News

This autumn, Vilnius University (VU) is launching a new cycle of the VU TechHub Pre-Accelerator programme, inviting students from all VU faculties and units to gain hands-on experience of building a startup. The 20-week programme is open to students at different starting points: those who already have an idea and a team, those with an idea but still looking for teammates, and those keen to join a startup being developed by other participants. 

The seminar will take place on 8 October at 14:00 val. at NFTMC D401. 

The lecture will be delivered by Prof. Habil. Dr Kęstutis Pyragas (Center for Physical Sciences and Technology).

Congratulations to Abdul Mannan Majeed on the successful defence of his PhD thesis in Physics, titled “Multication CsZnPbI3 Perovskites for Solar Cells and Lasers”. Supervisor – Dr Patrik Ščajev.

Vilnius University (VU) invites school students and anyone interested in higher education to take part in its traditional 'Student for a Day' event, taking place on 12–16 October. Registration is now open.

Last week, representatives of Vilnius University’s (VU) leadership and academic community visited the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). Chairperson of the VU Senate, Prof. Eglė Lastauskienė, VU Chancellor Raimundas Balčiūnaitis, Executive Director of the Lithuanian Consortium for Particle Physics, Prof. Ramūnas Aleksiejūnas, and Head of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Development at the VU Business School, Prof. Saulė Mačiukaitė-Žvinienė, met with CERN’s leadership. 

Congratulations to Marijus Ambrozas on the successful defence of his PhD thesis in Physics, titled “Precision of the Drell–Yan process measurement with the CMS Phase–2 upgrade”. Supervisor – Dr Andrius Juodagalvis.

Mention the word 'perovskite' to most people, and you'll probably get a puzzled look and a question: what exactly is that? It's an understandable reaction. This class of materials, defined by its unique crystal structure, is still mostly known only to scientist community, where it has been the subject of intense research for years. However, perovskites, a new generation of semiconductor materials, hold enormous promise for making solar cells both cleaner and more efficient. Researchers at the Institute of Photonics and Nanotechnology, part of Vilnius University's Faculty of Physics, are actively studying these materials.

Congratulations to Evaldas Kažukauskas on the successful defence of his PhD thesis in Physics, titled Femtosecond Laser Ablation and Surface Roughness Control. Supervisor – Dr Simas Butkus.

Vilnius University (VU) is continuing its collaboration with the National Taipei University of Technology (NTUT) and has launched a call for joint research projects. This year, researchers in physics, chemistry, environment and sustainability, information technology, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity are invited to apply for funding.

On 18 September, Eimantas Ledinauskas successfully defended his PhD thesis titled “Neural Quantum States for Many-Body Physics: Limitations and Alternative Optimization Approaches”. Supervisor – Prof. Egidijus Anisimovas.

On 18 September, Ignas Lukošiūnas successfully defended his PhD thesis titled “Investigation of Laser Radiation Control via 2D Thin Film Guided Mode Resonance Filters”. Supervisor – Prof. Dr (full HP) Kęstutis Staliūnas.

Funding is available for projects in various fields and formats – research, seminars, conferences, publications, etc. The next deadline for applications is 15 October.

Dr Kazimieras Černis, a researcher at the Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astronomy, Faculty of Physics, Vilnius University (VU), has named an asteroid in honour of the priest Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas. This commemorates one of Lithuania’s most prominent writers and public figures, whose 157th birthday is celebrated on 20 September. 

Arqus offers the “Leading Innovation Management” micro-credential, designed to strengthen the strategic and leadership capabilities needed to manage innovation in dynamic and uncertain environments and to develop strategies that create lasting value for organisations and society.

Arqus is inviting tutors to join the 13th edition of the Arqus Café, which will run from 19 October to 18 December 2026. Applications are open until 19 September.

On 19 September, Vilnius University (VU) will hold its Alumni Festival for the third time. Alumni returning to their Alma Mater, together with their family members, friends, and the whole VU community, are invited to meet at VU, take part in discussions, a quiz, tours and other activities, and round off the evening with a concert by the band Biplan.

Faculty of Physics, in cooperation with the laser technology leader "Light Conversion", invites students to apply for a scholarship.

For the first time in Lithuania, on 14 September the CERN LHCb (Large Hadron Collider beauty) collaboration conference has started in Vilnius University (VU). The event, LHCb Week Vilnius, brought together hundreds of scientists, engineers, and early-career researchers involved in the LHCb collaboration, representing research institutions from around the world.

In 1966, just six years after the world’s first laser was created, the first laser in Lithuania was fired at Vilnius University. Today, the country is home to more than 60 laser and photonics companies, with over 2,000 highly qualified specialists working across the sector and its research centres. More than 90% of Lithuania’s laser industry output is exported.

“Whilst travelling, I realised that sometimes we live in bubbles and the problems we face seem bigger than they really are,” says Mindaugas Gudaitis, a bachelor’s student at the Faculty of Physics, Vilnius University (VU). He spent the spring semester on an exchange programme at Chung-Ang University, where he gained not only academic knowledge but also a unique cultural experience.