To strengthen cooperation and promote the innovation and technology skills of those employed in education and science, Riga Technical University (RTU) is visited by University of Buffalo Vice Chancellor of International Education Nojin Kwak and Executive Vice Chancellor John J. Wood and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) J-WEL founder Vijay Kumar and Associate Director Julia Reynolds Cuellar.
During the visit, representatives of the University of Buffalo and MIT, as well as RTU Riga Business School, got to know the work of RTU scientists, students, and innovators, visiting the Science and Innovation Center, Water Research and Environmental Biotechnology Laboratory, Functional Materials Technology Scientific Laboratory and Fiber Optics Transmission Systems Laboratory. In the laboratories, they were interested in the most current research of RTU scientists, for example in hydrogen and chip technologies, but in the Science and Innovation Center they learned about RTU's experience in involving students in the creation of innovations and cooperation with industry.
During the meeting with RTU Vice Rector for Development Artūrs Zeps, cooperation and its expansion with the most prestigious higher education institutions in the USA were also discussed.
After the visit to RTU, the representatives of the University of Buffalo and MIT together with the management of RTU and RTU Riga Business School also met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Krišjānis Kariņš and specialists of the State Chancellery. Cooperation with the University of Buffalo, MIT and Harvard University has already given researchers, teachers and students the opportunity to participate in experience exchange and professional development programs, according to the State Chancellery. During the meeting, future cooperation was also discussed, expanding learning opportunities for Latvian doctoral students and school teachers in the USA. It is also essential to develop an innovation laboratory in the field of education, so that the state administration, entrepreneurs and universities can jointly create solutions necessary for the development of human resources necessary for the national economy.
During their visit to Latvia, representatives of US universities participated in the international conference «Light Up Latvia» organized by the RTU Riga Business School, the purpose of which was to promote the development of innovation-based higher education. At the conference, representatives of Latvian education, science, business and state administration had the opportunity to take over the best experience of MIT, Harvard University and the University of Buffalo, as well as listen to the recommendations of the creators of the international ranking «Times Higher Education», moving Latvian higher education towards the level of the world's most prestigious universities.
A look into the conference «Light Up Latvia».
