On March 21, 2013, VMU signed the exchange agreement and Memorandum of Understanding with Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in India. One year ago both institutions started discussions about possibilities of academic and student exchange, financial support and scholarships, collaboration in joint research and other projects.

JNU was established in 1969. It was named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister and was founded by Indira Gandhi, (Nehru’s daughter). The objective of the founders was to make the university a premier institution of higher learning and to promote research and teaching leading to the increasing engagement of its students and teachers in higher level academic work and national and international policy making.

JNU is a public central university in New Delhi, India. In 2012, The National Assessment and Accreditation Council gave the university a grade of 3.9 out of 4, the highest grade awarded to any educational institution in the country.

The Centre for Asian Studies would like to invite all those interested to attend a public lecture which will be given by a guest professor Dr Robert Parkin from Oxford University. The title of the lecture – Louis Dumont: hierarchy and equality in India and the West. The lecture will be given in English.

The lecture will take place on 17 April (Wednesday) 13:00-14:30 at Vytautas Magnus University, Faculty of Political Sciences and Diplomacy (Gedimino st. 44, Kaunas), Room 302. The event is free.

Prof. Louis Dumont was a French anthropologist who is most famous for his comparative study of the Indian caste system, Homo hierarchicus. Both the caste system and this work have been repeatedly criticized in the West for extolling hierarchy and rejecting democratic values. However, Dumont later turned to the intellectual history of the West to trace the emergence of egalitarianism and individualism out of similarly hierarchical ideas. Through his model of hierarchical opposition, which he originally developed for his study of castes, we are able to explain why hierarchy has a place in contemporary Western practices, though devalued and though subordinated to the greater value given to equality. (more…)

Centre for Asian Studies invites all those interested to the viewing of documentaries on Forbidden City in Beijing. Documentaries will be introduced by VU Confucius Institute. The viewing will take place on March 25th and 26th at VMU faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy (Gedimino st. 44), room 303, at 6 p.m.

The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. For almost 500 years, it served as the home of emperors and their households, as well as the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government. Forbidden City is listed in UNESCO World Heritage List and is visited by millions of tourists every year. (more…)

VMU Centre for Asian Studies invites to a public lecture “Japan’s Postwar Diplomacy” held by the ambassador of Japan to Lithuania H.E. Kazuko Shiraishi. The diplomat will share her rich experience about Japanese post-war diplomacy and will provide her personal insights.

The lecture will take place on March 21 (Thursday) at 13:15 – 14:45 in Kaunas, Vytautas Magnus University Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy (Gedimino str. 44, Kaunas), room No.301 .

Entrance is free.

On 1 March, VMU opened its new division, Taiwan Centre – the first of its kind in the entire Eastern Europe. The occasion was marked with a festive opening ceremony and the international scientific conference Chinese / Taiwanese Studies in Baltic States.

Guests of the event included Representative of Taipei Mission in Riga ambassador Gary K. Y. Ko with delegation, President of National Taiwan University Lee Si-Chen, Dean of the College of Social Sciences in the National Cheng-Chi University Yih-chyi Chuang and researchers from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and the USA. The conference ensured a great opportunity to strengthen the relationship not only with researchers from Taiwan but also scholars from other countries working in the field of Chinese / Taiwanese studies.

During the opening ceremony, a memorandum of collaboration between the Taipei Mission and VMU was signed. Guests from Taiwan made the opening and keynote speeches of the conference. (more…)

The Centre for Asian Studies would like to invite all those interested to attend a public lecture which will be given by a guest professor Yih-Chyi Chuang from National Chengchi University. The title of the lecture – The Role of Middle Powers in Asian Regional Development. The lecture will be given in English.

The lecture will take place on 28 February (Thursday) 16:15-17:45 at Vytautas Magnus University, Faculty of Political Sciences and Diplomacy (Gedimino st. 44, Kaunas), Room 202. The event is free.

Yih-Chyi Chuang is the Dean for the College of Social Sciences in National Chengchi University, Taiwan. Professor Chuang specializes in the fields of international economics, economic growth theory and is a known scholar in his field. Professor’s curriculum vitae can be found.
here. (more…)

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On 1 March, VMU will open its new division, Taiwan Centre – the first of its kind in the entire Eastern Europe. The occasion will be marked with a festive opening ceremony and the international scientific conference Chinese / Taiwanese Studies in Baltic States, which will begin at 9.20 a.m. that day in the VMU Small Hall (S. Daukanto g. 28).

Guests of the event include Representative of Taipei Mission in Riga ambassador Gary K. Y. Ko with delegation, President of National Taiwan University Lee Si-Chen, Dean of the College of Social Sciences in the National Cheng-Chi University Yih-chyi Chuang and researchers from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and the USA. (more…)

On February 26 (Tuesday) at 16:00 you are invited to the presentation of the book “Užupio respublika” and its translation, which will be held in VMU History Hall (K. Donelaicio str. 58). During the presentation you will meet the author of the book, Korean writer Hailji (the original name Rim Jong Joo), translator from Korean Dr. Martynas Šiaučiūnas- Kačinskas, writer Kornelijus Platelis and researcher of  VMU Centre for Asian Studies Seo Jinseok. (more…)

Laima Jukneviciute, Master’s degree student from Vytautas Magnus University who finished East Asia Region Studies at the VMU Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy in Spring, has been accepted to full-time doctoral studies at the Academy of Korean Studies in South Korea and has won the PhD scholarship from the Goverment of ROK.

Academy of Korean Studies is one of the leading academic institutions in South Korea, actively promoting Korean culture and society studies in the World. Thanks to the cooperation between the Academy and VMU, Laima Jukneviciute was the first student from Lithuania, who got a fellowship at the Academy in the Spring semester of 2012. During her fellowship, she whote her Master thesis, which was successfully defended. During her PhD studies at AKS, Laima is going to continue her research, and the preliminary title of her future Dissertation is “Innovative Gender Imaginaries in South Korea’s Contemporary TV Dramas and Movies: The Dormant Potential of the Cute Male and the Emotionally Emancipated Female in Re-shaping the Global Cinematic Trends”. (more…)

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…)