Work and remote study are hardly surprising due to the prolonged pandemic. Despite this, the hope of returning to normal studies in autumn continues to grow, considering the number of students that applied for various exchange programmes: Erasmus+, Arqus and Coimbra groups, ISEP, and bilateral exchange studies. In autumn, a record number of VU BS students will go study under these exchange programmes.
There were 37 applications for the Erasmus+ programme (meanwhile, in the autumn semester of 2020, 2 students left for studies under this programme in partner institutions). Gradually, students are discovering the partner universities of the Arqus group, and applications for studies at these universities are increasing. Ainė Raupelytė, a student of the International Business Program who took advantage of this opportunity in the autumn semester of 2020, is glad that despite the threat of Covid-19 she went to study at the University of Padua in Italy, which she highly recommends.
The particularly active VU BS students participated in the bilateral exchange selection process, submitting as many as 11 applications, out of which 100% of them were approved (for comparison, in previous years, 1-2 students per year left for bilateral exchange studies).
Danutė Butkienė, VU BS International Exchange coordinator, states that “The bilateral exchange programme opens the doors to the most prestigious universities in the farthest reaches of the world, so I am pleased to see that our students are actively taking advantage of the opportunities offered by our university and not limiting themselves to the Erasmus+ programme when thinking about their exchange semester abroad.”
In the autumn semester of 2021, VU BS students will leave for study at the following countries under the program of bilateral agreement: Hong Kong (The University of Hong Kong), U.S. (The University of Oklahoma), Russia (St Petersburg State University), China (Beijing Foreign Studies University – BSFU), and Singapore (2 students will study at Singapore Management University). However, the most attractive location for studies is South Korea, as 5 students chose the country’s universities for the exchange semester (2 students will study at Sungkyunkwan University, one each at Kyungpook National, Kyung Hee, and Seoul National Universities).
The first VU BS students will leave for study at partner universities using the ISEP two-way mobility programme in the autumn semester of 2021. Out of 4 applicants, all were accepted. Our students are invited to study at the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom, and Beilot College, Truman State University, and California State University in the U.S.
We hope that all selected students will successfully leave for studies at partner institutions and wish them interesting and valuable experiences!