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What’s next in ATHENA – summer-fall, 2023

June 22, 2023

As the school year is coming to an end, we want to encourage you to look into academic trips for summer and fall season. VILNIUS TECH is a member of the ATHENA European University Alliance. Members of the alliance are universities from nine European countries, so you can take part in plenty of interesting events, summer schools and blended intensive programs all over Europe!
 
Join us at our events:

July

For Students:

•    SUMMER SCHOOL: Getting Started with Technical Communication in Porto, Portugal, 03/07-07/07. Technical communication is focused on the user of services or products and is an essential and transversal competence. Moreover, it is a professional area that is booming globally, most notably because of the digital and technological context of today’s world, and the need to inform the users in a clear way in order to create more value in products/services. 
Registration deadline 30/06. More information here. 
•    SUMMER SCHOOL: ATHENA Doctoral Summer school in Vilnius, Lithuania, 17/07-21/07. VILNIUS TECH PhD Summer School is an annual event that aims to provide doctoral candidates with unique professional and personal development opportunities. It focuses on the key competencies required to achieve the best results beyond general doctoral students’ training. Registration deadline 23/06. More information here. 

August

For students:
 
• BLENDED INTENSIVE PROGRAMME: Solution Design in Maribor, Slovenia, physical mobility 27/08 – 08/09, virtual mobility dates to be confirmed. Are you ready to face a real-life problem in an international team of students of different professions and with experienced professors and experts? If YES, don’t hesitate to register for the 2023 Solution Design Summer school! 
Registration deadline 30/06. More information here.
• BLENDED INTENSIVE PROGRAMME:10th International Logistics Summer School – Sustainable Travel: Re-Defining the World of Travel in Maribor, Slovenia, physical mobility 28/08 – 05/09, virtual mobility 22/08. This year’s summer school will provide you with an in-depth look at the logistics aspect of sustainable travel. You will learn about the challenges and opportunities that arise in transporting travelers, goods, and services sustainably and will include resource management, waste reduction, and improving transportation efficiency. 
Registration deadline 11/08. More information here.
 
September

For students:

• BLENDED INTENSIVE PROGRAMME: Dyslexia and Foreign Language Teaching in Porto, Portugal, physical mobility 11/09 – 15/09, virtual mobility 04/09 – 06/09. On this course teachers will be able to learn more about the issues surrounding the concept of dyslexia, but mainly gain practical teaching tools and insights to help diverse students with difficulties associated to dyslexia features to learn foreign languages. 
More information soon here. 
• ATHENA Erasmus Student Network Meeting in Heraklion, Greece, end of September. 
More information soon on ATHENA website. 
• BLENDED INTENSIVE PROGRAMME: Renewable energy sources in Maribor, Slovenia, physical mobility 04/09 – 08/09, virtual mobility 31/08 – 01/09. During the summer school, students will learn about different types of renewable energy sources, such as hydrogen technologies, solar energy, wind energy, hydro energy and geothermal energy. 
Registration deadline 25/06. More information is available here.
• BLENDED INTENSIVE PROGRAMME: Sustainability in International Business in Maribor, Slovenia, physical mobility 11/09 – 16/09, virtual mobility 05/09. Sustainability is becoming an increasingly important direction in business operations. It is rooted in the negative consequences of the neoliberal development paradigm in the world and the calls for sustainable development by international organisations and national governments. Apply for the International Summer School and gain insights into the sustainability aspects of international business! Registration deadline 25/06. More information here.

For students and staff:

• BLENDED INTENSIVE PROGRAMME: Open Science Summer School in Maribor, Slovenia, physical mobility 11/09 – 15/09, virtual mobility 05/09. The University of Maribor Summer School offers PhD students and young researchers an opportunity to learn and develop skills in the fields of research data management, open access to research results, the use of open research infrastructure, supercomputing resources and the European Open Science Cloud. Registration deadline 25/06. More information here. 
• BLENDED INTENSIVE PROGRAMME: Sustainability summer school in Vilnius, Lithuania, physical mobility 25/09 – 29/09, virtual mobility 18/09 – 22/09. Teachers, students and practitioners are invited to participate in this summer school. Teachers are invited to deliver sustainability related courses in online sessions and to supervise group works during on-site session. Practitioners and business partners are invited to provide problem-based cases to be solved during the summer school. Scholarships are available for students and teachers from ATHENA partner universities. 
Registration deadline 23/06. More information here.

For staff:

•    Networking event focusing on cybersecurity, space technologies, and financial technologies in Vilnius, Lithuania, 05/09 – 06/09. 
More information soon here.
 
•    ATHENA Technology Forum in Sitia, Crete, 25/09 – 29/09. 
More information soon on ATHENA website. 

