Programs, Clubs and Projects ​

START FM ​

VU radio START FM – VU SR and Vilnius University radio station, which started its activities in 2005, the only radio station for students in Lithuania provides wide opportunities for self-expression for students: it helps to train future journalists, programmers, and specialists in other fields. START FM also actively supports the dissemination of the works of alternative Lithuanian and foreign performers and music groups, organizes interviews with music performers, supports various artistic and social initiatives.

The radio program is intended for members of the academic community of Vilnius city and Lithuanian universities and schools, young people, and all residents of the country with musical literacy.

START FM is a unique medium for the emergence and development of youth initiatives: the broadcasts reflect the current issues of the life of the academic community and young people, as they are initiated and implemented by members of the community – students, graduates, lecturers of Vilnius University and other Lithuanian higher education institutions, and reflect the current issues of the life of the academic community and young people.

The social significance of the station is enhanced by the fact that the radio START FM always tries to help the creators of social initiatives, providing an opportunity to inform the public about their activities and actions. During the reference period, cultural, educational, informational shows were prepared and broadcast, conditions were created for VU Journalism students to acquire practical knowledge and skills, and in order to popularize both Lithuanian and foreign alternative groups and performers, the music archive was redesigned. The upgrading of the technical and software infrastructure of the radio station has also begun, and the sounding has been improved both on the FM wave section and on the webcast.

VU Debate Club ​

During the reference period, the club's activities were coordinated by Matas Petravičius.

VU Debating Club is a club founded in 2004 to promote communication between students of different faculties, providing a space for the development of critical thinking, reasoning, English language, and public speaking skills, and representing Vilnius University in debate tournaments.

In 2022–2023, VU Debating Club successfully continued and developed its activities. The team, which was formed last year, consolidated the conduct of the debate session every week, expanded and updated the list of members, and developed competencies. The efforts made brought good results – the club sent a delegation to participate in the SSE Riga 2022 debate tournament, where the name of Vilnius University was represented at the international level. After the New Year, the club renewed its image in the digital space and began to establish contacts with other debate organizations in Lithuania. The members of the club were invited to judge in the playoff rounds of the Lithuanian Students' National Tournament, as well as to carry out educational activities about debates in Lithuanian schools and events for scholars.

The renewed club board continues to organize new events and expands its activities and the circle of club members, develops competencies internally and fosters a culture of debate in Lithuania.

"Students - for pupils, pupils - for students (SMMS)" ​

During the reference period, the project activities were coordinated by Tomas Mikalauskas.

"Students - for pupils, pupils - for students (SMMS)" is a 3-day camp organized by VU SR for senior scholars. The aim of the camp is to help scholars choose the right study path for them by introducing Vilnius University and its opportunities.

This year's SMMS camp was attended by more than 50 scholars from all over Lithuania, who were given the opportunity not only to visit Vilnius University, but also to walk around Vilnius city during the orienteering game, to get acquainted with Saulėtekis academic campus and to feel the student spirit. Also, during the camp, the scholars together with the mentors visited the selected faculties throughout the day and were introduced to the admission and study processes of Vilnius University.

Sąžiningai ​

During the reference period, the program was coordinated by Justė Ieva Žilionytė and a working group convened by the VU SR Council.

"Sąžiningai" is a VU SR program that fosters the academic ethics of the Vilnius University community and promotes a culture of academic integrity. The participants contributing to the activities of the program seek to reduce the cases of write-off, plagiarism, and procurement of written works. To promote academic integrity, observations of ongoing interim and final settlements (colloquiums and examinations) are organized, information campaigns, rubrics are organized, studies are carried out, articles and reviews are prepared.

In 2022-2023, not only observations of intermediate settlements and exams took place, but also a review and refinement of the direction of activity of the "Sąžiningai" program. During the VU SR Council meeting, a decision was made to activate the activities of the program – to promote not only greater involvement of students in the monitoring of settlements, but also to strengthen the implementation and dissemination of the culture of academic ethics at the University.

VU Law Clinic ​

During the reference period, the project was coordinated by Viktorija Medžiaušaitė.

