Lecturers of Ventspils University of Applied Sciences participated in a discussion with the President of Latvia

October 21, 2022

On 17 October 2022, a discussion “Official Language in Universities and Science of the 21st Century” organized by the President of Latvia took place in the Riga Castle. The event, which was dedicated to the Official Language Day, was also attended by representatives of VUAS: Dean of the Faculty of Translation Studies, Sandija Skudra, and Assistant Professor, Egita Proveja.

 

President of Latvia, Egils Levits, invited participants of the event to discuss the place and role of the Latvian language in the future of higher education and science in Latvia, considering the need to improve the performance of both fields, including opportunities offered by internationalization. Debates took place regarding specific solutions to the challenges caused by internationalization.

 

The event was ceremonially opened with a speech by the President of the State, followed by discussions on topics such as the internationalization of recruiting academic staff, language, and the evaluation of performance in social sciences and humanities.

 

The discussions on how to promote the internationalization of academic staff in Latvia and ensure the full development of professional terminology in Latvian in the context of internationalization and other important aspects related to the internationalization of staff were attended by Professors Jānis Ikstens and Mārcis Auziņš from the University of Latvia, Ina Druviete, Vice-Rector for Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Latvia, Agrita Kiopa, Vice-Rector for Science at Riga Stradiņš University, as well as Valters Ščerbinskis, Editor in Chief of the National Encyclopedia.

 

Discussions on how researchers writing in lesser-spoken languages can maintain a high standard of research quality over time, as well as on the criteria for evaluating the performance of social and humanities sciences, included insights from Dite Liepa, Assistant Professor of Riga Stradiņš University and researcher at the Latvian Language Institute of the University of Latvia; Anda Laķe, Professor at the Latvian Academy of Culture and Head of its Institute of Culture and Arts; Inta Mieriņa, Associate Professor at the University of Latvia; Anita Rodiņa, Constitutional Court judge; and Kārlis Vērdiņš, Head of the Department of Cultural, Social, and Environmental Studies at the Institute of Literature, Folklore, and Art of the University of Latvia, as well as doctoral candidate at Washington University in St. Louis.


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Ventspils University of Applied Sciences Strengthens International Cooperation in Radio Astronomy with Leading US Scientists

By Rota Žagare • November 6, 2026
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Faculty of Translation Studies implements an international cooperation project in Poland

By Rota Žagare • November 5, 2026
From 26 to 30 October, Assistant Professor Egita Proveja, Associate Professor Jānis Veckrācis and Lecturer Aiga Bādere of the Faculty of Translation Studies (FoTS) at Ventspils University of Applied Sciences (VUAS) visited the Faculty of Humanities of Jan Długosz University in Częstochowa ( Uniwersytet Jana Długosza w Częstochowie , JDU, Poland). The visit took place within the framework of both the COLOURS European University Alliance and Erasmus+ cooperation. The main aim of the visit was to launch a joint practice-oriented project for translation students of VUAS FoTS and JDU. Latvian and Polish students are expected to work with professional texts and specialised vocabulary in various formats of cooperation. Working meetings were held with the management and staff of the Faculty of Humanities. The VUAS representatives Jānis Veckrācis and Aiga Bādere discussed specific plans for cooperation with the Dean of the JDU Faculty of Humanities, Aiga Bādere met the Polish students involved in the project, and Egita Proveja observed German-language classes. The VUAS representatives also met the JDU Vice-Rector. The visit provided an opportunity to discuss the cooperation in detail, including a joint challenge-based project, its implementation timeline, the allocation of tasks and the expected results. Plans for a summer school were also discussed. The programme also included a study visit to the Jasna Góra Monastery, where a JDU graduate, now a professional guide, showed how education in the humanities and professional competence help to preserve and promote the region’s cultural heritage. The visit strengthened cooperation between the two universities and opened up opportunities to involve students at all levels of study in future joint projects.

