Faculty news

The faculty of Mathematics and Informatics offers six different Master’s degree programmes in English and welcomes students from all over the world.

Foreign nationals who need a visa to enter and study in Lithuania can apply until 1 June 2022. If no visa is required, applications can be submitted until 15 July 2022.

Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics Master`s degree study programmes:

International students can study at VU tuition-free. For more information on scholarships, click here.

In QS World University Rankings 2022, VU has reached a record high 400th place. The University ranks exceptionally high – at position 135 – in terms of teaching quality.

2022-01-11

We kindly invite you to take part in the solemn graduation ceremony on February 1st 10 a. m. in St. John's Church (Universiteto str. 3, Vilnius). During the celebration, graduates of the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics will be greeted by university and faculty leaders, lecturers, alumni, students.

Diploma award ceremony for graduates of these study programmes:

Financial and Actuarial Mathematics (Master)

Computer Modelling (Master)

Modelling and data Analysis (Master)

Information System Engineering (Bachelor)

Information Technologies (Bachelor)

ATTENTION!

• After receiving the diploma, graduates will be required to sign in the diplomas' registration journal. Graduates must settle with the University by the 25th of January. More information
• Guests and participants of the celebration will be admitted with a National Certificate or equivalent document. They also must be wearing a respirator of at least FFP2 level throughout the ceremony.

Graduates who do not plan to attend the award ceremony are kindly requested to notify the Studies Office by the 30th of January (). Graduates who did not attend the ceremony will collect their diploma at the Studies office from the 2nd of February at a pre-agreed time. Diplomas will be kept at the Faculty for one year.

2022-01-06

Arqus Twinning aims to strengthen the subject-related collaboration of staff and students and create possibilities to carry out joint learning and teaching activities through piloting short-term mobility schemes with a priority in Social Sciences & Humanities (SSH) and STEM disciplines.

Twinning is perceived as the mobility of a team, consisting of 1 teacher and 3-6 students, moving to another partner institution within the same subject area. The length of the visit is 3-5 days (+2 additional days for travel).

Twinning activities may vary in mode and type. They may include internships, group trips, participation in international contests, joint workshops, summer schools, group projects, etc. Twinning activities might be implemented through regular (physical) or blended Twinning activities.

Examples of possible Twinning activities:

• 6 students of sociology and their teacher from Bergen travel to Granada for 5 days to have workshops with their counterparts and compare societal interactions in different countries.
• Students of a business administration programme in Vilnius are working virtually on a common practical project together with students from Leipzig (blended Twinning activity). At the end of the project, the teacher from Vilnius travels to Leipzig for 3 days with 6 students to complete and present the results of the project to a business company.

Read here an interview with Leyre Morgado, a student of the Master’s Programme in Archaeology at the University of Granada that completed a Twinning stay at the University of Padua.

Funding:

The Alliance has agreed on general financial terms upon which the calculations of travel and subsistence costs are made. The maximum project funded grant may be awarded for a group consisting of 1 teacher and up to 6 students:

• Travel costs: 400 EUR per person.
• Individual support: 120 EUR per day, covering the whole duration of the visit (3-5 days+2 additional days for travel).

Application deadlines and procedures:

Academics can apply for Twinning activities by filling in this application.

• The call is open from 13th December 2021 to 1st February 2022.
• Start of period eligible for Twinning visits: March 2022.
• End of period eligible for Twinning visits: end of September 2022.

Selection criteria:

• Applications in Social Sciences & Humanities (SSH) and STEM disciplines are prioritised. Applications from other disciplines will be considered too.
• Sustainability of the action (prior joint activities with host university and/or further and follow-up activities after the Twinning); the benefit of the activities to sending and receiving institutions.
• Innovativeness of the proposed activity and impact for Arqus development.

Grant notification will be provided to applicants by 28th February 2022. If your application is approved, funding is earmarked for use until the end of September of 2022. Postponing the activity after this period is not possible. After the visit, applicants need to report on the final results of their Twinning visit compared to the aims stated in the application.

The report should be submitted within 1 month after the Twinning visit to the responsible coordinator of the University. The form for reporting is uploaded on the Arqus webpage.

Contact information:

In case of any questions related to Twinning activities, please, contact the local coordinator of each University:

University of Bergen:

Kristin Torp Skogedal, Institutional Erasmus Coordinator.

, +4755589026.

University of Graz:

Diana Afrashteh, Erasmus+ Institutional Coordinator.

, +43 316 380 1247.

University of Granada:

Inma Yuste Martínez, Project Officer of Arqus European University Alliance.

