Vytautas Magnus University

Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) (Lithuanian: Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas, VDU) is a public university in Kaunas, Lithuania. The university was founded in 1922 during the interwar period as an alternate national university.

Initially it was known as the University of Lithuania, but in 1930 the university was renamed to Vytautas Magnus University, commemorating the 500th anniversary of the death of the Lithuanian ruler Vytautas the Great, who is known for the nation's greatest historical expansion in the 15th century.

It is one of the leading universities of Lithuania, and has about 8,800 students, including Master's students and Ph.D. candidates There are a little over 1000 employees, including approximately 90 professors.

History

Establishment of University

In 1918 with the establishment of the independent Republic of Lithuania, the State Council decided to reestablish Vilnius University. Since Vilnius was later under Polish administration and the Lithuanian government had to be transferred to Kaunas, this decision was not put into effect.

At the beginning of 1920, Higher Courses of Study were established in Kaunas, laying the foundation for the establishment of a university. The Lithuanian Cabinet of Ministers decided to establish the University of Lithuania in Kaunas, 13 February 1922. The ceremonial opening of the university took place 16 February 1922, while on the 12th of April the President of Lithuania confirmed the university's Statute along with six faculties: Theology-Philosophy, Humanities, Law, Mathematics and Sciences, Medicine and Technical Studies.

The affiliate Agricultural Academy was founded in 1924 on the basis of the Agronomy and Forestry sections of the Faculty of Mathematics and Sciences; in 1936 the Veterinary Academy was established in a similar fashion on the basis of the Veterinary section of the Faculty of Medicine.

On 7 June 1930, commemorating the 500th anniversary of the death of Vytautas the Great, the university was renamed in his honor (English: Vytautas Magnus University, Latin: Universitas Vytauti Magni).

World War II

In 1940, Vytautas Magnus University contributed to the reestablishment of Vilnius University. In the winter, the faculties of Humanities and Law were transferred to Vilnius whilst the Faculty of Mathematics and Sciences was moved in the summer. The occupation of Lithuania by the Soviet Union forced the university to be named the University of Kaunas in the summer of 1940. At the beginning of 1941, university professors took an active role in establishing the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences.

The Lithuanian Provisional Government restored the name of Vytautas Magnus to the university after the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941. The German occupation government closed the university in March 1943, after Lithuanians refused to form an SS battalion.

The university was reopened by the Soviet authorities of Lithuania in autumn 1944. Four faculties of History-Philology, Medicine, Construction, and Technology were established. The transfer of the Faculty of Philosophy to Vilnius was the reason why the University of Kaunas was closed in the fall of 1949. The university was restructured into Kaunas Polytechnic Institute and the Kaunas Medical Institute on October 31, 1950.

Structure

The university has the following subdivisions:

• Faculty of Economics and Management
• Faculty of Natural Sciences
• Faculty of Humanities
• Faculty of Informatics
• Faculty of Catholic Theology
• Faculty of Arts
• Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy
• Faculty of Social Sciences
• Faculty of Law
• Institute of Innovative Studies
• Institute of Foreign Languages
• Agriculture Academy
• Faculty of Agronomy
• Faculty of Bioeconomy Development
• Faculty of Forest Sciences and Ecology
• Faculty of Engineering
• Education Academy
• Music Academy
• Botanical Garden

Ranking

Vytautas Magnus University is currently ranked 801-1000 among World top universities by 2020 QS World University Rankings.

International relations

The university has ties with numerous universities of North America and Europe, as well as East Asia.

Special student and teacher exchange programs have been set up with the following universities:

In Europe: University of Bergen (Norway), ADA University (Azerbaijan), Roskilde (Denmark), Gothenburg, Linköping and Växjö (Sweden), Greifswald, Hohenheim, Zittau/Görlitz (Germany), Poitiers, Du Maine, Pierre et Marie Curie University (France), UBS Vannes (France), Bologna, Parma, SDA Bocconi, University of Cagliari, University of Urbino (Italy), Aveiro (Portugal), University of Torun (Poland) and Tbilisi State University (Georgia);

In the United States: Alabama, Fordham, Creighton, Loyola, Seton Hall universities;

In East Asia: Kansai Gaidai, Akita International University, Waseda and the International Christian University (Japan), Kyung Hee University, Chung-Ang University, and Kangwon National University (South Korea).

A program in Baltic Studies for foreign students was initiated at the university in 1997.

It is a member of the European Colleges of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Club activities

Questions concerning students' academic, social and cultural rights are resolved through the Student Council. About thirty student corporations and clubs are active in the university. The university's artistic groups – the Women's Chamber Choir, the dance group "Žilvitis", the folkloric ensemble "Linago" and the Rhetorical Theatre – have won various contests in Lithuania and abroad.

Эх сурвалж: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)