sweden, are seeking a technological breakthrough in the field of biological sensors. The researchers are developing non-invasive sensors. The developed technologies will be used in both implantable and skin-attached biological sensors. This technology is intended to be used to develop non-invasive glucose sensors that would greatly facilitate the lives of people with diabetes. Given that almost 10 percent of human populations suffer from this disease, this technology will be really significant,” supposes Prof Beganskiene, adding that the expansion of the Sauletekis campus will give more impetus for the development of such technologies.
The dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics Prof Drungilas shares the opinion his colleague, saying that students are often willing to prepare final theses on interdisciplinary topics, but the physical separation of faculties is a major obstacle. Experience gained during the pandemic has revealed that high-level studies cannot take place on the principle of distance learning. Universities must develop personalities who, in the future, will educate new generations themselves, govern the state, create high-tech businesses, etc. According to Prof Drungilas, without an academic environment and personal examples, the task of developing academic responsibility and ethical personalities is impossible.
Studies will become more accessible
The current building of the Faculty of Chemistry and Geosciences was built back in 1901, and some of the buildings of the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics were built 60 years ago. The problems of old buildings affect the education of the younger generation, because they do not meet the conditions of modern exact sciences and studies. In addition, the old infrastructure poses many challenges for students with disabilities. According to the deans, the new modern faculties of Mathematics and Informatics and Chemistry and Geosciences will solve the problems of accessibility of studies for the disabled, and the disabled will be integrated into society and the labour market.
“For mathematicians and computer scientists, physical disability is not a barrier to working and earning a higher than average market salary. However, current buildings are a major barrier to admitting students with mobility impairments. Their movement is restricted to very small spaces. Distance learning for such students would only increase social exclusion and worsen the conditions for integration,” Prof Drungilas says.
Prof Beganskiene points out that students who graduate from the Faculty of Chemistry and Geosciences find it easy to establish themselves in the labour market: as many as two thirds of masters find a job by specialty within 12 months of graduation. The social partners claim that students with biochemistry, chemistry, geology, geography, cartography and other specialties are very welcome in their companies. Currently, various start-ups, which are developing their activities very rapidly, are also intensively looking for graduates with education in the field of exact sciences. Therefore, according to the professor, it is necessary to create an environment in which higher education is accessible to students with disabilities and create equal opportunities for development.
The value of projects is put at 60 million euros
Modern faculties of Chemistry and Geosciences and Mathematics and Informatics in Sauletekis are planned to be built in the next three years.
A technical project for the construction of the VU Faculty of Chemistry and Geosciences has already been prepared, a construction permit has been obtained, and a competition for the architectural idea of the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics is being prepared. The projects are scheduled for completion at the end of 2023.
The total value of new faculty construction projects is 60 million euros. Most of the project will be financed from the budget of the Republic of Lithuania. The costs for the purchase of laboratory equipment will be covered by VU by selling the currently used faculty buildings.