Project made in VMU: Striving for gender balance via educaTion reformation, 3A factors for Advancement, and Mentorship in STEM
ST3AM
Project Name: Striving for gender balance via educaTion reformation, 3A factors for Advancement, and Mentorship in STEM
Project ID: KA220-HED-F7461335
Start Date: 01/10/2024
End Date: 30/09/2027
Visit the project’s website: https://st3am-project.eu/
Coordinator:
ESTIA – ECOLE SUPERIEURE DES TECHNOLOGIES INDUSTRIELLES AVANCEES
Partners:
INNOVATION HIVE
UNIVERSITETET I SOROST-NORGE
UCLAN CYPRUS LIMITED
VYTAUTO DIDŽIOJO UNIVERSITETAS
PANEPISTIMIO DYTIKIS ATTIKIS
POLITECHNIKA LODZKA
ST3AM aims to address gender discrimination in EU STEM higher education, where women remain underrepresented despite progress. According to UNESCO’s 2023 report, only 28% of researchers are women, and this imbalance is largely due to discrimination rather than lack of skills. Education and gender equality are key components of the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and essential to achieving broader goals. In 2023, EU Commissioner Helena Dalli emphasized the need for women’s active participation to drive innovation and equality in STEM fields.
Initiatives like Women TechEU, which provided €3.8 million to 50 women-led tech startups, aim to close the gender gap and boost economic growth. Studies show that encouraging more women in STEM could increase EU GDP by 3% by 2050, generating up to €820 billion. Although women represent 48% of EU citizens with postsecondary education, only 25% of self-employed STEM professionals are women. Overall, ST3AM promotes female participation in STEM by fostering an inclusive, non-discriminatory environment, contributing to both gender equality and economic growth.
Horizon Europe project: UPCYCLING OF NdFeB MAGNETS IN THE EU FOR GREEN APPLICATIONS (NEO-CYCLE, No. 101138058).
Horizon Europe project: UPCYCLING OF NdFeB MAGNETS IN THE EU FOR GREEN APPLICATIONS (NEO-CYCLE, No. 101138058).
Duration: 48 months (2024 09 01 – 2028 08 31)
Project coordinator: IDENER RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT AGRUPACION DE INTERES ECONOMICO, Spain
VMU coordinator: assoc. prof. R. Dagiliūtė
The NEO-CYCLE project aims to demonstrate breakthrough technologies for the sustainable upcycling of spent Neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets comings from hard disks drives (HDDs), reaching high quality end products for 4 case studies: pharmaceutical, ammonia, fertilizers, and polymers industries; and includes necessary paths to reach the market uptake. To reach this aim, NEO-CYCLE involves all the relevant actors in the value chain, from public authorities to recycling companies of waste of electric and electronic equipment (WEEE), technology developers, associations, NGOs, SMEs and commercial companies in the targeted sectors.
Project activities cover Solid-State Chlorination, Electrochemical and purification processes at TRL6 to separate Nd, Fe and B, upcycling approaches for Nd, Fe, and B and validation of the final products, processes and products digitalisation, including digital twins and digital product passport, sustainability assessments, standardisation roadmap, stakeholder engagement, new business models and training courses to promote inclusion and new jobs in the value chains.
More on the project activities: https://NEO-CYCLE.eu/
or
X (Twiter), LinkedIn: @NEO-CYCLE
EU-REPAIR Project Launches to Promote Sustainable Building Refurbishment Across Europe
The “Toolkit for Sustainable Optimisation of Valuable Built Environment – EU-REPAIR” project, funded by the European Climate Initiative (EUKI) 2024, officially commenced on February 1, 2025. The project, set to run for 28 months (01.02.2025 – 30.05.2027), aims to drive sustainable building refurbishment in Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, North Macedonia, and Serbia, reducing carbon emissions and strengthening climate resilience.
Coordinated by the Institute for Research in Environment, Civil Engineering, and Energy (IECE), the project brings together leading European institutions:
-Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics (IBP) – Germany
-Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) – Lithuania
-Innovation Center University of Niš (ICUN) – Serbia
-Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA) – Estonia
EU-REPAIR focuses on equipping architects, engineers, artisans, students, and decision-makers with the knowledge and skills to implement energy-efficient repair techniques. Through hands-on workshops, hackathons, and multiplier events, the project fosters innovation and entrepreneurship in sustainable building practices. A digital learning platform will provide open access to best practices, guidelines, and case studies, ensuring long-term knowledge transfer. By integrating circular economy principles, renewable materials, and risk assessment methodologies, EU-REPAIR seeks to preserve historic buildings while aligning them with modern energy efficiency standards. A key objective is to improve national legislation and strategic documents to support energy-efficient refurbishment and climate adaptation strategies.
