Forest4.0 Centre of Excellence Enters a New Phase

The Forest4.0 initiative has reached a significant milestone in its second year with the formal establishment of the Centre of Excellence in Kaunas, Lithuania. Under the leadership of Vytautas Magnus University and with the close collaboration of project partners, the legal structure of the Centre has now been finalized, and Dr. Nerijus Kupstaitis has been appointed as its Chief Executive Officer. With these key developments in place, the initiative enters a new chapter with high expectations for the years ahead.

The planning of upcoming activities was the focus of a two-day meeting held in Kaunas on April 7–8. The Forest4.0 team dedicated a full day to strategic discussions, reviewing project progress and aligning future priorities.

“The most significant achievement of the past year was the creation of the Centre of Excellence as a legal entity,” said CEO Nerijus Kupstaitis. “This marks a turning point for engaging researchers, fostering collaboration among universities, and building a robust network of stakeholders both within Lithuania and internationally. For the first time, we are seeing real momentum in connecting forestry professionals with digital technology experts. Looking ahead, our ambitions are even greater – we aim to expand beyond the Lithuanian ecosystem and establish Forest4.0 as a recognized international player.”

Ambitions for Growth

The potential for Forest4.0 to disseminate knowledge and influence broader ecosystems was also highlighted by Christine Ingridsdotter, Project Manager at Interior Cluster Sweden.

“Forests, and the issues of sustainability, resilience, and biodiversity, are more relevant than ever,” she noted. “Forest4.0 offers a powerful opportunity to share this knowledge – not just within Lithuania and Sweden, but more widely. Our goal is to equip policymakers, industries, and the public with a deeper understanding of the actions we must take now to preserve forests for the future. It’s essential that we voice clear and sometimes bold opinions on what must change to protect this invaluable resource.”

Cross-Project Collaboration

On the second day of the meeting, the Forest4.0 team joined the Interreg Baltic Sea Region project Diverse Gene Watch for a joint conference. A key focus was forest resilience, particularly the importance of preserving the genetic diversity of keystone tree species.

In his conference presentation, Dr. Arianit Kurti, Head of the Department of Computer Science and Media Technology at Linnaeus University, emphasized the critical role of interdisciplinary collaboration in driving innovation in forestry.

“Innovation thrives at the intersection of disciplines,” Dr. Kurti stated. “We must engage forest owners, producers, and stakeholders across the entire forestry value chain. Their insights are vital to shaping effective, forward-looking solutions. Forest4.0 is intentionally positioned at this

intersection – leveraging data and disruptive technologies to transform how we think about forests. They are not merely sources of timber and raw material; they hold far greater potential.”

Looking Ahead

With growing momentum and a range of events and initiatives planned for 2025, Forest4.0 is poised to further solidify its role as a transformative force in sustainable forest management and digital innovation. To stay updated on the project’s progress and upcoming activities, follow Forest4.0 on LinkedIn and Facebook.

Alumnus of the Faculty of Informatics to Discuss “AI vs. Liberal Arts: Navigating Today’s Job Market”

As part of the traditional Alumni Day on November 8th, Vytautas Magnus University is organizing a hybrid discussion titled “Liberal Arts: Navigating Careers, Personal Growth, and the AI Era.” This discussion aims to unite our international alumni and current students to explore the relevance of a liberal arts education, employability, personal growth, and the impact of AI on today’s job market.

The hybrid discussion will take place on Friday, November 8, from 16:00 to 17:30, both online via Microsoft Teams and onsite at VMU Senate Hall, S. Daukanto g. 28, Kaunas. The event will be conducted in English. Registration is required.

For current students, this is a fantastic chance to meet alumni working in various fields in Lithuania and around the world, network, ask questions, and engage in discussions to gain insights about today’s job market and navigating their careers.

For the professors and supervisors, this is an opportunity to learn more about their students’ growth over the years. It could also be a way to reconnect and ensure collaboration for the future.

Meet the speaker who will be discussing the topic “AI vs. Liberal Arts: Navigating Today’s Job Market.”

Ravinthiran Partheepan from India, an alumnus of the Applied Informatics MA program (2022), worked as a full-stack blockchain developer in Malta after graduating from VMU. Later, he left his blockchain position to join a former colleague in building an EdTech startup at SFIE (Netherlands). He is now the CTO of Arkhamm AI and a Senior Machine Learning Engineer at SFIE (part-time).