Public institution Vilnius University Law Clinic (VU LC), established by VU SR and partners, is a free legal aid project that provides an opportunity for real professional practice for law students of senior courses, and offers free legal aid to the public and promotes legal literacy. 25 years ago, VU LC was founded and still under the auspices of VU SR, Vilnius University and the law firm Ellex Valiūnas.

In 2022, the organization provided legal aid to 5311 residents. Based on the feedback from interested parties about the quality of the organization's activities, it can be concluded that VU LC ensures a sufficiently high level of competence and a good culture of service. In 2022, in-person consultations were successfully carried out, by phone, Skype, e-mail.

During the reference period, VU LC compulsory professional or voluntary internship, the duration of which is 6 months, was carried out by 23 Vilnius University students. During the internship, students consulted interested parties on family, inheritance, work, intellectual property, contracts, real estate, consumers, administrative, criminal law issues. The organization also prepared drafts of contracts, draft procedural documents for judicial authorities (courts, commissions for labor disputes), legal conclusions.

VU LC actively cooperated with the media, regularly provided legal comments to the most popular portals. Publications have been prepared on such topics as "Compensation for damage to patients' health: who can apply and where, how is the amount of benefits determined?", "Consequences of the principle of unlimited publicity in criminal proceedings", "The limits of criticism of a well-known person. When does civil liability arise?", "The custodian's responsibility for the items entrusted to him for safekeeping", "Divorce after determining the guilt of one of the spouses - what are the consequences?", "Ensuring the copyright and problematics of computer programs".

A project for the provision of consultations to Ukrainians was carried out. A group of students who know Russian temporarily joined the organization's activities, helping to provide written and oral consultations. A section of the page has been prepared, where the information is relevant for Ukrainians arriving to Lithuania. The institutional strengthening project, which was started and completed, is funded by the Ministry of Social Security and Labor "Strong organization providing primary legal assistance – internal quality assurance of services". The project funds are intended for the preparation of a description of the quality assurance of VU LC services, the organization of trainings of consultants, the publicity of the services provided, etc. A support agreement was signed with "Mercator by Citco", which agreed on the granting of sponsor status to the company, mutual cooperation and financial support to VU LC.

VU SIF ​

During the current period, the foundation was headed by Gabrielė Stanionytė and Povilas Petručionis.

Vilnius University Students' Investment Fund (VU SIF) is the first and largest student investment fund in Lithuania established by VU SR, which encourages young people to take an interest in the world of investment management and invest independently.

Recently, an intensive period has been going on at VU SIF, marked by competitions, lectures, trainings and excursions. Also, a lecture on AI and finances organized by the SIF, a meeting with the head of the LT VCA, DCF and "fundamental analysis" internal trainings with alumni Tadas Petkevičius are going to happen very soon. Over the past few months, the VU SIF Investment Committee (IC) has participated in as many as 3 competitions: "Global Case Competition at Harvard", "McGill 2023 GLOBAL STOCK PITCH COMPETITION" and IFSA "Trader's cup". Since the beginning of the year, VU SIF has been conducting trainings on time management, graphic design and use of the Bloomberg terminal, and some trainings have been organized by themselves. Later, after contacting the FinIQ organization with VU SIF, various lectures were given to scholars in grades 9-12 related to investing. VU SIF also organized a mentoring program – the majority of the organization's members still participate in the program "Mentee", where most of the mentors are former members of VU SIF who have currently achieved high career positions. VU SIF also organized events, and one of the last was about the recent unrest in the financial sector, when SVB Bank went bankrupt. The lecture was led by guests from the Bank of Lithuania.

This year, VU SIF made investment decisions and participated in tenders, and the investment portfolio was expanded to 12 positions (acquisitions can be found on the Facebook account). Also, VU SIF expanded the range of rubrics in social networks and entered the "Tik Tok" platform – playful educational rubrics are raised there, and podcasts are successfully returned. The guest of the last podcast is Martas Tankevičius. A new podcast with VU SIF alumni Justas Daujotas will be announced soon.

VU Karjeros dienos ​

During the reference period, the project was chaired by Eglė Jašinskaitė.

Vilnius University Career Days (VU KD) is a VU SR project that allows students to get acquainted with potential employers, to establish new relationships and to start a career path independently. The project aims to help students to establish themselves in the labor market and become in-demand specialists in their field.

