2021-06-12
VILNIUS TECH exchange students hiked around Vilnius
The quarantine in Lithuania limited the number of activities for exchange students who had come to Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VILNIUS TECH) from foreign countries. Nevertheless, Indrė Kasputytė, Head of International Programmes Group, and Rūta Pulikaitytė, the Senior “Erasmus+” Programme Manager at the International Relations office, 3 months ago started an initiative to promote an active lifestyle among exchange students and to encourage them to discover the beauty of the city of Vilnius – „100 KM CHALLENGE: TRAIL AROUND VILNIUS“.
“The main goal of this initiative is to encourage students to spend their time actively, to get to know the city of Vilnius better and to spend their free time as meaningfully as possible during quarantine, when many leisure activities are restricted,” says I.Kasputytė, the organizer of the initiative.
From March 29 until June 6 exchange students were invited to hike all 10 sections of the “Trail Around Vilnius”, with a total length of over 100 km. Even though challenge participants were offered to walk one section per week, there were no strict rules and students could plan their hiking trip at the most convenient time.
After completing a certain section, as proof, the participants had to upload captured photos to a closed group of participants created on “Facebook”. In mentioned group, students were able to share not only their photos, but also their impressions, suggestions, and tips for other hikers. The organizers of the challenge have constantly collected and uploaded the best photos on social media. You can see the photos of students hiking around Vilnius here.
More than 60 VILNIUS TECH students have completed at least one section, and 20 of them overcame all 10 sections of the “Trail around Vilnius”. I. Kasputytė and R. Pulikaitytė, the organizers of the initiative, joined the challenge themselves with the task to increase participants’ motivation and to help them get acquainted with the city of Vilnius.
Last week all students who had completed the challenge were awarded the prizes sponsored by VILNIUS TECH and the “Erasmus+” Programme.
“The main goal of this initiative is to encourage students to spend their time actively, to get to know the city of Vilnius better and to spend their free time as meaningfully as possible during quarantine, when many leisure activities are restricted,” says I.Kasputytė, the organizer of the initiative.
From March 29 until June 6 exchange students were invited to hike all 10 sections of the “Trail Around Vilnius”, with a total length of over 100 km. Even though challenge participants were offered to walk one section per week, there were no strict rules and students could plan their hiking trip at the most convenient time.
After completing a certain section, as proof, the participants had to upload captured photos to a closed group of participants created on “Facebook”. In mentioned group, students were able to share not only their photos, but also their impressions, suggestions, and tips for other hikers. The organizers of the challenge have constantly collected and uploaded the best photos on social media. You can see the photos of students hiking around Vilnius here.
More than 60 VILNIUS TECH students have completed at least one section, and 20 of them overcame all 10 sections of the “Trail around Vilnius”. I. Kasputytė and R. Pulikaitytė, the organizers of the initiative, joined the challenge themselves with the task to increase participants’ motivation and to help them get acquainted with the city of Vilnius.
Last week all students who had completed the challenge were awarded the prizes sponsored by VILNIUS TECH and the “Erasmus+” Programme.
