The first-year student revealed that her choice of studies was unexpected not only for her relatives but also for herself, but she is very happy she has made it.
Gabija did well in school, excelling in both sciences and arts. When she was in the tenth year, she started to vert seriously about what she wanted to study. "Once, during dinner, I asked my family where they saw me in the future. They listed various options, but one thing my dad mentioned stuck with me: architecture," Gabija recalled.
After some further consideration, Gabija decided she wanted to study architecture and started the preparation by attending drawing classes.
Confident in her decision, Gabija attended open days at VILNIUS TECH last spring.
"There I had a chance to listen to Rimvydas Berzonskis, the Chairman of the Alumni Association of the Faculty of Construction, talk about the field of Civil Engineering. Whilst casually listening there was something that captured my attention – the lecturer was charismatic, engaging, and said that some people imagine that the graduates of this program are just construction workers with diplomas, but it's so much more than that…," the student remembered.
After that, Gabija told herself not to doubt and hesitate, as she was firmly determined to study architecture. However, thoughts about Civil Engineering never left her mind. These two disciplines are closely related, with architecture focusing more on the artistic side of structures, while engineering focuses on the technical aspects. Moreover, Gabija has always enjoyed drawing and applied mathematics.
Applied only for one study program
She initially hesitated to tell her relatives that she had doubts about her previous choice, but after researching and considering more, she admitted that she had changed her mind and wanted to study Civil Engineering. Her relatives supported her decision, although her grandmother said that the profession seemed too masculine – something Gabija had never considered before.
The only doubt Gabija's parents had was the news that their daughter was going to study in Vilnius instead of Kaunas. Although the same program could be done in Kaunas, Gabija, after researching the rankings, saw that VILNIUS TECH offered better-quality studies – and she was determined to choose the best option.
So, just a month before the application deadline, Gabija decided to study Civil Engineering in the capital city. She was so determined that she didn't even write down any other programs in her application – she thought that if she didn't get in on the first try, she would wait a year and try again.
Luckily, Gabija succeeded in getting accepted on her first attempt. She remained very happy with her choice – the studies are genuinely interesting, classmates are friendly, and professors are supportive.
Although she imagined that most of her classmates would be boys, there are many girls there. Gabija gets along well with her room-mate from the dormitory. According to her, they both study and live surrounded by forests in the Sauletekis area – and they find it very enjoyable.
"Starting my studies, I was worried about not doing physics and chemistry in the eleventh and twelfth grades, and they are necessary here. However, there were additional classes fo these subjects for those who hadn't studied them, the professors were willing to help, and I studied on my own which led me to receiving a perfect score for the physics exam," said the student, whose overall average for the first session exams was 9 points.
Seeing the city through different set of eyes
During introductory lectures, students, along with the lecturer, went on excursions around the old town of Vilnius, where they assessed buildings through the lens of their discipline. "The lecturer explained what certain cracks on buildings mean, what their causes are, and it was very interesting. After that, I started looking at the city with different eyes, always thinking about what caused a certain defect on a building," observed Gabija.
She has no doubt that her choice was right, and she is convinced that she will enjoy working as a Civil Engineer (and there is no shortage of jobs for such specialists).
One of the introductory lectures was attended by Rimvydas Berzonskis mentioned earlier – after the lecture, Gabija approached him and thanked him for his presentation during the open days, which really changed her life.
"Many other specialists also attended the lectures, telling us about this discipline, and I got the impression that they are all very cool people, and they all seemed happy," the student said enthusiastically.
Girls are not afraid of engineering
Juste Rozene, Director of the Admission and Information Center of VILNIUS TECH, shared: "We sometimes still encounter prevalent beliefs in society that VILNIUS TECH is more suitable for boys, and it takes time to refute those beliefs.
The proportion of girls studying at VILNIUS TECH remains similar – a third, but looking at the engineering study direction over the past decade, the situation is indeed changing, and female students sometimes get annoyed that stereotypes about women in engineering are still being perpetuated. Their choice of such a study direction goes far back to school when they never even considered that such studies were not for them.
In 2018, 113 women and 444 men chose engineering studies at VILNIUS TECH (women accounted for 20.3%); in 2023 – 135 women and 494 men (women – 21.46%).
Girls most often choose industrial product design (70.8% in 2023), environmental engineering (66.7%), geodesy and geo-informatics (44.4%), flight management (50%), bioengineering (90%), medical engineering (55.6%), multimedia and computer design (50%).
There are also quite a few girls in Civil Engineering, which Gabija is studying – currently, there are 407 students in total, including 296 boys and 111 girls (27%).
Although girls do not constitute the majority in engineering disciplines, their results are certainly not worse than boys', and some girls' results are even significantly better; girls' averages exceed 8, and more than half of them even score 9. They are diligent, careful, and brave. They are not afraid to gain practical experience in companies and engage in additional activities, combining not only a passion for engineering but also, for example, event organisation.
Engineering studies can ensure career success and financial stability. No need to doubt yourself and expect the subjects taught at university to be impossibly difficult. Another piece of advice for those who doubt and fear – come to the open days and open lectures organised by universities and try the role of a student. It will definitely help you decide," noted Dr. J. Rozene.
The Career Day VILNIUS TECH GRAVITY will take place on April 18 this year. It is the epicentre of synergy between scientific talents, leading country businesses, and modern organisations, whose gravitational force attracts people capable of not only overcoming existing laws of the universe but also creating new, ambitious, and promising business rules. The VILNIUS TECH Career Festival (Sauletekio al. 11) will bring together not only students, alumni, but also schoolchildren, the most promising companies, and various organisations. Over 9000 participants attended the event in 2023. Students will have the opportunity to interact with lecturers and students, listen to discussions on relevant topics, and see how many important companies are interested in VILNIUS TECH talents to strengthen their teams. More about the Career Day – karjerosdienos.vilniustech.lt
Photo by V. Skaraitis.
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