VMU International cooperation department invites students to participate in the competitions for exchange studies and traineeship!

We would like to inform about the ongoing exchange studies and traineeships competitions abroad and the “Erasmus Days’21”, which will take place on September 21st, 22nd and 23rd. During the “Erasmus Days’21” students will be able to get more information about the exchange opportunities.

The following exchange studies and traineeships competitions are currently taking place:

• Erasmus+ studies (EU / EEA countries) – students can apply until October 4, 2021.

• VMU Bilateral Exchange and Erasmus+ (non-EU / EEA countries) – students can apply until October 4, 2021.

• Erasmus+ traineeships (EU / EEA countries) – students can apply until October 3, 2021.

• International traineeships (non-EU / EEA countries) – students can apply until October 31, 2021.

More information about the ongoing competitions and “Erasmus Days’21” is provided on slides.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Nominal Scholarship Competition 2021-2021

“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 1.800 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 3.600 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 27, 2021

Students must submit following documents:

Curriculum vitae (CV);
Motivational letter, also indicating preferred research areas;
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”.

Nominal scholarship for Masters terms and conditions VDU 2021

Questions regarding this competition should be addressed to “Thermo Fisher Scientific” representative – Saulius Burbulis saulius.burbulis@thermofisher.com, tel. +370 640 68532 or VDU representative – Migle Razgunaite migle.razgunaite@vdu.lt, tel. 8 37 327 905.

Invitation to the multidisciplinary 15th International on-line Scientific Conference

Intivation to “LONG-DISTANCE SIGNALING IN PLANTS: ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL AND MOLECULAR APPROACH” lecture

Kazimierz Trębacz paskaita Parsisiųsti

Invitation for students to join Biomapas academy

WHY SHOULD I JOIN?
During the 3-month period you will gain:

First-hand industry insights from global experts
Broader understanding of Clinical Research, Regulatory Affairs and Pharmacovigilance
A chance to kick-start your professional career by getting an internship offer in Biomapas
Academy student with the highest results will be rewarded with 500 EUR scholarship of excellence

PARTICIPATION CRITERIA:
All students and recent graduates with study specialization in life sciences can participate if they:

Are based in Lithuania, Ukraine, Georgia, Poland or Russia
Have reached English proficiency level of B2 or higher
Are willing and able to dedicate their time to participate in lectures and to complete the assignments

WHEN DOES THE ACADEMY TAKE PLACE?

The application process starts on December 21st, 2020
The Academy starts in February and finishes in May 2021
All Academy activities will be held completely remotely

Interested? The registration is open until January 18th!
Apply here: bit.ly/Registration-Biomapas-Academy
Please note that we will contact only the selected candidates.

Join the next generation of life science specialists!

You can find more information here: facebook/BiomapasAcademy

Invitation To On-line „THE VITAL NATURE SIGN“ Conference

INVITATION

To participate in the 14th international multidisciplinary conference of life sciences, technologies, biomedicine and physical sciences „THE VITAL NATURE SIGN“, which will be held at 15-16 of OCTOBER (2020). More information see at conference webpage: http://vns.microsep.org/.

Why it is useful to participate in the 14th „THE VITAL NATURE SIGN“ conference:

– It is a nice opportunity to present your scientific results to colleagues and guests for free;
– It is a nice opportunity to create new contacts and to find partners for the future projects;
– There is no need to thing about poster printing – only e-posters will be presented during the conference.
– Conference proceedings may be published in: „Chemija“, „Lithuanian Journal of Physics“, „Biologija“, „Toxicological & Environmental Chemistry“ ir „Environmental Research, Engineering and Management“.

Organisers of the conference:

Faculty of Natural Sciences of VMU

Lithuanian academy of Sciences Nordic Society for Separation Science (NoSSS)

Email: vns@gmf.vdu.lt

Seminar „Early development of seedling stress response to seed treatment with component-controlled cold plasma“

Project P-LJB-19-6 „Early development of seedling stress response to seed treatment with component-controlled cold plasma“, the Bilateral (Lithuania-Japan) cooperation program, Lithuanian Research Council.
SEMINAR PROGRAMME
2020.03.05 VMU Agriculture academy,
Universiteto str. 8A, room 214, Akademijos, Kaunas district.
https://goo.gl/maps/XAwyx4KdiuzPoPDs7

Time	Speakers and presentation titles
11:00-11.10	Vida Mildažienė, VMU Introduction to Project P-LJB-19-6 „Early development of seedling stress response to seed treatment with component-controlled cold plasma“, supported by the Bilateral (Lithuania-Japan) cooperation program of Lithuanian Research Council.
11:10-11:40	Kazyuki Kuchitsu, Tokyo university of science Regulation of Plant Development and Stress Responses by the ROS-Ca2+ Signal Network and Autophagy”
11.40-12:00	Kazunori Koga, Kyushu university Influence of plasma treatment of seeds on their molecular responses
12:00-12.20	Danas Baniulis, Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry Cold plasma treatment of seeds modulates interaction with plant-associated microorganisms in Arabidopsis thaliana and Common Sunflower
12:20-12:40	V. Mildažienė, VMU Long-term observations as a tool for estimation of plant response to seed treatment with cold plasma and electromagnetic field
12:40-13:00	General discussion

Lecture of visiting professor from Presov University (Slovak Republic)

On 3rd December 2019, Associated Professor Ruslan Mariychuk from Department of Ecology, Faculty of Humanites and Natural Sciences, Prešov university (Slovak Republic) is visiting Faculty of Natural Sciences, Vytautas Magnus University in frame of Erasmus+ teaching program. Assoc. Prof. Ruslan Mariychuk is working in fields of green chemistry and environmental technologies.

