The report-election conference of the Vilnius University Students' Representation at Kaunas Faculty (VU SA KNF) evaluated the work of 2023/2024 and elected a new president. The responsibility has once again been given to a student of Lithuanian Philology and Advertising.
"I am glad that you are responsibly curious", joked the Dean of VU KNF, Assoc. Prof. Dr Giedrius Romeika, while encrypting the name of SA. He is convinced that responsible curiosity is crucial for making the most of study time and opportunities. This is what he wished the students to do – to seize the opportunities and look beyond. The Dean thanked the students for their invaluable contribution to the improvement of the faculty’s study processes and their growing involvement in the implementation of the faculty’s strategic goals.
The Reporting-Election Conference was chaired by Simonas Granskas, Coordinator of VU SA Representatives, Ernestas Žiogas was the secretary, Rokas Stankūnas, Solveiga Pacevičiūtė and Orinta Kasparavičiūtė were the members of the Voting Commission.
The meeting included a report on the activities of the former VU SA KNF President Titas Repšis and his team. The main goal of last year's student representation was highlighted – the representation of students. Smaller and bigger goals were pursued in various bodies of Vilnius University. Impressive progress was made in community building, strengthening community ties, and organizing activities at the faculty. "The smooth cooperation with the administration was particularly pleasing. We have similar goals, so synergies are very important," says Titas Repšys, President of the VU SA KNF, about the closer relationship in the implementation of activities such as the "Freshmen Integration Week", "Student for a Day" and others. According to him, the establishment of the VU KNF men’ s basketball team has strengthened not only the players’ but also the fans’ community spirit, while the cooperation with "Kauno fotodraugija" and the discussion on the creation of theatre classes with director Mindaugas Naudžiūnas are important steps in promoting a creative atmosphere for the students to be able to express themselves.
The new VU SA KNF President Austėja Simonaitytė was elected by the consensus of the members. The 1st year student of Lithuanian Philology and Advertising became interested in the activities of the organization back in September. When she first joined the Representation, she worked in the organizational and communication areas. She intends to continue her work and to represent students in the VU SA and VU Kaunas Faculty study program committees and other governing bodies, considering the needs and opinions of bachelor, master, and doctoral students. "One of the priority areas is to increase the involvement of the community in the ongoing informal activities in order to achieve the full satisfaction of students not only with the quality of their studies, but also with their involvement in the life of the University, thus reducing the number of dropouts and increasing the number of students opting for a master’s degree," she said. Another important objective is to promote student feedback within the VU KNF and VU SA structures, which will help to target the problems of KNF students.