Vilnius University Kaunas Faculty is currently hosting guests from Ukraine. Prof. Dr Svitlana Gutkevych, Head of the Department of International Economics at the National University of Food Technologies has enrolled for a traineeship here. She is accompanied by students under the Summer Student Research Internship project organized by the Research Council of Lithuania (RCL). Professor Virginija Jurėnienė, who initiated the cooperation with the Ukrainian academic community, is a supervisor for the delegation.
"Ukrainians are, first of all, very welcoming and friendly people, I felt attention, care and safety everywhere. I also remember their responsibility and initiative. At the time, I sometimes felt that it didn't make sense to spend so much time and attention on meetings. But now I really appreciate it, because the foundations of our friendship and understanding were laid right then," says Jurėnienė about her first visit to Kiev more than 11 years ago. 
Several joint projects and close contacts have formed the basis for the recent English-language monograph "Current priorities of economy: Lithuania-Ukraine", published by Svitlana Gutkevych, Virginija Jurėnienė, Oleg Sheremet and Skaiste Jurėne. The academic publication highlights that Ukraine and Lithuania are countries with different governance and economic development, which is determined by their specificities, population size and area, and GDP per capita. The economic potential of these countries is geared towards improving the standard of living of the population. It is also important that Lithuania is a member of the European Union and represents the creative industries, including tourism. And Ukraine is integrating into the European Union, a country with great potential for food supply and tourism.
Prof. Dr Svitlana Gutkevych, Head of the International Economics Department at the National University of Food Technologies, is currently enrolled for a traineeship at the VU Kaunas Faculty. She is also accompanying two students:
Veronika Kozhura, a 3rd year student of the Bachelor programme Management of Sociocultural Activities from the National Academy of Culture and Art Management (internship supervisor - Dr Skaistė Jurėnė) and Valerija Hladkova, 1st year student of the Master programme International Economic Relations from the National University of Food Technologies (internship supervisor - Dr Assoc. Prof. Ilona Kiaušienė). They will be visiting the Faculty from 4 July to 28 August as part of the Summer Student Research Internship project organized by Research Council of Lithuania (RCL).
Researchers at VU Kaunas Faculty (VU KnF) have been collaborating with higher education institutions from Ukraine since 2011. The first to graduate from the Kaunas faculty (in 2016) were seven Master students from the National University of Food Technologies of Ukraine (NUFT). They were awarded diplomas from both universities. Six more Ukrainians have graduated from the Faculty since then. Currently, 43 Ukrainians are studying at the Faculty, and new first-year students are also expected in September.
As a reminder, VU invites you to support Ukraine. Find out how you can contribute here: link.