Besides his profession, he has authored three books: two of them are comics, and one contains more educational content.

“After graduating from VMU, I worked for a company in Malta as a full-stack blockchain developer. Then, I left my blockchain position and later joined one of my former colleagues to develop an EdTech startup idea at SFIE in the Netherlands. During and after my studies at VMU, I continued researching and writing papers related to deep learning to solve real-world problems in various domains, such as neurobehavior analysis, breast cancer cell diagnosis, and cybersecurity. I have always been passionate about using available technology to create solutions that improve consumer well-being. I am not only fond of AI but also have a passion for deep tech”.

Speaking about the connection between liberal arts education and his skills, Ravi emphasizes:

“I am a person who never limits myself to a single interdisciplinary approach. I can communicate in sign language, I have authored books in the field of mathematics, I code extensively, I run a startup in the AI field, and I create board games for kids in an age where children are increasingly drawn to video games. I believe it would be amazing to revive an era where we sit together and engage face-to-face through board game entertainment while also improving cognitive skills. I have made sci-fi short films as well. I always try different things that interest me, and I will continue to do so. So, simply put, I cannot limit myself to just one skill.”

Moreover, during 2022, Ravi was an active Unibuddy Ambassador, representing his study program and consulting prospective students interested in pursuing the same degree at Vytautas Magnus University. He was always eager to share his practical tips on how to manage full-time or part-time work alongside university studies, as well as strategies for job searching.

Read more about this event: Join the Alumni Discussion: “Liberal Arts – Navigating Careers, Personal Growth, and the AI Era”

EduGame Project: Second Project Internship at Salerno University, Italy

We are excited to announce that the Second EduGame Project Internship will take place from 7th to 11th October 2024 at the prestigious University of Salerno, Italy. This event will bring together all the project partners for an intensive five-day program focused on the theme:

“Designing and Implementing Gamified Learning Experiences for Higher Education.”

Participants from across the project will have the chance to explore innovative approaches to teaching in higher education, with a focus on Gamification, Serious Games, and Generative AI. This internship offers a unique learning opportunity in a stimulating academic environment.

Notably, Institution 3 will have more than three lecturers and professors contributing to this rich educational experience, making significant contributions to the discussions and hands-on workshops.

Program Highlights:

    • Dates: 7–11 October 2024
    • Location: University of Salerno, Italy
    • Focus: Gamified learning in higher education, with special emphasis on the role of Generative AI and Serious Games.
    • Open to Public: 9–10 October 2024 (Two days open to the general public)

The first three days of the internship are exclusively for participants of the EduGame project. However, we are delighted to open the sessions on the 9th and 10th of October to a wider audience, offering the public an opportunity to engage with these forward-thinking educational methods.

We look forward to seeing all partners and attendees at the University of Salerno for this inspiring and educational event!

More information about the project

Academic Focus Towards AI: University Theses on AI increased by 60 %

“Artificial Intelligence’s (AI) role in education is profound,” says Vytautas Barzdaitis, CEO at Adroiti Technologies and lecturer at the Faculty of Informatics (Vytautas Magnus University), referring to a remarkable shift in the university’s thesis.

“A year ago, few graduate students ventured into AI for their theses. Fast forward to this year, and over 60% of student projects delve into the intricacies of AI. This transformation underscores the growing importance of AI skills. By engaging deeply with AI, students learn cutting-edge skills and contribute to advancements that drive industry innovation. This dramatic increase signals a broader trend where AI is becoming an integral part of the educational fabric.” – says Vytautas.

Among Vytautas, bachelor students have created products that implement AI in various innovative ways. Their work covered such topics as:

  • AI-Assisted Test Creation and Evaluation: Developing systems where AI creates tests and checks them, integrating multilingual support in student testing systems to enhance accessibility and inclusivity.
  • Machine Learning for Medical Diagnostics: Conduct extensive research using magnetoencephalography data to create automated diagnosis systems for Parkinsonian patients, aiming to revolutionize the accuracy and efficiency of medical diagnostics.

Master’s theses are pushing the boundaries even further. By leveraging AI, students are addressing complex challenges and creating solutions that have the potential to impact multiple industries profoundly.

