On October 5 we invite everyone to the official opening ceremony of King Sejong Institute (KSI) in Kaunas at Vytautas Magnus University. The event will start at 15:00 and take place at the 4th floor gallery of V. Putvinskio str. 23 building. After opening greetings, we will invite everyone to see Korean calligraphy exhibition, which is organized in cooperation with Korean community in Lithuania, and enjoy some light snacks.

KSI Kaunas is marking one more step taken by VMU to strengthen mutual understanding and cooperation between East Asia region and Lithuania. Korean studies were started here already 11 years ago, making VMU the first such institution in Lithuania and the Baltic states. At that time students could choose Korean language courses, while latter classes on traditional and contemporary Korean culture and society were integrated in existing East Asian studies programs. VMU is also constantly expanding cooperation with Korean universities (at the moment there are 12 such agreements) and offers students possibility to visit South Korea via exchange studies. The opening of KSI Kaunas is strengthening all these achievements and offers new opportunities to all to learn more about Korea.  (more…)

Congratulations to the Head of VMU Centre for Asian Studies Dr. Aurelijus Zykas, who was elected to the Board of the European Association of Japanese Resource Specialists (EAJRS).

On the 12-15 of September,2018 the Centre for Asian studies together with TUFS Global Japan Office in Kaunas organized international EAJRS conference at VMU. Japanologists from 20 countries came to Kaunas for the conference. This year the main topic of the conference was “(G)localizing Japanese Studies Resources.” Not only discussions took place during the conference but the election for EAJRS Board happened as well, where Dr. Aurelijus Zykas was successfully nominated for the candidacy.

“The opportunity to become a member of EAJRS Board has been a big and an unexpected honor.” said Dr. Aurelijus Zykas, “Since I am the only representative from the Eastern Europe, my main goal is to represent the interests of the Eastern European countries and draw the attention of the Association to the situation and challenges of our region.” (more…)

On the 24th of September Vytautas Magnus University’s Center for Asian Studies alongside the Komaru–Koutsu foundation and Hiroshima University Lithuanian center invites you to participate in the Japanese speech contest. The main topic for this year is going to be transportation.

The best contestant in each categories will be rewarded with great prizes provided by the organizers and the sponsors of this contest.
The author of the best speech will win the opportunity to participate in an international Japanese language program in Hiroshima University!

The participants are going to be divided into 3 levels based on their Japanese language knowledge: beginner, intermediate or advanced. In each level the participants will have to fluently read the speech that they wrote themselves. This year’s speeches should revolve around transportation: traveling, roads, movement and etc. A competent comity is going to rate the contestant speeches as well as ask them questions. (more…)

On September 12-15, 2018 VMU Centre for Asian studies together with the Global Japan Office invites you not to miss the 29^th international EAJRS (European Association of Japanese Recourse Specialists) conference. This year the topic is “(G)localizing Japanese Studies Resources”.

The Conference will attract 97 participants from such countries as Japan, China, USA, Canada, India, France, Switzerland, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Norway, Slovenia etc. The Conference taking place in Kaunas in 2018 will be the first one in the Baltic States.

The main topic of this Conference dedicated to localization of resources in the global context. Furthermore, considering the fact that the Conference is organized in Kaunas, a city having strong relations with Chiune Sugihara, who was saving Jewish lives here in 1939-40, part of the conference will be dedicated to resources related to the World War II. (more…)

We cordially invite you to participate at the events of Sugihara Week 2018, which will take place in Kaunas from 3rd to 9th September 2018.

Sugihara Week, organized for the first time, is the event which aims to perpetuate the achievement of Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara. This personality lived in Kaunas (Lithuania) during 1939-40 and, together with Dutch Consul Jan Zvartendijk, issued the famous „Visas for Life“, thus saving thousands of lives of Jewish refugees.

