VMU Alumni Day 2020

Vytautas Magnus University continues its traditions and on November 13^th, 2020, invites graduates to remember their Alma Mater. This year we will celebrate VMU Alumni Day in a quite unusual way: instead of meetings at the Faculties, we are inviting you to meet your former classmates, lecturers and university colleagues in your cozy home environment by using remote communication platforms.

Due to the difficult pandemic situation in the country and all over the world, we invite you to celebrate Alumni Day by remembering to “Mind the Gap”,  an initiative that was implemented by VMU emphasizing the importance of physical, but not social distance. This year we will share with you the most relevant, interesting and thought-provoking lectures of VMU professors as well as discussions on topics like VMU alumni integration, communication and cooperation strategies. In the evening, we invite you to host a dinner at your house or a restaurant, together with a small group of friends, lecturers or students (if you do not have the opportunity to meet in person, you can easily use remote communication platforms). Enjoy each other’s company and share your stories and memories of your Alma Mater.

Do not forget to share your photos and wishes on social media with the hashtag #vduni.

Program of events:

Discussion “University in Transition: Raising Questions – Sharing Visions”

On November 13^th, 2020, 4 P.M. (16 o’clock; UTC +2), we invite graduates and community members of Vytautas Magnus University to participate in the discussion “University in Transition: Raising Questions – Sharing Visions.”

Participants

• Assoc. Prof. Vilma Bijeikienė. Vice-Rector for Communication;
• Prof. Robert van Voren, Director of the Andrei Sakharov Research Center for Democratic Development at Vytautas Magnus University;
• Camille Le Blanc Liederman, coordinator for international alumni community.

Join us for a virtual discussion here.

During the virtual meeting, we will present the university strategy for 2021-2027, currently in preparation, and invite you to talk about it together. Furthermore, we will initiate a discussion on how to build effective collaboration between the University and its alumni. During the discussion, we will be looking forward to hearing your opinion on what you expect from the university after graduation, how you envision your contribution to the University as an alumnus, and more.

Finally, after taking into consideration the difficult situation of the pandemic in the world, we will invite our graduates and community members to discuss the “Mind the Gap” initiative implemented by VMU, which has emphasized the importance of physical, but not social distance. We would like for you to discuss with us the ways of bringing together the community of VMU graduates all over the world, as well as options on how to promote communication and cooperation, how to increase joint activities during this pandemic and after it, and more.

VMU graduates and community members who wish to participate in the discussion are invited to register. A link to join the video conference will be sent to the email you specify in the registration form before the meeting.

Lectures of VMU professors:

• Gytis Dovydaitis “Immigrating to the Internet”
• Mind the Gap. Emotional Well-being and Social Solidarity during COVID-19
• Thomas Hylland Eriksen “An overheated world: anthropology, global issues and accelerated change”
• Thomas Hylland Eriksen “An overheated world: anthropology, global issues and accelerated change”
• Prof. Egdūnas Račius “Muslim commonwealth: lost in reporting” | TEDxVilnius
• Prof. Giedrius Jucevičius “Not too smart: making decisions under uncertainty” | TEDxKaunas
• Prof. J. D. Mininger’s lecture on Artes liberales
• Gediminas Urbonas and Nomeda Urbonienė “Swamp School (creativity/interdisciplinarity)”
• Discussion “Religion(s) and Power(s)”: Milda Ališauskienė, Kathleen M. Moore and Katarzyna Zielińska
• Discussion “Human Rights and Terrorism”: Leonidas Donskis and Tasnime Akunjee
• Prof. Egidijus Aleksandravičius “Why are we so easily forgetting the history of diaspora?”
• Discussion by Leonidas Donskis and Lilia Shevtsova Lilia Shevtsova, Kremlinology expert, senior associate at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
• Prof. R. van Voren “Maidan – a Turning Point in History”
• Prof. Saulius Šatkauskas “DNA electrotransfer mechanisms: in vitro and in vivo studies”
• Prof. Bob Deacon “Making Global Social Policy”
• Prof. Owen V. Johnson “Thoughts on Journalism Professionalism in the US and CEE”
• Prof. Robert van Voren “The painful legacy of the Holocaust: how to end a controversy”
• Dr. Osvaldas Stripeikis “EQ-THINKING MODEL: where business meets new generation”

See you at VMU Alumni Day!