This year's main event "VU KD'23: in search of a career, discover yourself" was organized on March 20-24, and on March 16th the "VU Career Day at Šiauliai academy" took place. The project cooperated with 68 companies. 4 additional events were also organized, during which various topics related to careers were explored. The smooth running of the entire project was ensured by a team of 57 managers and members. The biggest achievements of this year are the organization of additional thematic events, the involvement of members during almost the entire reference period, the organization of the VU Career Day at the VU CAU located outside Vilnius and the hackathon, in which as many as 12 teams of students participated.

Be etikečių ​

During the reference period the program was coordinated by Egidijus Skužinskas.

"Be etikečių" is a program implemented by VU SR since 2010, which is actively operating in the fields of reducing social exclusion and human rights. The program aims to refute the stereotypes established in society, to promote the full integration of socially vulnerable groups and to create a respectful relationship with each other in the community of Vilnius University. The main values are equality, openness, and respect for the individuality of each person.

This year, "Be etikečių" has focused on community fortune-telling through culture and art. 3 large cycles of events and projects were organized: queer cultural festival "Culture of all", ethnic minorities month, sexuality education month. In each of these thematic cycles, the aim was to delve into the experiences of the group represented in it, to introduce both its achievements and problems, to provide a platform for the representatives of that group to talk about important aspects of everyday life and activism for them. The traditions of the program were also continued: in June, "Be etikečių" marched at the Lithuanian LGBTQ+ pride march in Vilnius, during the discussion about the stigmatization of psychological disorders, Halloween was meaningfully mentioned in the fifth edition of "Halophobia", the winter drag show "All I want for this year is Drag" was held for the first time and a linen carving workshop was organized 4 times.

Much attention was paid to discussing the topics of the queer community, sexuality education and emotional well-being. The "drag dictionary" project, which introduces the terms and history of drag culture, was also continued.

Vilnius University Young Energetics Club ​

During the reference period, the club's activities were coordinated by Ignas Pocius.

Vilnius University Young Energetics Club (VU JEK) is a VU SR club that unites young people interested in various types of energy in economic, political, and technical aspects. By organizing events and disseminating information, the members of VU JEK share their energy knowledge.

The most important activities of this year's club are the strengthening of the club's educational field, a series of lectures "4 energetics" and participation in activities and events organized by other organizations and subdivisions were organized. This year, many freshmen and sophomore students from various study programs were attracted to the club, and events such as the promotion of the cultivation of home plants "Loreta Days" attracted a lot of public interest. Also, the members of the club had the opportunity to visit the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant during the trip organized by the club.

Erasmus Student Network Vilnius University ​

During the reference period, the activities of the program were coordinated by Artūras Maciunskas.

ESN Vilnius University is a VU SR program that promotes the mobility of students and helps foreign students to successfully integrate into Vilnius University. The main goal of ESN Vilnius University is to help foreign students coming to VU to adapt to the new environment, to acquaint them with the study procedure, culture and traditions of our country.

This year, the activities of ESN Vilnius University were focused on the organization of various events aimed at increasing the integration of foreign students and promoting community spirit. As in every semester, the activities traditionally started with the implementation of the orientation week, during which efforts were made to introduce foreign students to each other and to provide all the necessary information about the life, infrastructure, Lithuanian culture, opportunities, and rights of students. In addition to all the standard events (brain battles, excursions, familiarization evenings), the ESN Social Inclusion Days were organized during the year – a series of events aimed at promoting sustainability and social responsibility. During the spring semester, the international project "Erasmus in Schools" was carried out, during which, communicating with foreign students of VU, scholars were encouraged to become more mobile. During this academic year, 52 events were organized in response to the priorities of ESN (Education & Youth, Culture, Social Inclusion, Health & Well-being, Employability, Environmental Sustainability).

During this year, ESN Vilnius University has strengthened relations with other sections of ESN Lithuania and other countries, universities of the ARQUS network, participated in 3 international events ("Erasmus generations meeting", TEET, "North European platform"), during which useful experience was shared with ESN units of other countries.

VU Kendo Club ​

During the reference period, the activities of the club were coordinated by Vytenis Almonaitis.