The first Kick-Off Meeting was held online on February 18, 2025, bringing together project partners to discuss key activities, milestones, and collaborative strategies for the successful implementation of EU-REPAIR. With its holistic approach to sustainable refurbishment, EU-REPAIR is set to make a lasting impact on Europe’s built environment, fostering a climate-resilient and energy-efficient future.
#EU-REPAIR#EUKI#refurbishment#repair#VBE#culturalheritage#buildings#ClimateChange #Sustainablebuildings #VMU
Sign on-line Conference “The Vital Nature” on May 15-16, 2025.
Dear Friends, Colleagues,
As in every spring, the 19th International multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary conference The Vital Nature Sign already is approaching. I would like to invite you to participate on-line in this Conference on May 15-16, 2025.
More information upon Conference please find in: http://vns.microsep.org/
Registration form: click here
IMPORTANT DATES
7th April, 2025 – Deadline for registration and abstract submission
25th April, 2025– Notification of abstract acceptance
5th May, 2025 – Preliminary program of the conference
GUIDELINES FOR AUTHORS
The oral presentation should not exceed 12 min (+3 min questions&discussions)
Flash-presentation should not exceed 5 min (+2 min questions&discussions). Flash presentations should cover only the relevance, the aim of the work, the main results, and the conclusions.
Co-authors who are registered and participating in the conference will also receive a certificate.
IMPORTANT. Abstracts of authors who will not be presenting their work will not be included in the abstract book.
Vytautas Magnus university is involved in the project
Project coordinator:
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Centre for European Volunteering
Partner organisations:
2023 – 2025
About the project:
Evidence shows that SL is beneficial but access to service learning in primary schools in Europe remains limited despite some growth in FE and in Secondary Education, notably through the Erasmus Plus SLUSIK project. SLIPS will upscale an existing Service Learning programme for secondary level for primary school pupils.
Through its training programme it will enable:
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600 primary school teachers
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150 schools’ principals & governors
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75 schools and 90 policy makers to build capacity in SL.
The objectives are:
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Develop a suitable upscaled methodology for delivering service learning programmes in primary schools;
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Create and put in place the user-friendly online platform to train the primary school teachers;
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Train and develop the capacity of primary school teachers to deliver quality service learning in primary schools;
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Develop links between schools and civil society in order to better meet community needs;
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Ensure the sustainability of project results by developing the community of practitioners in order to promote the use of the methodology and the importance of service learning for social inclusion, civic engagement, resilience, prosperity and sustainability.
The training programme in Service Learning will lead to increased skills for primary school teachers leading to increased quality in the work, activities and practices of the schools, volunteering organisations and institutions involved. It will introduce new actors to volunteering, civil society and civic engagement. We will build the capacity of primary schools and primary school teachers to work transnationally and address common needs and priorities for children in the EEA. The online platform, service learning methodology and training activities, as well as policy development work, will enable transformation and change at individual, organisational and sectoral level, leading to improvements, new approaches and upgraded skills in a variety of different formal and nonformal education context.
Thermo Fisher Scientific Nominal Scholarship Competition 2024-2025 for Masters
Thermo Fisher Scientific Nominal Scholarship Competition 2024-2025
Nominal scholarship for Masters terms and conditions VMU: CLICK HERE (In English)
Nominal scholarship for Masters terms and conditions VMU: CLICK HERE (In Lithuanian)
“Thermo Fisher Scientific Baltics” UAB in cooperation with Vytautas Magnus University invites 1-year masters students from VDU Faculty of Natural Sciences to prepare Master final thesis at the Company.
Favorite students selected to prepare Master final thesis at the Company will receive Thermo Fisher Scientific Baltics nominal scholarship of 2000 Eur per single academic year. VDU students who prepare the final thesis at the Company for two academic years and if study results do not worsen, are entitled for a second-year scholarship, therefore total scholarship would amount to 4000 Eur. This nominal scholarship does not impact students’ chances to receive other scholarships from the State, “Thermo Fisher Scientific Baltics” or other.
Applicants’ Bachelor final thesis (or exams) and Main study field subjects weighted average grades must be no less than 8 to qualify for the Scholarship competition.
First year Master students must submit applications for the competition by September 15, 2024
Students must submit following documents:
- Curriculum vitae (CV);
- Motivational letter, also indicating preferred Research groups;
- Copy of Bachelor studies diploma and its supplement;
- Copy of Secondary school graduation diploma;
- Copy of other achievements, such as scientific and/or social activities (e.g. participations in scientific competitions, tournaments and other);
- Recommendation from VDU Faculty or Employer would be additional benefit.
