In the 2022/2023 academic year, the Faculty of Fundamental Sciences started an activity aimed at educating students in the field of modern technologies. It is planned as an activity of the ongoing MERIT project, as well as part of the university’s initiative to share knowledge with schools and introduce study opportunities at VILNIUS TECH. According to activity initiator Assoc. Prof. Dr Pavel Stefanovič, "Education on the application of information technologies and innovations is necessary to encourage schoolchildren to be more interested in technologies and their application. Currently, such training is relevant not only for students but also for teachers. This is because the General Education curricula have been updated and not all teachers know how to implement these changes in the teaching process. We hope that the lectures given by our teachers will be interesting, encouraging, and will inspire positive change."
In October 2022, Lithuanian schools were offered a list of possible lectures. It started with four thematic lectures that could be chosen, covering the topics of artificial intelligence, data analysis, cyber security, and the application of mathematics. More than 20 schools showed interest in these thematic lectures. About half of them were from the Vilnius region, so VILNIUS TECH teachers visited these schools and conducted live lectures and practical sessions for students. Live lectures were also held in schools in the Kaunas region. Other schools were from further regions of Lithuania (Klaipėda, Mažeikiai, Tauragė, Rokiški, etc.), so the lectures were conducted remotely.
The need for mathematics was emphasized in most of the lectures. According to Dr Aurelija Kasparavičiūtė, "Students often do not like mathematics because they do not fully understand its practical application. We try to show students the practical, applied side of mathematics and the possibilities of using it not only in modern technologies but also in other areas of life." In the opinion of Assoc. Prof. Dr Rūta Simanavičienė, "Not all students succeed in mathematics in the same way, not everyone finds it necessary or interesting, but mathematical literacy is necessary for both information technology and data science specialists." How mathematics is applied to password cracking and is used in artificial intelligence to find similar students is also shown in information technology-related lectures.
By February 2023, in total, more than 1,000 students were introduced to modern technologies and their applications. Some of them even attended several lectures on different topics. Since the feedback from the schools was extremely positive, this activity continues. Currently, six lecture topics are offered to schools. Project management and information security topics are added to the existing topics. Schools that could not or did not have time to join in the activities of the first period are already choosing topics of interest. During the first two weeks of collecting applications, more than 20 schools registered. Among those registered are also schools operating outside of Lithuania (European School Brussels II, Belgium). Lithuanian students studying at the school will be given a remote lecture on the application of artificial intelligence in modern systems.
According to Prof. Dr Simona Ramanauskaitė, "It is a pleasure to share knowledge with schools and their students, to see their interest and sometimes surprise at the possibilities of existing technologies. This allows us to feel that the activities carried out are useful, and our work reaches the target audience of ongoing projects."
The vice-dean of studies at the Faculty of Fundamental Sciences, Assoc. Prof. Dr Dovilė Deltuvienė agrees with the benefits of these activities: "By participating in some of the visits to schools, I can also introduce the students to our study programmes and the university. At the same time, I also listen to the lectures of our teachers. I learned something new myself. Therefore, I really encourage all schools to take advantage of this opportunity and diversify their lessons with the lectures of our teachers."
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