Vilnius University Kendo Club is a VU SR Japanese fencing studio that has been operating since 2008, designed for both beginners and those who want to improve their already existing skills. VU Kendo Club seeks not only to popularize kendo sports and promote an active lifestyle, but also to gather students(s) interested in Japanese martial arts, to make the name of Vilnius University famous in Lithuania and the world by participating in competitions and other events.

The club this school year has done:

• Since February, on Saturdays, the club has organized joint training sessions of the Lithuanian kendo team with representatives of other Lithuanian clubs in order to prepare for the European Kendo Championship in Paris, which will take place on May 18-19.
• The club organized a spring kendo beginner's course, which took place from March 18 to April 18.
• Conducted a demonstration of kendo at the opening ceremony of the Japanese Garden of Vilnius city on April 29.
• On May 27, the club plans a demonstration at an event organized by the Japanese Embassy for children's homeschoolers "Let's be together".

Student Life Guidebook ​

During the reference period, the project was led by Andrius Jokubauskas and Viktorija Milko.

The Students' Life Guide (SGV) is a VU SR publication designed to facilitate the beginning of the life of freshmen and students coming from abroad to Vilnius University to study in a new city (or country). The main goal of SGV is to promote students' autonomy, active activity and, of course, to ensure smooth integration into the ranks of the members of the largest academic community in Lithuania.

In order to be able to achieve the above goal as efficiently as possible, it is ensured that the publication reaches the students for the third year no longer in the format of the book, but in the format of the sgv.vusa.lt of the website. For this reason, SGV can be a source of information not only at the beginning of the year, but also for the entire year of study, because in this publication you can find all the necessary information related to the most important processes of the University, services provided and leisure.

This year, more attention has been paid to foreign students. The information of the publication has been updated, supplemented, and presented not only in Lithuanian, but also in English in order to improve the integration of foreign students into the University and Lithuania.

VU Writers' Club ​

During the reporting period, the activities of the club were coordinated by Nikolajus Elkana Eimutis.

VU Writers' Club is a society formed in 2013, uniting the members of the VU community who write and are interested in literature. The goal of the VU Writers' Club is not only to bring together people who write, but also to encourage a greater interest in literature, to look at it from the side of the creators, critics, readers, and listeners. The members of the VU Writers' Club organize events for reading their own creations, organizes meetings with writers, organize screenings and discussions of films created on the basis of literary works.

This year, the activities of the VU Writers' Club were focused on the development of the members' literary and artistic literacy. During the autumn semester, members had the opportunity to participate in creative workshops on the topic of Dadaism, to study the peculiarities of Pranas Morkūnas poetry work. Also, during the creative writing workshop, the members were taught different techniques for spontaneous idea generation. Critical thinking was developed by discussing one book by a foreign author each month in the club. In addition, the previously started projects were continued - texts diving into the literary space were published on the club's Facebook and Instagram accounts.

HEMA ​

During the reference period, the club was chaired by Gintarė Vaičiakauskytė.

Alber aus VU HEMA Club is a club of historical European martial arts, where students are trained with long swords.

This year, alber aus VU HEMA club had the opportunity to participate in various events and introduce University students and not only with HEMA. The circle of members and enthusiasts is successfully expanding – we notice the progress of the club and the general atmosphere. This year we also had the opportunity to organize the first HEMA tournament, which was attended by our club members and HEMA enthusiasts from all over Lithuania. This year, the club organized 2-3 weekly training sessions for beginners and more advanced members, as well as close cooperation with other departments and initiatives – getting involved in FiDi to meet the procession of physicists.

VU Photoclub ​

During the reference period, the club was chaired by Simonas Lukoševičius and Olivija Grudytė.

The mission of VU Photoclub is to foster and mature the diversity and creativity of students by using one of the most charming art directions – photography. However, this academic year, we realized that our mission is also inseparable from constant cooperation with Vilnius University – we got the opportunity to provide photography services to a huge variety of programs, clubs, projects and were able to capture the university's stories.

This year, the club's activities were focused on 3 main areas: members, the VU community and society.

For the members of the club, we tried to create a community where both enthusiasts interested in photography and advanced professionals could spend time together and share experiences. During both semesters, we organized activities in groups where we conducted trainings and various practical classes.

