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Erasmus+ stories

July 10, 2020
Erasmus+ is the EU’s programme to support education, training, youth and sport in Europe. Its budget of €14.7 billion provide opportunities for over 4 million Europeans to study, train, and gain experience abroad. Ventspils University of Applied Sciences has been a member of the Erasmus+ programme since it was first launched in Latvia and a large number of students and staff members have benefited from the opportunity to study, do an internship, train or teach abroad. Each person has given a different justification for their choices and the list of benefits is slightly different for each one of them. It is always really interesting to collect the reports about the mobility and get acquainted with the descriptions about chosen countries, universities and activities made while studying abroad. Here are some insights from our outgoing students after the period of exchange studies or internship.

Tatia Mikeladze: “I always considered Erasmus+ exchange program as a unique opportunity and a source of inspiration for future plans and broadening the horizon. I had a priceless chance to get German education which is highly ranked, and where universities are aiming to prepare highly skilled professionals with knowledge that is required in the job market. During the semester, I was once again proven right.”

Agate Freiberga: “During my mobility not only I worked on my German, I finally had the chance to take on some hobbies, as I was not working. I played basketball, did kickboxing, and took dance classes. Academically, the biggest endeavor was starting to learn French, which was something I had been wanting to do for a long time. I was very elated to learn that I had passed the A1 level examination. I am definitely going back more independent and self-assured.”


Alyona Ryabovalova: “I am the person who challenges myself all the time and pushes to the boundaries in order to identify my weaknesses and strengths. The last semester I spent in Germany on the Erasmus mobility, and decided to take the last chance of my overall studies to spend in Austria, Krems. My biggest adventures were hiking long distances. Krems is a wonderful place because it is surrounded by history – old castles which were built mainly in 12th century. I am amazed by nature and kind people in Austria so there was no wonder why I chose to come here to finish my master’s degree, even though the COVID-19 has completely changed my plans, I am still grateful for the opportunity to spend 4 months in Austria.”



Armands Zariņš: “The highlight of my Erasmus mobility was attending a Nordic Business Forum conference. It was held in a huge conference center, be with the most influential people in the world, listen to their experiences, stories, mistakes, suggestions, and visions for the future. It was very impressive, strong and motivating.



Practical advice - Say "YES" to everything and indulge in adventures. SERIOUSLY! It was as a result of this method that I got into the same room with Steve Worniak, George Clooney, Sara Blakely, Randi Zuckerberg and Brene Brown.”


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Rafael Martin Calvo presented the translation of Latvian literature into Spanish

By Rota Rulle • December 12, 2024
On 10 December, the VUAS Library invited students to a meeting with Rafael Martín Calvo, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Translation Studies. He talked about how a writer's work is presented to publishers in another country before it is translated, what to do when only a few Latvians know a certain Latvian word, how many hours it takes to translate a novel and when is the best time to learn a foreign language. He also talked about participation in publishers' events, book fairs and book presentations in different countries. The students also had the opportunity to see translations of Nora Ikstena, Albert Bell, Guntis Berelis and other writers already published and to learn more about each of them. R. Martin Calvo also talked about his dream projects and revealed some of the works he is currently involved in. Thank you to the VUAS Library for hosting the event!

Master's student in Translation Adrija Enrika Ēdele participated in Citizens' Language Days in Luxembourg

By Rota Rulle • December 6, 2024
On 3 and 4 of December, the European Parliament's service hosted the third edition of the Citizens' Language Days, a two-day event dedicated to exploring the power of clear language in fostering transparency and democratic participation. The event, organised in Luxembourg, was also attended by students from the translation programmes of the universities included in the EMT (European Master in Translation) network. One student represented each EU language. Latvia and the Latvian language were represented by Adrija Enrika Ēdele, a student of the Master's programme in Translation at VUAS. The students were invited to the European Parliament (EP) in Luxembourg, where most of the staff of the EP Directorate-General for Translation work. In addition to workshops and conferences, the students had the opportunity to get to know the quarter where the European Parliament is located and the work of DG Translation. "During the event, we were able to listen to conferences, workshops and speeches in different EU languages. It was particularly important that we were present at the presentation of the Citizens' Language Guidelines, which are an important tool for language professionals, translators and others interested in the production and adaptation of texts into plain language," says Adrija. It should be noted that the guidelines are derived from the ISO standard on plain language. The guidelines are available in all 24 EU languages and include not only text, but also video and audio material.

Master's students in Translation Studies take part in a virtual visit to the European Commission's Directorate-General for Translation

By Rota Rulle • November 28, 2024
On 22 November, the European Commission organised a virtual visit to the Directorate-General for Translation, which was also attended by MA students of the Faculty of Translation Studies of the VUAS. The event was well attended (around 800 participants) and gave our translation students the opportunity to learn all about the work of translators and interpreters in DG Translation and other EU institutions. The event organisers gave an overview of the volume of documents translated in the EU institutions and explained the computer-aided, machine translation and artificial intelligence tools used by translators in the EU institutions. Our students had a one-to-one meeting with translators from the Latvian Translation Unit, where they could get answers to all their questions about eligibility requirements, application prerequisites and how to apply for a traineeship or a job in the EU institution.

TSF lecturers participate in an international conference in Kaunas

By Rota Rulle • November 26, 2024
On 21 and 22 November, Assistant Professor Rafael Martin Calvo, Associate Professor and Senior Researcher Jānis Veckrācis and Lecturer, PhD candidate Aiga Badere participated in the international conference "Intermediality in Communication" organised by Kaunas University of Technology. The event attracted a large audience of researchers and practitioners from Italy, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Finland, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Latvia and other countries. The conference started with a hackathon on innovative teaching methods, followed by two days of plenary and paper sessions. Martin Kalvo presented his research "The Orthographic Transcription to Latvian of Foreign Proper Names: a Practice Called into Question", Aiga Badere presented her research "Human Translation and Machine Translation: Where to Draw the Line in Post-Editing", and Jānis Veckrācis presented his research "Features of Specialized Legal Lexis in Latvian Translations of Legal Texts from the Early Nineteenth Century".

VUAS student creates prototype web app "Lamp Fever"

By Rota Rulle • November 20, 2024
In anticipation of the lighting of the Christmas tree, Ventspils has implemented an idea that combines technology and Christmas traditions. An online project has been created - the website "Lantern Fever", where everyone can take part in decorating the Christmas tree using game elements. The project is a collaboration between the Faculty of Information Technologies of VUAS and the Ventspils Culture Centre. The game will be available for a week and will end on 30 November, when the lighting of the Main Christmas Tree will take place in Ventspils' Grand Place. The culminating event will light up the game, the city's Christmas decorations and the Christmas tree. "This game is a prototype and my first full project, which I developed from A to Z," says the game's developer, Aleksis Grečuhins, a student at the Faculty of Information Technologies at VUAS. "It was an intense and challenging work, which helped me to develop my programming skills and to understand how to cooperate with a client and how to adapt to their vision." The project also serves as a study - an attempt to find out if it is possible to create a Christmas mood through a game. Aleksis is especially grateful to Karina Skirmante, lecturer at the Faculty of Information Technology, for her professional support and the sprint reporting system, which helped to move the work forward efficiently.

30th anniversary of the VIRAC

By Rota Rulle • November 18, 2024
On Friday, 8 November, the 30th anniversary of the Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre was celebrated! During the first half of the day, the VUAS hosted a scientific seminar, but the celebrations continued in Irbene with greetings, speeches and antenna demonstrations!
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