BALTICS is the acronym for “Building on Advanced LOFAR Technology for Innovation, Collaboration, and Sustainability”. (Project Nr. 692257).
 
It is an educational program funded by the European Union, call Twinning 2015, whose implementation period is from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2018 (36 months).

BALTICS aims to raise the expertise at the Engineering Research Institue of Ventspils University College “Ventspils International Radio Astronomy center” (VIRAC) in the field of LOFAR technology, data reduction and maintenance. The involved Partners in the project are VIRAC, ASTRON (Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy) and University of Manchester (UMAN).

Through the project, VIRAC will gain knowledge and practical experience with LOFAR- technology related fields of science, which will significantly increase VIRAC scientific publication quality. It will be established in cooperation with European and international leaders in LOFAR technology. The knowledge gained during the project, will enable VIRAC to establish and run the potential Latvian LOFAR stations.

There are planned a number of activities to most effectively realize the project:

Five Training Weeks at VIRAC;

One Training Week at ASTRON;

Summer School at ASTRON;

Staff exchanges at ASTRON and UMAN;

Organization of Scientific conference at VIRAC

Workshops at ASTRON and UMAN

The overall project budget is 999 652,00 EUR which is 100% funded by the European Union.