Higher education - puppet of business?

On December 6, Vytautas the Great University (VDU) held the final of the "Enlightenment" project organized by the VDU Student Representation. Iveta Silkauskaitė, a freshman in Multimedia and Internet Technologies, was recognized as the most academic student. She got a trip to Lapland.

"Enlightenment" is a project intended for students of all Lithuanian higher schools. Its purpose is to encourage interest in the processes of higher education, so students test their academic knowledge by solving a test based on the principle of the Constitution exam. A conference is also held during the project. This year, VMU rector prof. discussed with the students. Juozas Augutis, director of Kaunas College (KK) Paulius Baltrushaitis and director of Kaunas Technical Vocational Training Center (KTPMC) Paulius Čepas. Heads of educational institutions discussed the influence of business on the study process.

VMU Rector Professor Juozas Augutis said that we are currently going through a transition period to a new industrial revolution, after which harmony between higher education and business should emerge. "The most expensive commodity is an idea," emphasized J. Augutis, therefore, in his opinion, it is very important to develop a free and critical-thinking personality at the university, who would become an important part of the business sector.

KK director Paulius Baltrushaitis said that the relationship between colleges and business is slightly different than that of universities, because the missions of these higher education institutions are different: "Our goal is to ensure the development of the labor market and the public sector in the regions, so the role of business is important both in shaping the content of study programs and in deciding scholarship awarding issues."

Paulius Čepas, director of KTPMC, revealed that the cooperation between business and the teaching process is the greatest in vocational schools: "We are directly connected by obligations to each other."

The winner of the project, Iveta Silkauskaitė, was very happy when she found out that she would be traveling to Lapland. When asked about the final stage of "Enlightenment", the girl said that the questions turned out to be really interesting, and projects like this one are very useful, because the student must know his rights.

"Enlightenment" has been held for the third year in a row and is attracting more and more attention from students. This year, as many as 600 participants from all over Lithuania took the exam in the first stage.