Their work includes:

  • AI in Software Quality Assessment: Crafting and refining AI models that evaluate code quality offers developers tools to improve software reliability and performance.
  • Cyber security is also among the top topics: Zero-Day Attacks Detection Method with Combined Classifiers Creation and Development; Advanced Threat Detection.
  • Formation of cargo delivery routes in a dynamic environment: analyzing the relevance of optimizing the formation of delivery routes and the limitations of existing solutions and evaluating the effectiveness of using electric cargo bicycles as an alternative to trucks for transporting small consignments in the city.

“Adroiti” is proud to witness and support this wave of innovation. Integrating AI into academic projects enriches the learning experience and prepares students to tackle real-world challenges.

Invitation to Students: Visit of International Expert Panel

VISIT OF INTERNATIONAL EXPERT PANEL

On April 22, 2024, an International Expert Panel,  reviewing the study field of Informatics, will visit VMU Faculty of Informatics.

Members of the Expert Panel:

  • Prof. dr. Steven Bradley (UK)
  • Doc. dr. Torben Ægidius Mogensen (Denmark)
  • Doc. dr. Jānis Pekša (Latvia)
  • Andrius Plečkaitis (Lithuania)
  • Felix Ferchhumer, student representative (Austrija)

Expert meeting with students of the Informatics Systems, Multimedia and Internet Technologies and Applied Informatics study programmes will take place 14:10-15:10, University 10, room 154. Students are invited to attend!

Apply now: Erasmus+ Traineeship Competition

A competition is open for Erasmus+ student traineeship grants. Application deadline is the 31st of August, 2023.

The placement period is from 2 to 6 months.

Selection

All VMU fulltime degree students who have not used more than 10 months of their Erasmus mobility (study / traineeship) period are eligible for the Erasmus grant.

Selection documents

For student traineeship (traineeship during student’s year of studies)

The priority in the selection is given to

  • students whom traineeship is an obligatory part of their study programme;
  • students who have never been Erasmus traineeship students before.

Selection criteria

  • student’s motivation;
  • good knowledge of the language which will be used during the traineeship;
  • student’s work, study, traineeship, participation in the international / academic projects, social activities experience in Lithuania and abroad;
  • conformability between the chosen traineeship and student’s study programme;
  • study results (first year MA students should attach transcript of records of their BA/MA degree to the application form).

The competition results will be sent to every participant via e-mail.

Competitions for Erasmus+ traineeships are taking place each month.

More information

New 18th Catalogue of Internship and Volunteering Offers

Right here in front of you is the eighteenth Catalogue of Internship and Volunteering Offers, which was issued by the Career Centre of Vytautas Magnus university. In this catalogue, students will find internship and volunteering offers for enterprises, public institutions, and non-governmental organizations. We are hoping that each of you will find something useful in the pages that follow!

Catalogue on Internship and Volunteering Offers No. 18 / May. 2023

The catalogue provides a standardized presentation of an enterprise, institution, or organization which is offering internship or volunteering opportunities, and indicates the name and conditions of the offered internship/volunteering position. Each publication of an offer includes information about the ability to combine activities with your studies, about the period of internship/volunteering, specifies which of offered positions are adapted for students with disabilities, and which activities are organized in foreign languages.

We hope that this catalogue will help you to find a place of internship, or you will use an opportunity to test yourself in volunteering, which will be useful in finding your path to the labour market!

VMU Career Centre is not responsible for the content of the offers published in the Catalogue. Companies and organizations decide about the conditions of internship and/or volunteering.

FOREST 4.0 Project to Digitalise Forest Operations

To establish a Centre of Excellence to transform the forest environment monitoring, data acquisition, and analysis, and capture value from the collected data – this was the goal set by the FOREST 4.0 project partners at the project kick-off event held at Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) on 10–11 May.

According to the project leader, Dean of the VMU Faculty of Informatics, Prof. Tomas Krilavičius, FOREST 4.0 aims to contribute to the Lithuanian Smart Specialisation Strategy by developing an innovative forest-based Lithuanian bioeconomy through the digitalisation of forest operations. “FOREST 4.0 will promote a science-based contribution of sustainably managed forests to the achievement of the EU Green Deal and some of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), and the transition to a circular and sustainable bioeconomy through the provision of innovative data collection and processing applications,” said the representative of VMU.

