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The mood was mixed
The merger agreement in 2010 signed by the then rectors Professors Remigijus Žaliūnas (as Rector of KMU) and Henrikas Žilinskas (as Rector of LVA). When the new university came into operation, the Senate, Council, and rector elections were elected. R.Žaliūnas was elected Rector of LSMU, H.Žilinskas – Vice President of the Council. According to them, the mood in preparation for the merger was different.
“On the one hand, there was determination, enthusiasm and arguments based on the desire not to copy something, but to create a new university of health sciences. On the other hand, part of the community opposed the merger process, especially the heads of non-academic departments and some of the then heads of Kaunas clinics. They were mostly worried about the future. And many of those who carried out scientific activities, studies, clinical and practical activities, approved the merger, ”recalled R. Žaliūnas.
According to H.Žilinskas, since its inception, the LVA has been a place for the training of specific terrestrial specialties: specialists in veterinary medicine and animal husbandry. One of the smallest universities in the country did not have many human resources and international experience was lacking. “We have begun to evaluate the options for a possible merger, which would not help save, but rather strengthen the two higher education institutions involved in the process. The veterinary study program was strong and attractive, there was no shortage of students, but we had no foreigners studying, said the former rector of the LVA. – It was necessary to further strengthen the level of preparation of students, to prepare international study programs. Changes in farm ownership and production structure have made reorganizing the training of livestock specialists worth thinking about. So a solution was needed. “
H.Žilinskas made no secret that the possible merger was discussed with the Vytautas Magnus University, the then Lithuanian Academy of Agriculture, and KMU. However, during the discussions, the leaders of the KMU and the LVA found the most common common ground. It was generally concluded that these higher education institutions are connected by a living organism, human and animal health care, and a common area of biological research.
The merger was also promoted by the Ministry of Education and Science, and the Government provides EU funds for integration, which could be used to improve the study bases of both higher education institutions.
However, H. Žilinskas admitted that the decision to join was not an easy one: “My older colleagues, my former professors, eagerly watched my steps as rector. We speak openly with the entire community. There were doubts, fears and disagreements, but we made the decision by consensus. “
The communities at both high schools valued their history, their academic heritage, and did not want to lose themselves. The preservation and continuity of this heritage has been the subject of much debate in the communities. To preserve all this, it was decided that the establishment of LSMU would retain the model of two equivalent academies: the Academy of Medicine (MA) and the Academy of Veterinary Medicine (VA) as separate structural units of the same university. Human and animal health has become an axis of science, study and clinical activity.
H.Žilinskas (left) and R.Žaliūnas (right) in 2010 August 13 The agreement on the merger of KMU and LVA and the establishment of LSMU signed in 2006 became the beginning of a new success story. (LSMU file photo)
Both benefited
From the perspective of a decade, it is clear that the merger has benefited both institutions of higher education. It is mentioned in Lithuania as the only sustainable, strong and successful case. What caused it? R.Žaliūnas mentioned several reasons: “Two strong and equal institutions of higher education merged, whose communities were ripe to embark on the path of progress together. Even before the merger, some experience had been gained, six research institutes were integrated and KMU was a shareholder of Kaunas Clinics, the largest university hospital in Lithuania. A very important precondition for the merger was the agreement of the Senate of the two institutions of higher education, the Council and both rectors on the establishment of the new university, its name, structure and statute ”. According to R. A legal basis for this has been created, funding has been provided for new projects.
According to the rector of LSMU, the implementation of the principle of unity of science, studies and clinical practice turned out to be the most successful in the creation of a new university. Both mobilizing human resources and developing the university infrastructure and implementing the most modern technologies for the study, science and diagnosis and treatment of diseases.
Two strong and equal high schools merged, whose communities were mature together to follow the path of progress.
According to H.Žilinskas, the merger expanded the range of university professional studies. “VA also used KMU’s experience in organizing international studies. This has made the Veterinary Medicine study program attractive to graduates in many EU countries (and countries like Germany, Austria, Sweden) and around the world in a relatively short period of time. Today, LSMU’s study programs are among the strongest in the country, Veterinary Medicine is among the top ten most popular study programs in the country, the need for animal science is recovering, and new science study programs are being strengthened. food, ”said the professor.
According to R.Žaliūnas, without the merger, it would not be possible to attract so many young people from abroad. Currently about 20 percent. all LSMU students are representatives of foreign countries. Most of them, from Israel, Sweden, Germany. “It would not have been possible to develop the scientific, study and clinical bases at such a level, to build the Faculties of Pharmacy, Public Health, Nursing, Biological Research Center, Livestock Center, the infrastructure and kindergarten had not been developed, Emanuel Levin center and others “, – said R.Žaliūnas. According to the rector of LSMU, these projects managed to obtain funding after the merger of the two higher education institutions. The university study environment has been modernized from the funds allocated for this end.
Make yourself even more visible
Speaking about the near future of the university, H. Žilinskas hoped that it would be a time of further qualitative consolidation, and LSMU VA would become a recognized center for veterinary, animal and food science and studies with developed international study programs.
“It is especially important for LSMU VA to strengthen the clinical foundations and provide them with modern equipment. Prepared for the construction of a new Small Animal Clinic, for which the Municipality of the City of Kaunas has allocated a separate plot. A solution is needed to expand the clinical base of large animals, since we are the only ones who train specialists in this field, we carry out scientific work; According to H. Žilinskas, responsible state institutions should pay more attention to solving these strategic problems of the individual branches. “At the same time, the advantages of our consolidation are highlighted here: the university is able to stabilize and offset the funding of individual study programs or material-based solutions across the entire field of university activities.”
Both interlocutors did not doubt that in a decade, LSMU will be even more visible in Europe and the world, and will become an even greater attraction for the talents of tomorrow. “The projects of this century, which have already received funding, will have to be implemented. Some of them are the Nuclear Research Center, the School of Dentistry, the development of modular infrastructure for study and clinical practice and others. Of course, it will be necessary prepare new projects that respond to the progress of science, studies and clinical practice of the future ”, according to R. Žaliūnas, the ideas for these projects will be generated by young people.
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