Open lectures of Björn W. Shuller – professor of Machine Learning from Imperial College London at VGTU

VILNIUS TECH Library invites you to follow the published new dissertations. The dissertation „Twin transition impact assessment model for agricultural performance in the context of sustainability“ prepared at VILNIUS TECH by Kristina Šermukšnytė-Alešiūnienė. The dissertation was prepared in 2020–2026. Scientific consultant – Dr Rasa Melnikienė. The dissertation was defended at the public meeting of the Dissertation Defence Council of the Scientific Field of Economics in the Aula Doctoralis Meeting Hall of Vilnius Gediminas Technical University at 10 a. m. on 22 September 2026. The twin transition in agriculture, combining the digital and green transitions, is one of the key directions of the European Union’s strategy for developing a more sustainable, resilient, and competitive agricultural sector. This dissertation addresses the problem of how to assess the impact of digital and green transitions on agricultural performance in the context of sustainability. The dissertation aims to develop and empirically substantiate the Twin Transition Impact Assessment Model. The model integrates three assessment levels: farm-level adoption and economic performance; the bioeconomy and value-chain level; and the national and regional context level. Structural asymmetries and enabling mechanisms are included as cross-cutting components. A mixed-methods research design was applied, combining scientific literature analysis, conceptual synthesis, case-study analysis, structured survey analysis, comparative assessment, correlation and regression analysis, sensitivity analysis, semi-structured interviews, document review, and the synthesis of empirical findings. The empirical basis consists of five interconnected studies covering small-farm digitalisation, digital technology adoption in sustainable agriculture and the bioeconomy, the twin transition in Lithuania and Romania, food supply-chain digitalisation, and structural asymmetries in Lithuania’s bioeconomy transition. The empirical results show that the twin transition improves agricultural performance when digital and green solutions are integrated across the farm, value chain, and regional and national levels. Digitalisation supports labour efficiency, planning, customer relations, investment decisions, loss reduction, traceability, product quality, and supply-chain visibility, while also contributing to resource efficiency, renewable energy use, water-use efficiency, emissions reduction, carbon sequestration, and climate resilience. The empirical evidence indicates that the effects of digital and green transitions depend on infrastructure, investment capacity, policy support, digital skills and institutional conditions. The results also show structural differences in transition outcomes: higher investment intensity does not automatically produce stronger economic results, and digital adoption may occur separately from ecological production orientation. On this basis, the dissertation concludes that digital and green transitions can strengthen agricultural performance and sustainability when they are integrated, context-specific and supported by enabling mechanisms. The proposed model provides a scientific and practical framework for assessing agricultural performance under the twin transition across farm-level, bioeconomy and agri-food value-chain, regional-national and structural dimensions. Doctoral dissertation readers can search via VILNIUS TECH Virtual Library.

On September 22 at 12:10 p.m., at the invitation of Prof. Dr. Renata Korsakienė from the Department of Management, Rasa Žėkaitė, Team Lead at Cognizant Lithuania, will deliver a lecture titled “Corporate Social Responsibility” (in English). The lecture will take place in room S3 (SRK-I) 716. What does corporate social responsibility really mean? What forms can it take, and what does it look like in practice in the day-to-day activities of global companies? During the lecture, participants will have the opportunity to explore the key principles of corporate social responsibility, discuss its different areas, and examine real-life examples from global companies. The lecture will also introduce Cognizant Outreach, the company’s volunteering program, which is active in 42 countries. Rasa Žėkaitė will share how this initiative is implemented in Lithuania and the impact it has on local communities. Join us to learn more and discover how social responsibility can be turned into meaningful action! Lecture moderator: Prof. Dr. Renata Korsakienė