How to Monitor a 32-Metre Radio Telescope – VIRAC Experience at the International Zabbix Summit 2026

By Rota Žagare • October 22, 2026
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Career Day for Early-Career Researchers

By Rota Žagare • October 20, 2026
On 16 October, Ventspils University of Applied Sciences hosted a Career Day for Early-Career Researchers, during which doctoral students and early-career researchers explored various professional development opportunities both within and beyond academia. The event highlighted the importance of international cooperation in research, featured personal experiences of scientific career development, and fostered collaboration among representatives of different scientific disciplines. The Career Day was organised as part of the international NextTechTalents project, introducing participants to opportunities to advance their research careers, develop professional skills, and engage in international initiatives. Special attention was also given to the opportunities offered to doctoral students and early-career researchers by the COLOURS European University Alliance. Gvido Grīnbergs from Ventspils High Technology Park shared his professional experience, describing his journey from research to entrepreneurship. He emphasised that the knowledge and skills acquired through research can be successfully applied beyond academia, including in entrepreneurship and technology development. Drawing on his personal experience, Gvido Grīnbergs highlighted the need to strengthen collaboration between researchers, entrepreneurs, and technology developers to transform scientific expertise into practical and innovative solutions. Oskars Teikmanis, Chairman of the Board of the Latvian Association of Young Researchers (LJZA), presented the diverse career paths and opportunities available to early-career researchers. He emphasised that a career in science is not limited to conducting research but can also develop in areas such as scientific publishing, research integrity, science policy, research funding, administration, innovation, and science communication. A doctoral degree demonstrates not only scientific qualifications but also a broad range of competencies that can be applied across various professional fields. The Career Day also featured a networking session, providing participants with an opportunity to engage in discussions, exchange ideas, and establish collaborations with fellow early-career researchers, doctoral students, doctoral supervisors, project representatives, and industry professionals.  In addition to presentations and discussions, participants explored the research infrastructure of Ventspils University of Applied Sciences by visiting the laboratories of the Faculty of Information Technologies. The event concluded with a visit to Irbene, where participants took a guided tour of the Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre, learning about its research infrastructure and how it is used in scientific research.

Seminar on the Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools and Agents in Software Development and Radio Astronomy

By Rota Žagare • October 14, 2026
The Engineering Research Institute “Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre” (VIRAC) of Ventspils University of Applied Sciences is organising the seminar “Artificial Intelligence Tools and Agents: Their Use in Software Development and Radio Astronomy Data Processing” to introduce the capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) agents and their practical applications in the development of smart technologies and scientific research. The seminar will take place on 15 October at 10:30 and will be led by Jānis Šteinbergs, Scientific Assistant at VIRAC.

Rector of VUAS becomes a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

By Rota Žagare • October 12, 2026
Andris Vaivads, Rector of Ventspils University of Applied Sciences, has been elected as a new foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences' Class for Astronomy and Space Science. Andris Vaivads studies what is commonly known as the magnetosphere around the Earth, other planets and the SunClass for astronomy and space science. He performs his research as a professor in Experimental Space Physics at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. Earlier, he spent 20 years as a researcher at the Swedish Institute of Space Physics in Uppsala. He studies the magnetosphere around Earth, other planets, and the Sun. Much of space is filled with plasma, a gas consisting of electrically charged particles that are influenced, among other things, by magnetic fields. When magnetic fields pointing in different directions reconnect – a process known as magnetic reconnection – large amounts of magnetic energy can rapidly be converted into other forms of energy, including kinetic energy. Andris Vaivads’s research focuses on these processes, where large amounts of energy are converted within small regions of space. Plasma processes can, among other things, produce the Northern lights (Auroras), affect satellites, and heat plasma to tens and hundreds of millions of degrees. The research group at KTH, in which Andris Vaivads spends 20 per cent of his working time, develops instruments to measure electric fields on satellites. The group also designs small measurement probes that can be launched from Esrange Space Centre in Kiruna on rockets. More recently, Andris Vaivads has also studied processes in the solar wind, a kind of plasma wind that plays a major role in space weather. This research uses observations from spacecraft launched by ESA (Solar Orbiter) in Europe and NASA (Parker Solar Probe) in the US. Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences serve on committees and participate in classes that initiate investigations, respond to consultations, and organise conferences and seminars. Based on the information published on the official website of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
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