We have provided photography services to the VU community almost everywhere and always. As the spring semester draws to a close, we don't even know where to put the photos captured during this year alone, as our caches are constantly filling up. We recorded the activities of almost every club and project, as well as the performances of the collectives of the VU Cultural Center. As they say in English – "sharing is caring". Guided by this thought, we organized two open training courses on the basics of photography for the VU community.

In the end, we have always tried to remain social and active in public. We have consistently recorded all sorts of shots, from the brightest public holidays to the most painful protests. We remained indifferent and responsible together with the whole VU SR.

VU Antroclub ​

During the reference period, the club's activities were coordinated by Kornelija Garlaitė.

VU Antroklubas is a community of members of the academic environment who are interested in anthropology and are active in the field of anthropology. In this community, an interdisciplinary space is created for the exchange of ideas and anthropology and social sciences are popularized.

This year, the club held lectures and discussions with anthropology specialists:

• In October, a show of "Second Conversations" was held with Laura Lapinskė, a representative of critical theory and gender studies. During the show, questions were explored: how to study gender, why is it important and what can we learn by studying gender?
• Meeting / discussion with anthropologist and historian Rima Praspaliauskienė, which talked about the meaning and meaning of anthropology.
• Discussion about ethical requirements and challenges in anthropology with Kristina Šliavaitė, a researcher, lecturer and anthropologist working at the Institute of Asian and Transcultural Studies at VU. The questions addressed in the discussion are: how are empirical studies going, how to monitor people without harming them, and how to conduct a study that benefits the community without harming it?
• Meeting with Prof. Viktor de Munck on Sufi rituals in the village of Sri Lanka. The professor spent several years doing a field study in Sri Lanka, shared his observations with the participants of the event and answered questions: how to conduct field research and what can be seen during the field study?

The COINS ​

During the reference period, the project was coordinated by Lukas Krasauskas.

Life Sciences Conference "The COINS" is a VU SR project organized by students. This is a scientific event aimed at promoting students' scientific activities, interest in the latest scientific achievements and expanding academic and professional ties. The conference invites the highest level of scientists to give presentations at our University, thus making him famous in the academic international community. The aim is also to educate scholars and the public about scientific news, to allow them to get acquainted with life science research, thus encouraging them to choose their professional path in this particular field.

This year, The COINS 2023 conference took place on April 24th-27th at the VU Life Sciences Center. A team of 12 coordinators and almost 40 organizers was assembled to ensure that the preparation and all the activities of the conference went smoothly. In 4 days, almost 700 participants attended the conference, a record number of students' booth presentations was reached – 220 and the number of scientists who evaluated them – 130. Lectures were given by 12 top-level foreign and Lithuanian lecturers on the topics of neurobiology, biomedical, ecology and bioengineering, which were chosen in response to the theme of this year's conference "The COINS 2023. Changing the world one step at the time: from theory to practice". During the conference, there was also a public speaking lecture, practical activities, and an interactive session-lecture on the relationship between music and the brain. Programs with laboratory works and lectures for schoolchildren and the public were also organized, which attracted more than 60 participants. The contact fair attracted 10 companies / organizations with which students could chat about work, practice issues, and participate in various competitions. Meanwhile, at the evening event of the conference, the participants not only had a great opportunity for networking, but also enjoyed the cultural program of Lithuanian dance and music. In addition, the conference attracted a large group of sponsors and state institutions (Innovation Agency and Lithuanian Research Council), which established prizes for the winners of the presentations.

The Society of Young Journalists of Vilnius University (VU JŽD) ​

During the reference period, the Society of Young Journalist was headed by Gabija Strumylaitė (until January 2023) and Ieva Radzevičiūtė (from January 2023).

The Society of Young Journalists of Vilnius University (VU JŽD) is an initiative uniting scholars and students and was founded in 2021, the purpose of society is to create a community of young people interested in journalism and fostering democratic ideals in Lithuania.

In 2022-2023, cooperation with various media outlets or individual journalists continued, such as continued cooperation with the 15min portal. The members of the Society take pictures, write texts, and their works are published on the portal with a special VU JŽD tag. Also, the members of the Society have the opportunity to do an internship at the Center for Investigative Journalism "Siena" and contribute to their ongoing researchs.

