Sometimes new partnerships do not start with official agreements but rather with a conversation, a joint lecture, and a question: what could we create together? This was precisely the mood that accompanied the visit of students and a lecturer from the Latvian Academy of Culture to the VILNIUS TECH Faculty of Creative Industries.
The faculty hosted students from the joint master’s program “Creative Industries and Growth Management” of the Latvian Academy of Culture and Riga Technical University, along with the program director, associate professor, and researcher Dr. Ieva Zemīte. The guest is actively involved in international academic activities—the Latvian Academy of Culture is a partner in the ACE²-EU European Universities Alliance, and Dr. Zemīte leads activities related to public partnerships and cultural engagement.
The visit became not only an introduction to VILNIUS TECH but also a space to discuss what could happen next. Faculty representatives and their Latvian colleagues discussed student and staff mobility opportunities, joint academic activities, projects, and the possibility of jointly organizing Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programmes (BIP). The discussions already looked at specific areas of cooperation and how the experiences of both institutions could complement one another.
An important part of the visit took place in the lecture hall. Latvian master’s students joined a lecture with VILNIUS TECH students, but this was not a traditional meeting where one side speaks and the other listens. Students shared their perspectives on the field of creative industries, discussed and compared Lithuanian and Latvian experiences, raised questions, and sought answers together. Such meetings allow creative industries to be viewed not only through theoretical concepts but also through the experiences of different countries, cities, and young creators.
The visit took place at the initiative of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eglė Grėbliauskaitė from the VILNIUS TECH Department of Entertainment Industries—she was the one who invited the Latvian colleagues and students to visit the Faculty of Creative Industries. During the visit, Dr. Grėbliauskaitė also introduced the guests to the practical side of the creative industries landscape in Vilnius and Lithuania.
“Such visits are much more than a brief exchange of experience. They strengthen interinstitutional ties, allow us to get to know each other better, and most importantly, help new joint ideas emerge. A partnership comes alive when people—students, lecturers, researchers—meet and start talking about what they can achieve together,” says Prof. Dr. Vaida Asakavičiūtė, Dean of the VILNIUS TECH Faculty of Creative Industries.
Equally important was the exchange of information regarding broader European opportunities. Latvian colleagues shared their experience gained through participation in the ACE²-EU European Universities Alliance and introduced international networks and initiatives in which their institution actively operates.
“When we meet with colleagues, we exchange more than just academic ideas. We exchange knowledge about European networks, initiatives, and new opportunities. Such an exchange of opportunities is particularly valuable to us. Lithuanian and Latvian universities are not just neighbors—we are partners in the Baltic academic space, so it is very important to involve one another, invite each other, and join broader European activities together,” emphasizes Assoc. Prof. Angelė Tamulevičiūtė-Šekštelienė, Vice-Dean for Internationality and Development at the Faculty of Creative Industries.
The visit has ended, but the conversations have not. And that is perhaps the best sign of a successful academic meeting: when it leaves behind not just photographs and pleasant memories, but concrete questions, ideas, and a desire to meet again—to create something together.
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