, +34 958 241990.

Leipzig University:

Isabelle Maringer, International Mobility and Project Funding Coordinator.

, +49 341 97-32030.

University of Lyon:

Gustavo Insaurralde, Head of International Cooperation Unit (UJM).

, +33477437975.

University of Padova:

Samira Bonucci, International Officer.

, +390498276353.

Vilnius University:

Lina Malaiškaitė, Developer of Studies.

, +37052687076.

2021-12-14

Vilnius University (VU) improved its results and confidently maintains the leading position among the universities in the higher education institutions ranking by subject published today. VU leads in more than a third of bachelor’s and full-time (35) and almost half (38) of master’s degree fields. Compared to the last year, VU has improved its positions in 5 bachelor’s and 7 master’s study fields.

According to the total sum of all indicators, the best-rated VU bachelor's study fields were genetics and journalism, they scored 100 points. Among highly-ranking study fields were also public health, applied mathematics, statistics, sociology, and philosophy, they all scored more than 98 points each.

In the category of master’s studies, VU biochemistry and physics study fields were awarded the highest score, master’s studies in chemistry scored more than 98 points.

VU is the only higher education institution in Lithuania that offers master’s studies in microbiology, genetics, biophysics, archeology, geology, and regional studies. Furthermore, VU is the only one offering bachelor’s and integrated study programmes in microbiology, molecular biology, biophysics, geology, information services, cultural studies, and classical studies.

Compared to other universities, VU bachelor’s and integrated studies lead in the field’s of genetics, biology, microbiology, molecular biology, biophysics, biochemistry, public health, rehabilitation, mathematics, applied mathematics, statistics, physics, chemistry, geology, natural geography, law, political science, psychology, sociology, social work, communication, journalism, information services, management, marketing, finance, philosophy, history, archeology, regional studies, cultural studies, linguistics, philology (by language), translation, classical studies.

VU leads 38 of the 84 ranked master’s study fields. Concerning master degree studies, VU is the best in the fields of genetics, biology, microbiology, molecular biology, biophysics, biochemistry, medical technology, mathematics, applied mathematics, statistics, physics, chemistry, geology, natural geography, environmental sciences, materials technology, political science, economics, psychology, sociology, social work, communications, journalism, public geography, business, management, marketing, finance, public administration, human resource management, pedagogy, philosophy, history, archeology, regional studies, heritage studies, linguistics, philology, translation.

Those compiling the national higher education institutions ranking by subject assessed 90 bachelor’s and 84 master’s study fields. They ranked the bachelor’s study fields taking into account the survey results. 2225 employers took part in the survey and evaluated the qualifications of the graduates, their employability and salary, the number of admitted students, the percentage of the most talented high school graduates, and other indicators. In addition to the opinion of employers on the quality of alumni training, their employability and salary, the ranking of master’s study fields also included scientific indicators. Furthermore, the ranking calculated the number of state-funded doctoral positions in each field. The ranking also took into account the evaluations of study programmes in each specific field carried out by the Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education (SKVC).

Vilnius University has maintained its leading position in the national rankings of the country’s higher education institutions for eight years in a row and has risen in the international rankings by 200 positions in 10 years. In this year’s QS World University Rankings 2022, VU took a record high position and ranked 400th.

2021-12-08

Is International mobility a benefit or a trouble for a present-day student? Vilnius University Business School’s lecturer Lina Žirnelė will help to find an answer.

A short seminar “International mobility: benefit or trouble for a present-day student” will be held in Didlaukio 47, 102 aud. on February 24th at 16:00.

During the seminar, you will hear exciting stories from students who have already experienced cultural diversity during the exchange period abroad and as well as incoming exchange students studying this semester in Lithuania.

After the seminar, we invite you to stay for a cup of coffee or tea and hear some more experiences from exchange students.

Do not forget to bring a mask!

Registration form:
https://forms.office.com/r/HDEC0H5zLh?fbclid=IwAR2hc1tyLug7H7UR6v_LC_d_wy8Q7g2mzhd_O4gtYbTSSBt1MSVD0b5ENwY

2021-11-29

The online event "Become Vilnius University Student for a Day" will take place on November 15-26 and will be held for the third time.

Vilnius University welcomes undergraduates and everyone interested in participating in the online lectures at Vilnius University and getting to know VU by meeting our students, internationally acclaimed lecturers, and professional career consultants. All participants are encouraged to choose different lectures in different fields and disciplines at several faculties in real-time and join students who have chosen their studies at Vilnius University.

The number of places is limited, so claim your spot now!

