2017-01-27
Orientation Week for VGTU's International Students
The orientation week for international students who came to study at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VGTU) this semester starts today. It is an important semester for VGTU’s staff as the number of new international students at VGTU is at a record high of 220. The total number of new international exchange students this academic year is also at an all-time high: 505 international students have chosen VGTU as a destination for their exchange time abroad.
During the opening session of the Orientation week, the new students were greeted by the Vice-Rector for Strategic Partnerships Asta Radzevičienė, the representatives of VGTU's International Relations Office and the International Studies Centre. It is a traditional event, which is held in the beginning of every semester. It aims to introduce the new students to the rules and regulations, and provides all necessary information for their successful studies at the university. VGTU Students' Representation introduce themselves to new students, while the representatives of ESN VGTU – who are in charge of international students' social activities – present the planned events and projects. Last but not least, the new students learn about the most important aspects of the law enforcement in Lithuania directly from a representative of the Lithuanian Police.
An 8-day orientation week will be filled with numerous activities, trips and classes, which reveal rich Lithuanian history and culture. New international students are offered trips to Trakai and Rumšiškės, Vilnius Old Town tour, visit to the National Art Gallery, an intensive Lithuanian language course, Lithuanian film night, ice-skating and other leisure entertainment. The Orientation week shall end on the 3rd of February.
Currently, there are over 900 exchange and full-time international students at VGTU, who study various programmes on all study levels. They come from 78 countries. Students from Columbia, Brazil, Chile, Egypt, El Salvador, Malaysia, Indonesia and Cambodia visit VGTU for the first time as participants of the Erasmus+ international mobility programme. This academic year, in addition to the aforementioned countries, students came to VGTU from new mobility partnership countries – Belarus, China, Jordan, Morocco, Serbia and Thailand. These visits took place under the 2015–2017 and 2016–2018 Erasmus+ international mobility projects. As always, there are many international students from France, Spain, Germany, Czech Republic, Italy and Portugal.