Relations with Lithuanians living abroad have also been strengthened. In the autumn, a member of VU JŽD created a video with a student of the University of Oxford, interviewing the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Mantas Adomėnas. The post can be found on the Oxford Political Review's YouTube channel.

Another of the society's activities is the organization of events. In the summer of 2022, a series of discussions called "Sit down, we will talk to..." took place, where Arūnas Valinskas and Eglė Jurgaitytė were interviewed. Events of this kind were organized in an informal environment, which made it possible to expand the audience of VU JŽD. In the autumn, a discussion "Mobilization in Russia – what awaits next?" was organized in the premises of VU IIRPS together with the organization "Locked N' Loaded". The interlocutors of the discussion: reserve colonel Gintaras Ažubalis, VU IIRPS lecturer Valentinas Beržiūnas and LRT journalist, foreign news editor Augustinas Šulija. In 2023, the 30th Journalists' Day "LeŽuDi" was initiated, which took place in May.

In 2022, a competition was created, the winners of which were awarded the Young Journalists Prize. As many as 3 dozen works were received, of which in the end the top 3 were selected. The works were evaluated by "Laisvės TV" research journalist Dovydas Pancerov, LRT senior editor Aleksandra Ketlerienė, VMU professor Audronė Spinaitė, editor of the current affairs department of "15min" Raimundas Celencevičius and head of the VU Society of Young Journalists Gabija Strumylaitė. The laureates were awarded during the Rom Sakadolski Journalism Forum. This year, the competition will be held for the second time.

In spring 2023, a mentoring program was created in which 17 media field professionals work with students to help develop their professional skills. Program mentors: travel journalist Orijus Gasanovas, ELTA senior editor Vytautas Bruveris, NARA editor and author Karolis Vyšniauskas, journalist and photojournalist of "15min" research department Vidmantas Balkūnas, "Delfi.lt" senior editor Rasa Lukaitytė-Vnarauskienė, current affairs journalist Daumantas Butkus, LRT radio news service journalists Jūratė Damulytė and Gabrielė Navickaitė, adviser to the Rector of Vilnius University, columnist Paulius Gritėnas, lecturer and researcher of VU IIRPS Nerijus Maliukevičius, journalists Šarūnas Černiauskas and Miglė Krancevičiūtė of the investigative journalism center "Siena", LRT TV foreign news editor and military reporter Augustinas Šulija, LNK news news editor and military reporter Aušra Šiaulytė, LRT.lt senior editor Aleksandra Ketlerienė, NARA editor and journalist Indrė Kiršaitė, fashion journalist Deimantė Bulbenkaitė. At the beginning of June, the closing event of the program will take place, during which the mentors will present their created works with the students.

VU JŽD actively visits media places, participates in various events of the journalists' community, for example, the Romas Sakadolskis Journalism Forum, the Lithuanian Investigative Journalism Festival, and attends exhibitions, for example, World Press Photo.

In the summer, a camp for the members of the Society and a discussion in Palanga Summer reading room are planned. Work on the Young Journalists Prize will also continue.

New initiatives ​

During the reference period, the aim was to expand and increase the network of student initiatives. To achieve this goal, for the second year in a row, the hackVU initiative development event was organized, during which several new initiatives were added to our community. A new Military Club was also established, and the VU Ukrainian student community was started to gather.

Charity and Support Fund "Ateičiai" ​

During the reference period, the activities of the foundation were coordinated by Edvardas Tamutis.

In 2018, VU SR established the charity and support fund "Ateičiai", which is designed to create the well-being of Vilnius University students. The foundation was founded to represent the diverse needs of students."

This year, the charity and support fund "Ateičiai" publicized and promoted the name of Vilnius University by distributing merchandise in both physical and electronic stores. This year, one-day pop-up stores were continued and opened in various academic units of the University, and an opportunity was created for students to purchase merchandise during ongoing University events. The foundation is also expanding cooperation with VU – a cooperation agreement has been signed with VU Library regarding the sale of their products in the VU merchandise store. In addition, the sale of Klaipėda University merchandise continues. This year, the initiative continues – 1.2% of the income tax support is collected, which will purposefully encourage the University's students for active social activities by contributing to the integration of Ukraine citizens in Lithuania.

The activities of the charity and support foundation "Ateičiai" are socially responsible and create capital for the well-being of Vilnius University students.