50 exchange students arrive to Vilniaus Kolegija / University of Applied Sciences
From 3 rd to 7 th February events of the Orientational Week took place at Vilniaus Kolegija / University of Applied Sciences to welcome a new group of exchange students. A group of 50 international students from 9 countries joined the academic communities in the Faculties of Business Management, Arts and Creative Technologies, Electronics and Informatics, Economics and Health Care. The exchange students to Vilniaus kolegija / University of Applied Sciences have come from France, Bulgaria, Estonia, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Latvia, Poland, Spain and India. The main goal of the Orientational Week events was to ensure a smooth start for international students’ studies, provide all the necessary information as well as just make them feel welcome:
“Intercultural cooperation is one of our priorities”, said Jolanta Preidienė, Head of International Relations and Projects Department.
Th students were greeted by the members of administration and academic staff as well as ESN (Erasmus students’ network) body and guest speakers:
“In the context of Internationalization, Vilniaus kolegija / University of Applied Sciences is among the leading higher education institutions in Lithuania” said Daiva Šutinytė, the Director of Education Exchanges Support Foundation, while presenting the dissemination of internationalization in higher education institutions.
The largest group of students this year have come from Parul University in Gujarat State, India. This beautiful collaboration between geographically distant countries is the result of the partnership between the two Universities that began a few years ago.
“The connections between Lithuania and India are much older than the diplomatic relations established twenty-five years ago between the two countries”, said Diana Mickevičienė, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs representative, while presenting the partnership between Lithuania and India during one of the Orientational Week events last Tuesday, February 4th. The diplomat introduced the students to the legendary travellers Antanas Poška and Matas Šalčius motorcycle trip from Lithuania to India back in 1931. Although Lithuania was independent in the interwar period and India was still seeking its independence, fate soon led to a radical change: after India became an independent state, Lithuania lost its independence due to Soviet occupation, which lasted for the next fifty years. Diplomatic relations between Lithuania and India were restored only after Lithuania regained independence.
The Orientational Week culminated with an excursion to Trakai, organised by ESN student body.