We invite residents of Kaunas and city guests to plan their time to enjoy the big variety of free events. In the program, musical concerts, symposium, film screenings, public lectures, exhibitions, workshops, etc., are planned in various spaces of Kaunas.

Organizers of the event: Sugihara Group of Kaunas-Japan relations development, Kaunas City Municipality, Vytautas Magnus University Centre for Asian Studies. Main partners: Sugihara Foundation “Diplomats for Life“, Embassy of Japan in Lithuania, Kyumeikan Kendo Dojo, Salon „Jaukūs Namai“, HOF Hotel, etc.

Official programme in English
Official programme in Japanese
Symposium (September 5) programme

You can find more information in the official Facebook page.

Today Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) and Korea University (KU) signed a partnership agreement which allows both institutions to start student exchanges and pursue closer academic cooperation. KU is one of the oldest, most prestigious and highest ranked private universities in South Korea. According to QS World University Rankings, KU falls among top-100 universities in the world and is considered to be among top-3 universities in South Korea. The KU campus is located in the northern part of Seoul where more than 28 000 students seek education in 17 colleges and schools.

Interaction with Korea University was initiated by the Centre for Asian Studies already in 2016 when Prof. Sunhyuk Kim, a renown specialist of Korea’s civil society, was invited to Center’s annual international conference as a keynote speaker. (more…)

July 28, the documentary “Kaunas. The City of Sugihara and Japan” created by the Centre for Asian Studies will be introduced for Japanese society. The Japan Premiere will be taking place on July 28, 13:00 in Gifu City Library. On the same evening, the movie will be shown at Yaotsu Town (which has a museum dedicated for Č. Sugihara). During the screenings, Dr Aurelijus Zykas, one of the creators of the movie, will participate. These screenings are a part of the festival “Lithuania NOW” which is organized for the first time by Gifu Prefecture and aims to introduce Lithuania.

In the documentary, the story of Kaunas–Japan bilateral relations is revealed through four personalities who prior the World War II became bridges between the two countries. It is Yukichi Fukuzawa – the first Japanese who mentioned and wrote about Kaunas in his diary. In 1862 together with the mission of 36 (more…)

VMU Centre for Asian Studies is entering summer holiday season. Due to that, if you are planning to visit the Centre on July 9 – August 13 please contact our staff in order to arrange a meeting. We apologize for the inconveniences.

The staff of the Centre for Asian studies are grateful to students, their clubs and all partners for the fruitful collaborations during the past study years. We hope that during the summer vacation all of You will get plenty of rest and come back full of energy and fresh ideas which will be needed in the upcoming semester.

Last week Centre for Asian Studies staff dr. Linas Didvalis spent five days at Waseda University (Tokyo, Japan) as a visiting scholar. The visit was based on Erasmus+ Staff Mobility for Teaching program and consisted of a number of lectures for Waseda University students that covered such topics as Europe-Japan relations and China’s current foreign policy. The visit also allowed for Dr. Didvalis to conduct his own research and to have meetings with local professors to discuss cooperation between Waseda University and Vytautas Magnus University. The two universities entered partnership in 2001 which since then resulted in numerous student exchanges and increasingly strong academic connections. (more…)

Public Bachelor thesis defense of the students of East Asian Cultures and Languages program will take place this year on June 4th, 5th and 6th at the Faculty of Humanities in Putvinskis str. 23, room 310. On July 4 the defense will start at 10:00, during the other days – at 9:30.

The public Master thesis defense of East Asia Region studies program student Kristina Gedminaitė will be held on June 4. Her topic is “Korean Peninsula: the impact of Sunshine policy and United Nations’ sanctions”. The defense will be taking place at 9:30 at the Faculty of Humanities in V. Putvinskis str. 23, room 310.

Everybody is invited to listen the presentations and to participate in the discussions.

The list of students and their topics.

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.

Sorry, this entry is only available in Lithuanian.

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…)

Sorry, this entry is only available in Lithuanian.

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…)