Prof. dr. Tomas Krilavičius

The Centre of Excellence in Smart Forestry will carry out the highest level of research. “Our main objective is to create a Centre of Excellence in forest-related Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things technologies to develop and promote innovative data-based solutions for forestry management throughout the entire value chain, from forest resource management to end-products. The Centre of Excellence will seek to mobilise and involve interested parties not only in Lithuania, but globally,” Prof. Krilavičius described the project.

The kick-off event was attended by honoured guests who gave welcome speeches: Rectors and Vice-Rectors of VMU, LNU, and KTU, officials of the European Commission, the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Lithuania, and Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Lithuania, representatives of the Kaunas City Municipality, the Vice Mayor of Växjö Municipality (Sweden), and many others.

The kick-off meeting also discussed the challenges in developing the Centre of Excellence in Smart Forestry in Lithuania and why this sector needs attention from scientists. Researchers and industry partners had a great opportunity to share good experiences in forestry management, future perspectives, visions from different angles and identify the needs to cooperate with different stakeholders: industry, ministries, local and external stakeholders, etc.

The kick-off event was followed by a meeting of the project partners, during which the team discussed the candidates for the Advisory Board, the research strategy, the working plan for each WP, etc.

The project budget amounts to almost €20 million (€9.9 million funded by the European Commission and an equal amount by Lithuania). The duration of the project is 6 years.

Project coordinator – Vytautas Magnus University, leader – Prof. Tomas Krilavičius.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Faculty of Informatics is Happy to Invite You to Public Lectures!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the 25th of April, 2023, we invite you to the public lectures by guests of the VMU Faculty of Informatics!

25 April, 11:30-13:00

Lecture “Game Development from Scratch: Photorealistic Characters and Environments. Characters with User’s Face” by Dr. Grzegorz Machnik, Associate Professor and 3D artist from University of Silesia in Katowice (Poland).

25 April, 13:30-15:00

Lecture by visiting professor Dr. Jordi Linares (Interactive Technologies Laboratory, Polytechnic University of Valencia) “Introduction to Language Models and How to Develop New Applications Based on Them. An Example of Developing a Chatbot Using Python, Google Collaboratory, and OpenAI Models”.

The lectures will take place in Kaunas, Vileikos st. 8, room 318.
No registration required. The lectures will be given in English.

Apply Now: BA and MA Degree Studies at VMU

Vytautas Magnus University (VMU), a high-ranking public and globally oriented university, offers top-quality Bachelor‘s and Master‘s programmes, taught completely in English language. There are variety of Bachelor degree programmes in sociology, linguistics, business, management, logistics, politics, biology, environmental sciences, informatics, multimedia or even music for ambitious and curious students to offer. There is also a list of programmes for the ones who are interested in Master degree studies. Diplomacy, journalism, linguistics, marketing, logistics, educational studies, psychology, law or molecular biology, informatics is not the full list of study areas which students can choose to study for their Master’s degree.

Bachelor degree programmes: Bioeconomy Business Management and Foreign Languages and Cultures: Francophone studies, Italian Studies and Romance Languages, German Language and Communication, and Master degree study programme: Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Analysis are new programmes taught in English language and offered for international students to study for the first time.

Academic mobility and internships are a part of your studies, so be prepared to study not only in Lithuania, but to experience and explore other countries all over the world during your studies at VMU.

University also gives a chance for you to study a foreign language alongside with your study programme. Take your chance to study one, two or even more languages out of 30. Have a wish to learn Spanish, German, Korean, Japanese, Latin, Swedish, Danish or Arabic language? VMU offers this possibility, so just take it.

VMU students are studying not only in the modern study environment, cutting edge physical, technological and biomedical laboratories, but also are able to use recently opened Sports centre, university libraries, visit university Botanical garden or art spaces and have a possibility to live in on of the dormitories provided by the university.

For ambitious, intelligent, and talented students university offers various scholarships. Be curious and take your chance to get it.

International students from 78 different countries have already chosen VMU for their study destination. Come study and be part of VMU community too!

For more information about programmes, admission requirements, deadlines, and etc. please find here.