A new year precedes new beginnings, including at RTU. Beginning January 1, nine academic faculties have merged into four as a result of the consolidation process - the Faculty of Civil and Mechanical Engineering (FCME), the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology (FNST), Faculty of Computer Science, Information Technology and Energy (FCSITE), as well as Faculty of Engineering Economics and Management (FEEM) - and Institute of Architecture and Design (IAD).
The Faculty of Civil and Mechanical Engineering was created through the merging of the Faculty of Civil Engineering and the Faculty of Mechanical, Transport and Aeronautics. Acting FCME dean is Professor Līga Gaile, the leading researcher of the Institute of Structural Engineering.
The Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology is built on the foundation of the Faculty of Materials Science and Applied Chemistry (FMSAC), with the addition of the Institute of Environmental Protection and Heat Systems, which was previously housed in the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Environmental Engineering, and the Institute of Water Systems and Biotechnology, which, in turn, belonged to the Faculty of Civil Engineering in the faculty. Academician Māris Turks, who was the dean of FMSAC, has become the dean of FNST.
The Faculty of Computer Science, Information Technology and Energy was created through the combination the former Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology (FCSIT), Faculty of Electronics and Telecommunications, Faculty of E-study Technology and Humanities and Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Environmental Engineering. Professor Agris Ņikitenko, the former FCSIT dean, has been appointed the dean of this faculty.
In addition, the Faculty of Engineering Economics and Management (FEEM) has kept its name and Jānis Caune, a practitioner of strategic management and change management, has been selected as its acting dean. Professor Caune has been an assistant professor at FEEM, participated in the implementation of several RTU projects, and also worked in leading positions in several companies, e.g., «PET Baltija», «Daugava», and «BALTA eko».
Finally, the Institute of Architecture and Design was created by combining the Faculty of Architecture and the FMSAC Institute of Design Technologies. Māra Liepa-Zemeša, who currently holds the position of head of the Department of Territorial Planning of the Riga City Council, has been selected as the director of the institute and will start working at the institute on January 15.
