Rector of VU Celebrating His Anniversary Talks about His Work and Hobbies, Lithuanian Education Problems and His Promise to Visit Harry Styles’ Concert

When applying for the position of rector, the current head of Vilnius University, professor Rimvydas Petrauskas, had no idea under what unusual conditions he would have to work in. Plans to immediately open the University to the public with ideas and spaces to increase VU's visibility were disrupted by the crisis that shook the world. The pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis encouraged activities that he never even had to think about.

Vilnius University had to not only adapt to the study and scientific challenges of the pandemic period, but also contribute to the control of the pandemic through expertise and various types of volunteering. Later, opportunities were sought to support and integrate students from Belarus and Ukraine who came looking for the opportunity to continue their studies. This is how the idea of the "GDL Scholarship" was created. The University not only needed to prepare its new strategy but also to contribute to the process of developing Lithuania's future strategy.

Today, the head of the University, who is celebrating his 50th anniversary and is halfway through his term of office, talks about what significant changes he noticed in the life of Lithuanian universities, what work still needs to be completed and what is most lacking in Lithuanian education policy. He also revealed what debt he owes to himself and what dreams he has about the future.

Scientists are influencers

Usually, Petrauskas does not emphasise his birthdays too much and does not celebrate them in any significant way. Still, he promised to put extra attention on this one because it is an anniversary, after all. He is going to celebrate his birthday as usual – in the circle of his family, friends and colleagues.

The Rector of VU, who shared his top ten songs in the summer, was jokingly called the best influencer in Lithuania. When asked what song has been playing in his head lately, the Rector jokes that now he can only hear the sounds of the song "50 metų – tai visai mažai" ("50 Years is so Little" in English) in his busy head. But in the near future, he is looking forward to the reveal of the concert schedule of Pulp, a favourite band of his youth. "I also promised my daughter to go to the concert of Harry Styles, whom she adores."

After taking office, it became customary for the Rector to speak more often in the social space, to be invited to public comments or discussions.

"One of my goals is to convince and encourage scientists to share more of their discoveries with the general public. If we use the word "influencer" in its natural sense, then a scientist can and has all the possibilities, and sometimes even must, to be an influencer. The more such influencers, who can give advice and provide verified information, are visible in the society, the better it is," the Rector of VU is convinced.

According to him, the Lithuanian public space often lacks the voice of scientists and the patience to listen to their arguments. Only at critical moments do we appreciate how important influencers with expertise and deep subject knowledge are.

Beginning of the term under historical conditions

No other rector has had to start his or her term under such unusual conditions, i.e. during a complete quarantine. Despite the fact that at the beginning he had to be alone in a large university building for a while, except for the company kept by the security personnel, Professor Petrauskas says that he was primarily motivated to run for office by the desire to achieve community focus and a more significant place for Vilnius University in the state and society.

"I came with the idea of opening the University to ideas, spaces, to each other, but due to the pandemic, everything had to be closed. Naturally, I had to act differently than I planned and the first decisions were not at all what I might have imagined them to be. On the other hand, the crisis reinforced the fundamental points I was thinking about.

"First of all, the pandemic has highlighted the fundamental principle of the University, i.e. the teacher-student relationship, even further. Secondly, the significance of scientists and universities in society was highlighted like never before. They could be heard in the public space and were invited to share their knowledge in expert groups", says Professor Petrauskas.

"The university is not the sanctuary of science that is separated by an emotional distance which is scary to approach and enter, but is an open laboratory of ideas and knowledge instead."

Importance of internationality and daily work

Half a term has passed since the Professor of history took over as the Rector. He considers community involvement in the creation of a new university strategy to be one of his main tasks: "Not only the specific document itself is important, the pre-agreed items recorded in it, but no less the fact that we were able to think about our university together."

According to him, several key points became clear during the formulation of the new strategy. One of them is the need to turn the interdisciplinary diversity of the University – our true advantage – into our essential operating principle both in science and studies. The second is internationality. In this area, according to the rector, Vilnius University is especially trying to enhance its operations, and one of the examples of this is the creation of the Arqus European University Alliance. "European university alliances are a new word in European science policy and even more generally in the process of European integration".

However, the Rector's work is also a marathon of constant meetings and other administrative work, so he tries to get away from everyday activities.