October

For students:
 
•    BLENDED INTENSIVE PROGRAMME: Sustainable Entrepreneurship in Klagenfurt, Austria, physical mobility 16/10 – 21/10, virtual mobility 05/10 – 12/10 and 31/10. Teams of students from Austria and from all over the Alps-Adriatic region, as well as from Barcelona and ATHENA countries, will develop business ideas embedding sustainability and the SDGs. This cross-border collaboration does not only contribute to the entrepreneurial mindset of the students, but also strengthens their consciousness about sustainability and helps them develop intercultural and language skills. 10 places have been reserved for participants from ATHENA.
Registration deadline 30/06. More information here. Registration here. 
•    BLENDED INTENSIVE PROGRAMME: Diversity in the Digitized World – Challenges and Opportunities for (Re)establishing Social Justice in Carinthia, Austria, October. 
More information soon here.

For students and staff:

•    Global Case Study Challenge. This is an innovative, high-impact career-oriented teaching and learning virtual exchange (VE) project, providing educators and students with invaluable experience in intercultural, international and virtual interaction. Focusing on intercultural, digital communication and sustainability competencies, this virtual exchange programme showcases how new virtual models of teaching and learning within real-world contexts can support the development of new global and future-oriented work competencies. Educators are the ones who sign up and then join with their students. The educators will then have an onboarding meeting with the GCSC organisation team. The program spans over an 8-week period, between October and early December. 
Registration deadline 30/06. More information here, here and here. Interested educators can register here. 

All year long

For students and staff:

•    “ATHENA Talks” – regular online scientific conversations with leading scientists from around the world. Wide range of topics from physics, semiconductors, biomaterials to policy making & internationalization. A new topic & speaker is announced each week on ATHENA website & Facebook page. For more information on upcoming participants in advance, press here. Register here. 
For funding opportunities for VILNIUS TECH staff and students, please contact the International Relations Office, email: rasita.martise@vilniustech.lt
Regarding participation in events organized by VILNIUS TECH, please contact organizers.
Stay in tune with ATHENA news – sign up for the newsletter, follow ATHENA on social media and regularly check our website for more.
 

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According to Dr. Jakubovskis, much of the research process is dedicated to analysing existing materials and construction technologies to understand how they can be improved. [caption id="attachment_88679" align="alignnone" width="2560"] Ronaldas Jakubovskis[/caption] „The most rewarding moment is when years of laboratory research become a real structure that can be built and experienced in a natural environment,“ he says. Although he works in academia, Dr. Jakubovskis sees himself primarily as a civil engineer supporting other civil engineers. While structural designers and project managers oversee the overall design of buildings and infrastructure – determining layouts, dimensions, and cost-effective construction solutions – researchers provide the specialised expertise needed to develop new materials and solve complex engineering challenges. „Practising engineers often don't have enough time to investigate highly specialised solutions or explore entirely new materials – that's where we come in. Sometimes we analyse complex structural behaviour through numerical modelling, and sometimes we investigate how emerging materials can be applied in construction. In my opinion, research engineers don't quite fit the traditional stereotype of scientists wearing white lab coats or solving abstract equations all day. Our work is highly practical—we often design, manufacture, and physically test new structural systems ourselves.“ Engineering That Leaves a Visible Legacy Among the projects he is most proud of is the Biological Bridge installed at the Kairėnai Botanical Garden, as well as the Living Concrete wall currently being developed for the rooftop of the Lithuanian National Drama Theatre. Both projects demonstrate how engineering can merge sustainability, science, and architectural design. „These projects represent the culmination of years of laboratory work and numerical modelling. They are demonstration structures that show what is possible when innovative materials meet advanced engineering. I also value their aesthetic qualities. Designing complex organic forms allows you to feel a little like a sculptor creating a work of art.“ Looking ahead, Dr. Jakubovskis believes his greatest achievements are still to come. His long-term vision is to create buildings with façades intentionally designed to be colonised by living organisms, allowing them to interact naturally with their environment while providing ecological and functional benefits. [caption id="attachment_88005" align="alignnone" width="2560"] Ronaldas Jakubovskis[/caption] „We are currently developing larger demonstration projects, seeking research funding, and expanding international collaborations. I believe that within the next five years, we'll be able to stand in front of one of these buildings and say: this is a significant achievement.“ A Profession That Will Still Matter in 100 Years For Dr. Jakubovskis, choosing civil engineering was an easy decision. Since childhood, he enjoyed watching buildings rise from the ground and observing construction sites and heavy machinery. „You don't need extraordinary dreams to become a civil engineer. If you want to build, you become an engineer. It's not like travelling to space or conducting research in Antarctica.“ What motivates him most is the opportunity to create structures that remain valuable for decades – or even centuries. „Every civil engineer feels proud when driving past a bridge or building they helped design, and they will always point it out to everyone in the car,“ he says with a smile. His own career began in structural design after completing his third year of university. He later pursued doctoral studies focusing on the cracking behaviour and deformation of reinforced concrete structures before returning to industry. 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