We invite scholars of various academic fields of humanities and social science to submit proposals to an academic conference “Challenging relations with(in) East Asia” which will be held at Vytautas Magnus University (VMU, Kaunas, Lithuania) on November 3–4, 2023.

East Asia is one of the most dynamic regions in the world that is attracting global attention. As home to 1.6 billion people and almost a third of the world’s GDP, East Asia is often associated with growth, ambition, and innovation. As a result, East Asian countries have been establishing numerous bilateral and multilateral ties which created a complex network of governance of various spheres, ranging from economy to environmental protection. On the other hand, the region is not only a place of emerging opportunities, but also a hotspot of numerous risks and challenges. Tensions between North and South Korea, animosities among the neighboring countries due to historical legacies, display of military power in the Taiwan Strait – all this makes the international community very worried about the possible escalation and the negative impact it could cause to the whole world. It reveals that international relations both with and within East Asia can be challenging in numerous ways. (more…)

The Centre for Asian Studies (CAS) at Vytautas Magnus University together with the students’ clubs “Hallyu”, “Hashi” and “Wu Wei” invite Kaunas residents and city’s guests to the VMU Asian Week 2023. This year the event will take place on April 24-28 in venues of VMU and other public places in Kaunas.

VMU Asian Week is a one week-long cycle of events dedicated to East Asian cultures – Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese. It is done through the presentation of specific aspects of culture, arts and cuisine. CAS social partners in Lithuania and abroad actively participated in the organization of this event. This year, in cooperation with the Cinema Centre “Romuva”, we invite you to watch famous films by Asian directors in the evenings during the Asia Week. You can purchase the tickets at the cinema “Romuva” or online here.

Here you can download the program of the Asian Week (PDF).

Our partners: (more…)

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January 21-27 during a visit to Japan, VMU Asian Studies Center employees Arvydas and Simona Kumpiai visited Gifu university, KUIS (Kanda University of International Studies, Chiba) which are partner institutions of VMU, the Museum of the Port of Humanity in Tsuruga and also met with the Ambassador of Lithuania in Japan dr. Aurelijus Zykas.

During the visit to Gifu University (January 23) plans for future cooperation were discussed. Moreover, VMU lecturer Kayako Takagi gave a presentation for the university community members interested in Lithuania. (more…)

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The 5^th Conference of Baltic Alliance of Asian Studies (BAAS) took place in the Tallinn University (Estonia) on September 23-25, 2022. This conference takes place every two years in a different Baltic country and aims to bring together scholars from various fields studying different regions of Asia. This time the topic of the conference was “Asia in Transition / Tradition as the Source of Change”.

In the period of 3 days 18 panels took place, during which scholars from different fields made presentations and shared their insights. Among them 5 presentations were made by the staff members of VMU Centre for Asian Studies. Next BAAS Conference will be organized by the University of Latvia in Riga in the Spring of 2024.

For more information on BAAS check here

Komaru Transportation Company together with Hiroshima University Lithuanian Center and VMU Center for Asian Studies is organizing the Fifth and already traditional Japanese Language Speech Contest. Participants from schools and universities who are studying Japanese language in Lithuania are welcome. Traditionally, the organizers are going to surprise participants with special prizes.

The year 2022 is special to Lithuania-Japan history – this year we are commemorating the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between these two countries.

The topic of the contest is “transportation” in its broad meaning, including traffic, travels etc. Speeches must be original and created by participants. Speeches will be evaluated by a special committee that will take into consideration its grammar, fluency, expressions, content and answers to questions.

The registration is open until October 14th (Friday), 2022. In order to register fill out an online application. After registering the participants will receive a link to submit their speeches in written form (the deadline will be announced later).

If you have additional questions, please contact CAS senior coordinator Ms. Kayako Takagi via email.

For more information please refer to a detailed description.

We would like to invite all interested in culture and politics of East Asia to listen to the public defense of students’ final thesis. This year the defenses will take place as usual in university’s auditoriums.

Master thesis defense of East Asia Region studies will take place on May 26th, from 13:00 at Putvinskio str. 23, room 310.

Bachelor thesis defense of East Asian Cultures and Languages will take place on June 6-7, from 10:00 at Putvinskio str. 23, room 310.

We are happy to announce a call for papers for the 5th annual international students’ conference on Asia. The conference will take place on April 9 at Vytautas Magnus University (V. Putvinskio 23, Kaunas).

If you are interested in East Asian cultures, languages, arts, economics or other areas, this event is just for you. The conference, organized by VMU East Asian Languages ​​and Cultures students, together with the Centre for Asian Studies and the Department of Cultural Studies, is a great opportunity to share your accumulated knowledge, work or research with colleagues in this field and not only, to gain experience and improve your public speaking skills, or even get some inspirations. (more…)

We are sharing the invitation to submit abstracts for the 4th annual Student academic Conference, focusing on Asia. The conference will be held on April 24, 11:00-14:00, V. Putvinskio 23-310 in Kaunas, Lithuania.

This event, which has become an integral part of VMU Asian Week, is organized by VMU Regional Studies Asian specialization students and VMU Center for Asian Studies together with the Department of Cultural Studies. As every year, students from various fields whose work and research touch on the topic of Asia are welcome, both from the humanities, social sciences, arts and other disciplines. (more…)

The National Taiwan Library announced “Guidelines to the National Taiwan Library Fellowship for International Visiting Scholars and Students”.
The library provides Fellowship for experts and scholars to pursue their academic goals in Taiwan studies or Southeast Asia studies. Please click here to read more.

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It is time for all who are interested in East Asian cultures, languages, economics, politics and more to come together for what has become an annual student research conference, organised by the VMU East Asia Cultures and Languages students.
This conference is a great opportunity to share your knowledge, work and research with colleagues in the field, to try and improve your public speaking skills, to gain experience and to listen to presentations by like-minded people. (more…)

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Are you interested in politics of Japan? Maybe you are interested in economy of China? Maybe you are fascinated in Korean art and traditions? It does not matter in which field you are interested in, as long as it is related to East Asia we have a very interesting proposition to you. (more…)

VMU Department of International Relations informs about ongoing studies exchange and internship contests as well as “Erasmus Days’21” which are going to take place on February 17th, 18th, and 19th, during which students will be able to learn more about exchange opportunities. (more…)

Beijing Normal University entrusts the European Federation of Overseas Chinese and Chinese Associations to recruit 100 candidates for MBA and MPA studies (conducted fully in English) from all over the world. Appropriate students are welcome to sign up. (more…)

Applications for scholarships for studies in China in 2021-2022 are open. Persons who are nationals of Lithuania, EU or persons from the third countries having the right to live in Lithuania are welcome to apply.

Applications may be submitted by representatives of various fields of Lithuanian science and studies institutions/ representatives of science fields – Bachelor, Masters and PhD students. (more…)