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."

Friday, 22nd of March, at 15.00 at the room 105 of UL Faculty of Physics, Mathematics and Optometry (Jelgavas 3) as well as remotely on the online platform BigBlueButton, is scheduled an open meeting of the Doctoral Council for Physics and Astronomy of the University of Latvia where the doctoral thesis for the degree of Doctor of Science (Ph.D) in Natural Sciences will be defended by Artis Aberfelds. The topic of the thesis: "Research of 6.7 GHz methanol masers: observation methods, monitoring and source morphology" ( "6.7 GHz metanola māzeru pētījumi: novērojumu metodes, monitorings un avotu morfoloģija" ), scientific supervisor Dr. phys. Ivars Šmelds. In cooperation with V IRAC engineers, Irbene radio telescopes were adjusted for maser observations as part of the doctoral work. The author monitored 42 massive star formation regions. 3 selected sources were observed at high resolution using the European VLBI network. The results of the study point to chaotic processes during the formation of massive stars. Specialised Council: Dr. habil. phys. Ruvins Ferbers – chairman of the Council; Dr. habil. phys. Mārcis Auziņš – vice-chairman of the Council; Dr. habil. phys. Andrejs Cēbers; Dr. phys. Laimons Začs; Dr. phys. Ivars Šmelds; Dr. phys. Ilgmārs Eglītis; Dr. phys. Juris Kalvāns. Reviewers: Dr. phys. Ilgmārs Eglītis (University of Latvia) Dr. Kazi Rygl (INAF – The Institute of Radio Astronomy, Italy) Dr. Alberto Sanna (INAF – Cagliari Observatory, Italy) The thesis and abstracts in Latvian and English can be found either in UL Library, Raiņa street 19, or online here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1SqZPlDR2lXDyE_jWg76dlXkdXQcGPClZ?usp=sharing  If you are unable to attend in person, you can also access the online meeting here: https://bbb.lu.lv/b/sin-3nq-qo5-xt3

University alliance led by Paderborn University plans international campus: sites in nine European countries Kick-off on 18 March Register at your local university and then do international courses in various countries: the vision of a European campus is gradually becoming a reality. Since the beginning of the year, the European Commission has provided the COLOURS university alliance with a total of 14 million euros of funding, as one of a total of 50 initiatives. Under Paderborn University’s leadership, this alliance brings together nine international universities with around 126,000 students and 12,300 employees. The aim is to strengthen cooperation for the long term, increase international visibility, and promote student and researcher mobility within Europe. This also includes designing joint courses of study. What makes this special is that students are able to play an active role. Various representatives are coming to Paderborn for the kick-off event on Monday 18 March. ‘COLOURS’ stands for ‘ COL laborative inn O vative s U stainable R egional univer S ities’. The name says it all: the core topics of ‘open innovation’, ‘challenge-based teaching’ and ‘impact-driven research’ are linked with regional ‘smart specialisation objectives’. In other words, the initiative is seeking to get the ball rolling for social and technological initiatives for citizens across Europe and promote strategic cooperation. This may for example include new physical and virtual mobility programmes, or creating joint courses of study. ‘Students must play a particularly major role in developing these services, to actively help shape the concept of an inter-university campus’, explains Professor Torsten Meier, Vice-President for International Relations at Paderborn University. Another aim is to translate the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals into specific measures for research, teaching and technology transfer. To achieve this, the partners are developing practical models that will help their education systems serve as catalysts for environmental, digital and social change in Europe. The universities’ collaboration is being supported by 55 associate partners, who are working as disseminators within regional innovation networks. Alongside Paderborn University as the coordinating institution, the alliance also includes Le Mans University (France), the University of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain), the University of Ferrara (Italy), Kristianstad University (Sweden), Jan Długosz University in Częstochowa (Poland), Josip Juraj Strossmayer University in Osijek (Croatia), Ventspils University of Applied Sciences (Latvia) and the University St. Kliment Ohridski Bitola (Northern Macedonia). Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University (Ukraine) is an associate partner of the alliance. The opening ceremony is taking place on Monday 18 March from 4 to 6 p.m. in Paderborn University’s lecture hall G. Afterwards, all interested parties are invited to a reception in the ‘Forum’ cafeteria as part of a ‘COLOURS Market Square’, offering an opportunity to find out more about the partner universities and regions and to talk to the partners directly. You must register in advance to attend. Further information and registration can be found on the event website: go.upb.de/COLOURS_Kick_Off .