Did you know there are more than 15 different cultures studying and working together daily in VUAS? The 2nd-year students of "Intercultural Communication" program are organizing an intercultural event and welcome every VUAS student, lecturer and staff member to join the adventure of intercultural presentations. During May 7-9 everyone from VUAS can visit the students lounge (D0) to meet international students from 9 countries: France, Ukraine, Germany, India, Nigeria, Ghana, Brazil, Spain, and Mexico. The VUAS international students will present their culture and traditions, entertain the audience with educational ice-breakers, and will bring some food for the taste test. Event schedule 7th of May India 15:05 - 15:30 Nigeria 15:40 - 16:10 Brazil 16:15 - 17:00 8th of May Ghana 15:05 - 15:30 Mexico 15:40 - 16:10 Spain 16:15 - 17:00 9th of May Ukraine 15:05 - 15:30 Germany 15:40 - 16:10 France 16:15 - 17:00 Looking forward to see you all there!

The environment at Ventspils University of Applied Sciences (VUAS) is quite multicultural and in the hallways you can meet Ronnie from Ghana. He is a second-year student in the bachelor’s study programme “Intercultural Communication” and he is very satisfied with his choice, because of the interesting courses, friendly lecturers and the helpful staff that treats student’s needs with urgency. Tell us a little bit about yourself. My name is Ronnie Kofi Nyarko and I come from Ghana. I got my secondary education in the Accra Academy in the capital city. I used to be an active football player, however after I had to stop playing, I decided to focus on my music career and education. Now I am enrolled in the bachelor’s study programme “Intercultural Communication”. How did you decide to come to Latvia and to Ventspils? Why did you choose this study programme? I heard about the university from a friend who completed his masters here. He said a lot of good things about the university in terms of the environment, the affordable fees and that students and lecturer are very friendly to each other. Actually I opted to study here instead of going to the USA. In the future I want to meet people from different cultural backgrounds and that will be possible by studying more about communication and also by studying other languages. What have been your impressions of Latvia so far? I am impressed by the peaceful environment in Ventspils and the clean and beautiful surroundings. Also I was surprised about how friendly the staff in VUAS is. I was told that Latvians are not as friendly but I have had a completely opposite experience. Tell us a little bit about your study process. I enjoy the courses and the lecturers are very nice. I have some challenges with the new languages that I am studying such as Russian and Latvian languages. Also I am not used to the system here but I think I am definitely adjusting and I will do much better next semester. My favorite courses are Intercultural Communication, Organizational Behavior and Communication Theories. What do you like the most about Ventspils and VUAS? Ventspils is a beautiful place and about VUAS, I like how student's needs are treated with urgency and that everyone is always ready to help if needed. We have everything in one building and we don't have to face the weather every day. What do you wish for anyone who is just thinking about applying to study in VUAS? I wish they don't have a change of plan to study in VUAS because it's the best place to be and I can't wait to see them experiencing what I have experienced as a student.

Anyone can go on Erasmus+ mobility, because you can study and attend classes as well as go on internships. French student Maeva Fresneau took the chance. Tell us a little bit about yourself! Hey, I am Maeva and I come from France. I study translation and I came to Latvia for my Erasmus+ studies here at Ventspils University of Applied Sciences and then later I came here for my internship as well. How did you decide to come to VUAS? My initial thought was to go to Ireland, but then a delegation from Latvia came to my university and I realized that I would like to spend my Erasmus+ there. I was a bit nervous because I didn't know anything about Latvia and its culture so I did a lot of research beforehand. I found out that Latvia actually is a really cool place and that I will be able to have an amazing time here. What were your expectations before coming to Latvia? I really wanted to meet new people and try the local food, as well as the university provided a lot of practical courses that I actually needed in my study process. And my expectations were met. Professors were very welcoming and my favorite subject was “Social media communication”, it was completely practical. Before coming here I saw that Latvians like a lot of sauces and I was scared that it would be hard for me to adjust to this food but actually I really enjoyed it, especially the bread pudding and “šašliks” (like BBQ) – it's just amazing. I am thankful to my Latvian friends who pushed me to try different dishes. What would you say were your biggest takeaways from this study experience? Now I am more able to do things on my own. There are a lot of things to manage, because you are out of your comfort zone, but I actually started to cook a lot more. Also here I really enjoyed going to classes and that is something that I missed doing back home. Can't forget about the Student Council, because we had so many fun activities together – they are amazing. I would say that my favorite event was the “Orientation in the Night” – it was challenging but it was incredibly fun and our team actually won a prize. How did you decide to come back to Ventspils for the internship at the Study department? I had friends here and I would say that Ventspils is this one place where I feel super good and at home. I know that the community here is amazing and I will be able to create a lot of cool projects with the Student Council. This was a very valuable experience as I worked on many tasks and had a chance to create events for the international students, where once I baked 200 cupcakes. My colleagues gave me a lot of feedback during the internship, so I could learn a lot. Where have you been within Latvia during this time? I really like the countryside and also Riga was very interesting, but for me of course it is Ventspils, because there are so many things to do and there is also the beach. If I had to choose my favorite place in Ventspils, I would say Ramala's coffee. It's the best place to chill and enjoy delicious pastries and teas. What would you say are the biggest differences between Latvia and France? The food is a bit weird for me and the most shocking thing I saw was that people put jam inside water. And also pickles on pizza. I disagree with these combination. But I loved seeing so much snow here. What would you say to people who are just thinking about coming to Ventspils for their mobility? Don't think about it – just come here! It's a wonderful place, people will always try and help you, the city is incredible and stay close to the Student Council, because then you will have even more fun. They made me feel like a local.

SSC, VIRATEC and VUAS have signed a strategic long-term agreement for supporting lunar missions provided through SSC Connect Lunar services. The contract is an extension of the partnership announced in 2023 . By this investment, SSC aims at staying ahead and align to the dynamic needs of the space agencies and commercial lunar exploration market. It also marks a crucial step for VIRATEC in stepping up Latvian space industry. “This strengthened partnership will leverage the SSC Connect Ka-band capabilities and expansion of apertures up to 32 meters. This is a crucial step in making SSC a stronger mission partner for future lunar voyages, offering capabilities for the next chapters of mankind,” says Petrus Hyvönen, Head of Engineering in SSC Connect, SSC. "This is a crucial step and a milestone in VIRATEC and SSC partnership for bringing the VUAS 32 and 16 meter antennas in Latvia to the global lunar communications market, strengthening SSC Connect capabilities, creating synergies between radio astronomy and ground segment infrastructure as well as establishing Latvian space industry as a strong grounds segment service provider for EU and global space exploration missions,” says Mārcis Donerblics, Chief Technology Officer at VIRATEC. 

To raise the visibility of Erasmus+ mobility and to inspire the students and staff of Ventspils University of Applied Sciences to go on this experience, on the 4th of April, in the premises of Ventspils University of Applied Sciences, we would like to create a POP-UP exhibition with stories and photos of the most vivid memories of Erasmus+. If you have participated in an Eramsus+ mobility in the last five years and would like to share one of your most memorable stories, please fill in the Memory Form, until the 25 th of March- https://forms.gle/YQeLtbXQa1LcY8738 ! In the form, please attach one or two photos that describe your most memorable Erasmus+ mobility experience. You can write your own story in both Latvian and English. The stories will accompany the submitted photos, so please keep your story up to 150 words."