Applications should be submitted via VDU AIS address dek@gmf.vdu.lt titled “Thermo Fisher Scientific nominal scholarship”.
Questions regarding this competition should be addressed to “Thermo Fisher Scientific” representative – Edvin Stankevič, edvin.stankevic@thermofisher.com,or VDU representative – Ugnė Medikaitė ugne.medikaite@vdu.lt.
Thermo Fisher Scientific Nominal Scholarship Competition 2024-2025 for Bachelors
Thermo Fisher Scientific Nominal Scholarship Competition 2024-2025
Nominal scholarship for Masters terms and conditions VMU: CLICK HERE (In English)
Nominal scholarship for Masters terms and conditions VMU: CLICK HERE (In Lithuanian)
“Thermo Fisher Scientific Baltics” UAB in cooperation with Vytautas Magnus University invites prospective 3- and 4-year Bachelor students from VDU Faculty of Natural Sciences to prepare Bachelor final thesis at the Company.
Favorite students selected to prepare Bachelor final thesis at the Company will receive Thermo Fisher Scientific Baltics nominal scholarship of 1100 Eur per single academic year. VDU students who prepare the final thesis at the Company for two academic years and if study results do not worsen, are entitled for a second-year scholarship, therefore total scholarship would amount to 2200 Eur. This nominal scholarship does not impact students’ chances to receive other scholarships from the State, “Thermo Fisher Scientific Baltics” or other.
Prospective 3- and 4-year Bachelor students must submit applications for the competition by 15 September 2024
Students must submit following documents:
- Curriculum vitae (CV)
- Motivational letter, also indicating preferred research areas listed in scholarship terms and conditions document (Link)
- Copy of secondary school graduation diploma
- Copy of other achievements, such as scientific and/or social activities (e.g. participations in scientific competitions, tournaments and other)
- Recommendation from VDU Faculty or Employer would be additional benefit.
Applications should be submitted via VDU AIS address dek@gmf.vdu.lt titled “Thermo Fisher Scientific nominal scholarship”.
Questions regarding this competition should be addressed to “Thermo Fisher Scientific” representative – Edvin Stankevič edvin.stankevic@thermofisher.com or VDU representative – Ugnė Medikaitė ugne.medikaite@vdu.lt.
Thermo Fisher Scientific Baltics nominal competition terms
Training school “Plasma applications for smart and sustainable agriculture” 11-14 June 2024, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Vytautas Magnus university, Kaunas, Lithuania
By the first announcement we are pleased to invite the PhD students and young researchers to attend the training school with a line of outstanding invited speakers that will provide overview and share their practical experience on the research topics related to the applications of plasma in agriculture and food processing.
EVENT DETAILS:
Main training venue: Faculty of Natural Sciences, Vytautas Magnus university, Universiteto str. 10, 53361 Akademija
Additional sites for training: Botanical garden, VMU (https://botanika.vdu.lt/)
Agricultural experiment station of Academy of Agriculture, VMU
Website for further information:
We kindly invite to the lecture “Engineering CRISPR tools and editing strategies for clinical application” given by professor Julian Grünewald
Lecture title: “Engineering CRISPR tools and editing strategies for clinical application”.
Date: November 24, 2023 (Friday)
Time: 14:00-15:00 EET
Venue: VU Life Sciences Center, R401 auditorium
Abstract: There is an unmet clinical need to develop new treatments for many genetic diseases, such as cardiomyopathies. We aim to develop CRISPR technologies specifically for the safe and efficient application in human heart cells. This talk will focus on the engineering of base and prime editors and the current state of clinical translation.
Moreover, I will report on how we use gene editing tools in human cardiomyocytes and heart organoids to model both disease development and new genetic treatments.
Biosketch: Julian Grünewald is a physician-scientist, Emmy Noether group leader, and Assistant Professor of Gene Editing at the Technical University of Munich (TUM).
His lab is focused on engineering new CRISPR technologies for research and therapeutic applications in cardiovascular medicine.
After medical school and training as a resident of internal medicine, Julian trained as a postdoc in the laboratory of J. Keith Joung at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
Opportunity to finance PhD studies in Switzerland
International PhD Programs in Life Sciences
Life Science Zurich Graduate School offers more than 100 funded PhD positions. With around 500 research groups and more than 1600 Ph.D. students, the Life Science Zurich Graduate School is one of the largest graduate schools in Europe. It has 17 highly competitive PhD programs and is jointly run by the ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich. To download offer click here