Assoc. Prof. Ruslan Mariychuk is giving lecture on topic “Green synthesis of nanomaterials and their characterization” on 3rd December 2019 at 14.30, room 709, Vileikos street 8.

Contact with Nature during Childhood could Lead to Better Mental Health in Adulthood

Almost 3,600 people participated in a European study on the impact of green and blue spaces on mental health and vitality

Barcelona, May 22, 2019-. Adults who had close contact with natural spaces during their childhood could have a better mental health than those who had less contact, according to a new study by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), an institution supported by ”la Caixa”, involving studies of four European cities scientists, among them Vytautas Magnus University (VDU), Kaunas, Lithuania, group.

Exposure to natural outdoor environments has been associated with several health benefits, including a better cognitive development and better mental and physical health. However, few studies have explored the impact of childhood exposure to natural environments on mental health and vitality in adulthood. Furthermore, studies have more frequently considered green spaces (gardens, forests, urban parks) than blue spaces (canals, ponds, creeks, rivers, lakes, beaches, etc.).

This study, published in the International Journal of Environment Research and Public Health, was performed within the framework of the PHENOTYPE project with data from almost 3,600 adults from Barcelona (Spain), Doetinchem (Netherlands), Kaunas (Lithuania) and Stoke-on-Trent (United Kingdom).

The adult participants answered a questionnaire on frequency of use of natural spaces during childhood, including purposeful –e.g. hiking in natural parks– and non-purposeful –e.g. playing in the backyard– visits. They were also asked about their current amount, use and satisfaction with residential natural spaces, as well as the importance they give to such spaces. The mental health of the participants in terms of nervousness and feelings of depression in the past four weeks, as well as their vitality –energy and fatigue levels– were assessed through a psychological test. The residential surrounding greenness during adulthood was determined through satellite images.

The results show that adults who were less exposed to natural spaces during their childhood had lower scores in mental health tests, compared to those with higher exposure. Myriam Preuss, first author of the study, explains that “in general, participants with lower childhood exposure to nature gave a lower importance to natural environments”. No association was found between childhood exposure and vitality, or the use of or satisfaction with these spaces in adulthood.

Wilma Zijlema, ISGlobal researcher and study coordinator, underlines that the conclusions “show the importance of childhood exposure to natural spaces for the development of a nature-appreciating attitude and a healthy psychological state in adulthood”. Currently, 73% of Europe’s population lives in urban areas with often limited access to green space and this number is expected to increase to over 80% by 2050. “Therefore, it is important to recognize the implications of growing in up in environments with limited opportunities for exposure to nature”, she adds.

“Many children in Europe lead an indoors lifestyle, so it would be desirable to make natural outdoor environments available, attractive and safe for them to play in”, explains Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, director of ISGlobal’s Urban Planning, Environment and Health Initiative. In most countries, activities in nature are not a regular part of the school’s curriculum. “We make a call on policymakers to improve availability of natural spaces for children and green school yards”, he adds.

Reference

Myriam Preuss, Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, Sandra Márquez, Marta Cirach, Payam Dadvand, Margarita Triguero-Mas, Christopher Gidlow, Regina Grazuleviciene, Hanneke Kruize y Wilma Zijlema. Low Childhood Nature Exposure is Associated with Worse Mental Health in Adulthood. International Journal of Environment Research and Public Health.

About ISGlobal

The Barcelona Institute for Global Health, ISGlobal, is the fruit of an innovative alliance between ”la Caixa” and academic and government institutions to contribute to the efforts undertaken by the international community to address the challenges in global health. ISGlobal is a consolidated hub of excellence in research that has grown out of work first started in the world of health care by the Hospital Clínic and the Parc de Salut MAR and in the academic sphere by the University of Barcelona and Pompeu Fabra University. The pivotal mechanism of its work model is the transfer of knowledge generated by scientific research to practice, a task undertaken by the institute’s Education and Policy and Global Development departments. ISGlobal a member of the CERCA programme of the Generalitat de Catalunya.

3rd International Conference on Life and Environmental Sciences “Smart Bio”

The 3rd International Conference on Life and Environmental Sciences “Smart Bio” will be held on May 2-4, 2019 in Kaunas, Lithuania. Oral and poster presentations will be held in VMU Small Hall (S. Daukanto Str. 28), Faculty of Natural Sciences, Plant and Animal Laboratory Corps (Ž. E. Žilibero Str. 2) and VMU Botanical Garden (Ž. E. Žilibero Str. 4). Over 300 participants from 17 countries are going to participate.

The conference includes 16 sections of verbal messages:
• Genetics
• Vector-borne diseases
• Biotechnology
• Biophysics
• Biochemistry
• Botany
• General, Molecular and Cell Biology
• Biodiversity
• Immunology
• Microbiology
• Ecology
• Zoology
• Enviromental Science and Engineering
• Renewable Energy
• Hydrology
• STEM Education

The scientific articles prepared on the basis of the conference reports will be published in the journals “Biology”, “Energetika” and “Environmental Research, Engineering and Management”.

More information icsb.vdu.lt