Report 2023VU SR process renewal
Consultation process
VU SR consulting is a centralized consulting system, which started its activities in January 2022, designed to advise Vilnius University students on academic, social, self-expression opportunities at the University, LSIC and other issues. The program is chaired by the head of VU SR counseling and consists of volunteer students studying at Vilnius University, who have passed the VU SR test of basic social-academic knowledge and have expressed their motivation to act in the consulting group.
In 2022-2023, the VU SR consulting group, noting the growing need to strengthen the activities of the Organization and the University, became involved in the following processes:
advising students in the context of individual studies while maintaining a direct relationship with the VU Student Services and Career Department;
visiting the General Meetings of VU SR subdivisions and presenting during them the consultation system and the main appeals of students;
informing the regular members of the Organization of the consultation processes;
the separation of the position of coordinators of social-academic process affairs of VU SR departments;
cooperation with the VU SR Council in the development of a methodological document for the consultation process.
During the reference period, the VU SR consulting group consisted of:
- Lijana Savickienė (Head of the Consulting Group, VU KnF)
- Kaspars Japertas (consultant, VU GMC)
- Rokas Stankūnas (consultant, VU KnF)
- Kamilė Leonaitė (consultant, VU KnF)
- Neda Rasimavičiūtė (consultant, VU IF)
Approval of VU SR Strategic Activity Plan for 2022-2025 and measurement indicators
During the reference period, the period of the VU SR Strategic Activity Plan valid for the years 2019-2022 ended. During 2022, an updated activity plan for the next three years was developed in the organization. On 25^th^ of May 2022, the VU SR Strategic Activity Plan for 2022-2025 was approved in the VU SR Parliament, which approved the main strategic projects of the organization:
To achieve high-quality studies and an environment adapted to them. The student is provided with the opportunity to independently choose the path of study, providing the necessary academic assistance;
To ensure a strong organization, an effective system for promoting students' self-expression works; To bring together a cohesive university community, an equal relationship is being created between all members of the community and the Green University.
Also, during this year, impact measurement indicators were agreed and approved for each strategic direction, which will help to assess the impact of the achieved goals on students, the organization and the University community.
Membership in the organization
This year, the culture of self-reflection continues to develop. In order to improve in your field and look at whether the goals set have already been achieved (or perhaps they are still being pursued), it is necessary to reflect – this process has become systematic in the activities of VU SR. It is during self-reflection that opportunities are created in the Organization not only to assess their own development, but also to help each member operating in the organization to move forward purposefully. Organized #VUSRReflects weeks, during which the members of the organization actively reflecting, evaluating their activities in the organization, their further goals and capabilities. In the structural formations, based on the concept of the membership path approved by the Organization last year, larger-scale reflection sessions were organized every few months within the teams.
Inclusion of foreign students in the organization
As a result of the war in Ukraine, the number of foreign students at the University increased and in order to become an even more open organization, this year we accepted and included more foreign students than usual in the activities of VU SR at different levels. In raising our strategic goals, we paid attention not only to adapting the environment to the participation of foreign students, but also provided opportunities to take the initiative in organizing VU SR projects, the largest events, to implement our ideas in the departments; we have adapted and/or translated a large part of the day-to-day processes, the organization's internal dissemination of information, the main trainings into English, and we have developed guidelines for bilingual communication to ensure proper communication with foreign members of the community.
Chairpersons programme
This year, the organization continued to carry out an even, year-round competence development for VU SR chairpersons. For the first time from the beginning to the end, the VU SR Chairpersons' Program was tested. During the program, the most important leadership competencies required during different periods of the term of office are touched: leadership, team building, conducting meetings, setting goals, financial and budget planning, time planning, decision-making, impact self-assessment, and feedback and reflection.
VU SR representation platform
Drawing attention to the load of representative coordinators emphasized annually in the conclusions of the Revision by coordinating the representatives of the unit and students of the central level, a Virtual tool of representative coordinators was created – the VU SR representation platform. This platform is designed to ensure a smoother process in transmitting information about the meetings that will take place and have taken place, the dissemination of a unified position of students through different CSOs and central decision-making structures. In addition, it can be used to organize more qualitative quantitative and qualitative research initiated by student representatives.
Updating the rules of procedure of VU SR
VU SR Rules of Procedure was updated in the Parliament during this term of office. It provides for the principles of work organization using electronic means of communication, specifies the accounting terms of the list of members, abandons redundant accounting actions of members related to the collection and storage of personal data, the Work Regulations describe the status of VU SR volunteers, the rights and responsibilities related to it, the Institutional Strengthening Fund is included, his powers and status in the organization are described and the procedure for electing Student Representatives to the Senate is specified - transferring and supplementing the election provisions from the Rules of Procedure in a separate document.