The Professor continues to teach students, writes research papers, and also publishes reviews from time to time, summarising current affairs from the perspective of the University. "The ability to look at things from the side, to create a broader perspective allows to generalise things and inspires to continue work."

Football and other things

In addition to his undying passion for history, Petrauskas is a football enthusiast who played actively in his youth. Now his daughter also plays in the Vilnius Žalgiris girls' team, so when talking about his hobbies, he remembers watching her matches, amateur tennis games with his son, summer trips to different countries every year and returning to the same place on the coast of Lithuania. While talking about his favourite places in Lithuania and the world, he distinguishes the following: "embankments of rivers and canals in cities and a moment on top of a mountain right before going down on skis."

When asked who he will support on the occasion of the upcoming World Cup, the Rector says that he has been rooting for Brazil since childhood, but now he has other ever-changing options. "This year, in order the order of the best to worst, I will support Brazil, then Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany," says the Rector. Among the players, he remember Zico, Marco van Basten, Arjen Robben, and this year he cannot wait for the appearance of Kevin de Bruyne and Joshua Kimmich.

Speaking about his favourite directors, movies and TV series, he named Luchino Visconti, Quentin Tarantino, the series "The Wire", from the historical point of view – "The Passion of Joan of Arc" by Carl Theodor Dreyer. Negative heroes and their meaningful lessons: Christoph Waltz from Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds reveals the power of language and multilingualism, while Bob Odenkirk from Better Call Saul explores the possibilities of creativity in the morass of meaninglessness.

Discovered himself at the university

"I discovered myself at the University. I discovered what I really want to do, what I really want to learn and what I want to pursue", the Rector of VU said in an interview. According to the Professor, the big gap between school and University is one of the biggest problems in the Lithuanian education system.

"I think there should be more of University in schools. It is not enough to train teachers or for universities to present their study programs. In schools, next to the teaching of basic knowledge, students should first of all be taught how to raise problematic questions. If teaching was based on the basis of raising problematic questions, then the acquisition of specific knowledge would be clearer. Then the transition from school to University would not be so complicated," the Rector is convinced. He would recommend a future historian to read "The Autumn of the Middle Ages" by Johan Huizinga – a colourful story about the end of an era, as if it is autumn outside the window today, which allows one to look at the science of history from a perspective that goes beyond a set of dates and events.

Meanwhile, according to the Rector, consolidation and natural partnerships are the most lacking in Lithuanian science. We have quite a lot of everything, but all of it is scattered, people have little knowledge about each other, and are not concentrated. And, of course, it is necessary to further strengthen the internationality of our science and studies, in order to finally overcome the closedness inherited from the Soviet era.

Debts to history, meaning of the Ukrainian war and wishes for the future

The University not only allowed me to discover my true self, but also encouraged me to delve passionately into my scientific field – the history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. When asked if there is any historical event, or personality, about which he would like to conduct a more detailed study, Professor Petrauskas singles out Grand Duke Vytautas.

"It is no secret that I would like to finish his biography. It is my debt to myself," says the Professor.

Speaking about the personalities left on the margins of history, whose importance is not sufficiently appreciated, he remembers the wives and daughters of rulers and nobles: "We know very little about them, often we do not even know their names, and we can only imagine what role they might have played in the life of the state and family."

We are going through a historical turning point right now. According to the Professor, the war in Ukraine has already changed both Lithuania and the world.

"This war shook Europe, which was built on the foundations of the idea of peace and had been an oasis of stability for a long time. I think one of the most important lessons is the destruction of the supposedly natural boundary between real and value politics. This dichotomy has led to a dead end and now must be overcome in wartime. We can and must defend our interests without sacrificing the fundamental values of civilisation and human values," the Rector of VU is convinced. "The role of universities is very important here, they are the real defenders of democratic values and outposts of the pursuit of truth in the conditions of the cracking of democracy, populist action and communication."

When asked what he would wish for the country, the students and himself, the Rector answered: "For the country – to set and consistently pursue an ambitious goal, to be a country where top-level technologies and business are born from scientific research; for the students – to make the best use of those few years, discovering oneself, friends and love; for myself – to read everything I ever wanted, to write as much as I can, to see what I always dream of seeing, to experience what I might not have thought about just yet.