10 October 1991 is considered the birthday of the Internet in Lithuania as on that day the development of the computer network LITNET of Lithuanian research and study institutions began.

Satellite communication equipment installed on the Seimas building allowed our country to connect to the world wide web for the first time. Adolfas Laimutis Telksnys, Professor at the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics of Vilnius University, the founder of the LITNET network, notes that Lithuanian researchers did it in a very short period – three months. Financial support came from the Scandinavians.

The introduction of the Internet was discussed during the conference

Widespread use of the Internet in the Western world began in the 1990s. At that time, according to the professor, Soviet-occupied Lithuania carried out research in an attempt to create computer systems connected by communication channels but the Internet was not yet operational. The only way to connect with the world was through Moscow.

“It was the second year of the restoration of independence in Lithuania. Lithuanian connections at that time were still controlled by the Soviet services. We had to break free from their control,” the scientist recalls.

Bringing the Internet independent of Moscow to Lithuania is one of the most famous works of Prof. L. Telksnys. In June 1991, the scientist went to the international computer network conference INET 91 in Denmark and discussed having an independent computer connection in Lithuania with the specialists of the Nordic computer network NORDUnet. Over the meetings held during the international computer network conference, it was decided to install a satellite communication channel “Lithuania - Internet” between the Institute of Mathematics and Informatics of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences and the Nordic computer network NORDUnet, which was already connected to the Internet.
All experts - Danes, Swedes, Norwegians, Finns - supported Prof. L. Telksnys’s idea.

The works took three months

“The Scandinavians helped us a lot. The Norwegian government donated to Lithuania satellite antennas, the 64 Kbps satellite channel Intelsat, and the computer Norsk Data necessary for Internet connection. The works in Norway were coordinated by the University of Oslo with the help of Norwegian businessman Vidar Bjerkeland,” Prof. L. Telksnys said, talking about the support from his colleagues.

Three months later, on 10 October 1991, the computer network of Lithuanian research and study institutions LITNET was established. This was the first independent Internet connection in Lithuania, installed by the informatics specialists from the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Mathematics and Informatics, communicating with the specialists at the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania, Kaunas University of Technology, and Vilnius University. “A satellite communication antenna was installed on the roof of the Palace of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania, which maintained communication with the satellite Internet communication antenna of the NORDUnet computer network. The computer satellite communication channel “Lithuania - Internet” ensured a data transmission speed of 64 Kbps. The 9.6 Kbps share of the communication channel was used for digital data transmission and the rest was used for telephone, fax, and telegraph calls,” the pioneer of the Internet in Lithuania said.

The first ones to join this network were the Institute of Mathematics and Informatics, Kaunas University of Technology, and Vilnius University. By 1993, e-mail and other services were already used by 17 academic institutions and over 60 governmental and non-profit organisations. LITNET laid the foundations for the current Lithuanian Internet. Lithuania became a member of the world computer network - the Internet.

Plans for the future - even faster connection and AI

According to Prof. L. Telksnys, sending the first black and white photo to Lithuania via LITNET took more than two hours. That is how long it took to send the first electronic photograph from Norway, University of Oslo, to the Institute of Mathematics and Informatics of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences in January 1992.

Now we can send photos in a blink of an eye, and as the connection improves, everything will become even faster, e.g., movies or other large amounts of data will be available for download in seconds.

“The upcoming 5G communication technologies will help control autonomous machines. When 6G technologies come along, and Germany’s Technical University of Munich has already started research into the practical application of these technologies, it will be even more interesting. 6G technology will not only allow for smarter devices but also provide holovision at home, showing three-dimensional nature, city images, concerts, theater performances, actors walking around the room, singers, and musicians playing in the room,” the professor shared his visions for the future of technology.

LITNET laid the foundations for the current Lithuanian Internet; therefore, according to the Lithuanian Internet founder, LITNET must remain a catalyst for progress, transferring the latest technologies to Lithuania, providing state-of-the-art computer network services for science, studies, education, helping to create a community of future humans and robots with artificial intelligence (AI).

According to the professor, in the coming decades, LITNET must help create a society of educated people and smart machines where human helpers will be not only industrial robots, machines, and intelligent objects, but also communicating Lithuanian humanoid robots and autonomous vehicles moving on land, air, and water.

“This environment will allow people to create, manufacture, operate, and export high value-added products. By acting purposefully, we will make Lithuania an example of fostering a society of educated people and machines with artificial intelligence. Lithuania will have a sustainable economy, prosperity, order, peace, and security,” Prof. L. Telksnys assures.

2021-10-11