On Monday, 29 January, the Ministry of Education and Science (MoES), Liepaja City Municipality, Riga Technical University (RTU) and Liepaja University (LiepU) will sign a cooperation agreement on the integration of Liepāja University into the RTU ecosystem. The signing of the agreement will take place at 10.30 at Liepāja University, 14 Lielā Street, Senate meeting hall.
The event will be attended and the agreement will be signed by RTU Rector Tālis Juhna, LiepU Rector Dace Medne, Director of the Higher Education, Science and Innovation Department of the Ministry of Education Diāna Laipniece and Liepāja City Council Chairman Gunārs Ansiņš.
According to the government decision, LiepU will join RTU as a separate unit on 1 March. This will create a new educational ecosystem in Kurzeme, strengthening engineering, high-tech and innovation capacities, thus contributing to the region's growth, while preserving and developing LiepU's characteristic humanities and social sciences. Given LiepU's strong pedagogical orientation, the development of engineering pedagogy will also be promoted in the future, offering a solution to the shortage of science teachers in Latvian schools.
LiepU will continue to retain its autonomy, but consolidation will allow it to become more competitive, more efficient, increase its scientific capacity more rapidly and strengthen its role in the development of Kurzeme and Latvia as a whole.
RTU will ensure continuity of studies at LiepU, will continue to implement study programmes in the accredited fields of study, as well as licensed or approved professional development education programmes, professional competence development programmes for teachers and professional qualification development programmes. RTU will also take over the employment relations with the academic and general staff of the university involved in the implementation of study programmes, liabilities in the implementation of several European Union (EU) Structural Funds projects, and real estate.
RTU is a modern, internationally renowned and prestigious multidisciplinary technical university, the only one of its kind in Latvia. RTU offers a comprehensive education in high technology and engineering, as well as in social sciences and humanities.
LiepU is the largest higher education institution in Kurzeme, offering courses in social sciences and entrepreneurship, humanities and arts, natural sciences, mathematics and information technologies, teacher education and educational sciences, as well as social welfare.
The aim of LiepU is to be a promoter of education, science, innovation and cultural development of Liepāja and Kurzeme, providing competitive, nationally and internationally relevant studies necessary for the development of the region, conducting study-related, nationally and internationally recognised research and contributing to the sustainable development of society.
