Members of the new Lithuanian Research Council begin their term of office
On 29 June 2023, the new 10th term of the Lithuanian Research Council (LRC) Expert Committees on Humanities and Social Sciences and on Natural and Technical Sciences and the newly established Expert Committee on Science and Studies Policy started their work, which will make proposals on the improvement of the Lithuanian science and studies policy. For the new five-year term of office, the LRC Selection Committee selected 20 members of the Expert Committees from more than 50 candidates: 7 members of the Committee on Humanities and Social Sciences, 6 members of the Committee on Natural and Technical Sciences, and 7 members of the Committee on Science and Higher Education Policy. All the members selected and approved by the LRC Board are representatives of the elite of Lithuanian science and society, who have contributed to significant scientific discoveries, innovations and progress.
On 29 June, at the first meetings of the 10th term committees, the chairs of the LRC Expert Committees were elected: the Expert Committee on Science and Studies Policy will be chaired by PhD. Marius Jurgilas, professor of practice at VU, innovation laboratory "Super How?", Phd. Jurgita Verbickienė, Professor at the VU Department of Theory of History and Cultural History and Head of the VU Centre for the Study of the History of Eastern European Jewry, will chair the Expert Committee on Humanities and Social Sciences, and Prof. Vilmantė Borutaitė, Chief Researcher at the Biochemistry Laboratory of the LSMU Institute of Neuroscience will chair the Expert Committee on Natural and Technical Sciences.
"It is encouraging to see the launch of the new LRC Expert Committees, which are to act as public advisors to the country's major advisors on the formulation and acquisition of scientific research and development (R&D) policy. In the Seimas, for two months in a row, we carried out the unprecedented reduction of the funding of scientific research and development from the bureau's funds, which has brought the LMT more than two generations, and the funding of R&D has increased by 70 per cent." - said Prof. Artūras Žukauskas, Chairman of the Committee on Education and Science of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, congratulating the members of the Committee on Education and Science of the Republic of Lithuania who have started their work. "The new developments that are expected in the future, in terms of the funding of scientific research, are that in Lithuania we should move from the funding of high-level science to the investment in those areas of science that are not of particular importance to the country. I invite you to take a closer look at the young people's experiences. It is not the simple investigations connected with the activities of particular people or agencies, not the simple insights created in the current inscriptions, which are the driving force behind the new projects. The main driver of the promotion is the wave of young people, who have been transformed by many years from the science and the institutions of the past, and who are involved in the business and the public sector", - A. Žukauskas stressed in his speech.
Gintautas Jakštas, Vice-Minister of Education, Science and Sport, member of the LMT Board, thanked the outgoing members of the IX Committee for their active involvement in strengthening the country's science. "Their work in the LRC has been challenging – many changes have been implemented in terms of expanding the responsibilities of the institution, merging the Agency for Science, Innovation and Technology, establishing a new Science and Studies Policy Committee, and developing new programmes. We are also grateful to the country's scientific community, which actively participated in the competitions for new committee members. Lithuania boasts a large number of excellent scientists who make the country famous and are genuinely concerned about its science policy and quality. The new committee teams will have a huge responsibility. We are pleased that investment in science is growing rapidly, and we need to ensure that it is well spent, and that we strive for the highest quality of science and its impact across a wide range of activities: engaging students in science, providing guidance to decision makers, and creating innovation in business," – said G. Jakštas.
Science and studies policy will be shaped by a wide range of expert knowledge
The newly established Committee of Experts on Science and Studies Policy will be of particular importance for the formulation of science policy, which will include PhD. Limas Kupčinskas, chief researcher at the Institute of Digestive System Research at LSMU, PhD. Artiom Magomedov, Senior Researcher, Department of Organic Chemistry, KTU, PhD. Nerija Putinaitė, Associate Professor, Institute of International Relations and Political Science, Vilnius University, PhD. Virginijus Šikšnys, Distinguished Professor, Vilnius University, Chairman of the Council of the Life Sciences Centre, PhD. Giedrius Viliūnas, Member of the Council, Ministry of Regional Development, Latvia, Giedrius Viliūnas, Advisor to the Office of the Future Committee of the Seimas, Prof. Phd. Saulė Mačiukaitė-Žvinienė, Chairperson of the Lithuanian Education Council, Head of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Development at Vilniaus university.
"I am glad that we have managed to bring the most talented scientists, R&D practitioners and visionaries with the highest competences to this important committee of Lithuanian science policy, and I firmly believe that their proposals will significantly contribute to the main goal of the LRC – to promote Lithuania's competitive participation in the creation of global knowledge," says Dr. Gintaras Valinčius, Chairman of LRC. "All the committees have an important and significant task ahead of them over the next five years – to ensure that Lithuania is leading the way in implementing the fundamental changes that are being observed in the global science landscape, primarily related to the qualitative assessment and funding of R&D. LMT has a lot of work ahead of it in defining and implementing recommendations on open science, the application of research ethics standards, and the career development of young researchers and attracting talent to Lithuania", –emphasised G. Valinčius.
The Committee of Experts on Science and Studies Policy will plan the development of research infrastructure, examine the science and studies system and make proposals on the implementation of the Open Science Policy and the observance of ethical principles of scientific activity. The Committee will also contribute to the integration of Lithuanian R&D actors into the international research area, the participation of LRC in international organisations and European Research Area initiatives.
Focus on quality peer review of research
The new Committees of Experts in the Humanities and Social Sciences and in the Natural and Technical Sciences will focus on the quality of expert assessment of R&D activities, which requires scientific expertise. These committees will play an important role in summarising the results of the programmes and instruments funded by the LRC and in making proposals for research development. These committees will also make proposals for expert reports to the national science and studies policy-making institutions and on R&D activities in individual fields of science in Lithuania.
The new members of the Expert Committee on Humanities and Social Sciences are: PhD. Povilas Aleksandravičius, professor at the Institute of Humanities, MRU; PhD. Saulius Keturakis, professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts, KTU; PhD. Agnė Limantė, Chief Researcher, Institute of Law, Lithuanian Social Sciences Centre, PhD. Rima Povilionienė, Professor, Department of Musicology, LAMT, PhD. Jelena Stankevičienė, Professor, Department of Finance, VU, and Dr. Jolanta Šinkūnienė, Associate Professor, Institute of English, Romance and Classical Studies, Faculty of Arts, University of Latvia, Vilnius. The committee will continue to be chaired by the previous term of office: PhD. Liutauras Kraniauskas, Head of the Centre for Social Change Studies at Klaipėda University, PhD. Mikas Vaicekauskas, Head of the Textual Studies Unit at the Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore, PhD. Inga Vinogradnaitė, Associate Professor at the Department of Political Theory at the VU Institute of International Relations and Political Science and PhD. Justinas Žilinskas, Professor at the MRU Institute of International and EU Law.
The Committee of Experts on Natural and Technical Sciences will be composed of the following new members: PhD. Gediminas Brazaitis, Professor at the Academy of Agriculture, VMU, PhD. Saulius Antanas Juršėnas, Professor at the Institute of Photonics and Nanotechnologies, VMU, PhD. Augustina Jankauskiene, Head of the Paediatric Centre of VUL SK, PhD. Gražina Tautvaišienė, professor of the Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astronomy, VU, and PhD. Petras Rimantas Venskutonis, professor of the Faculty of Chemical Technology, KTU. The Committee will continue to be chaired by PhD. Edita Baltrėnaitė-Gedienė, Professor, Institute of Environmental Protection, Vilnius TECH, PhD. Julius Žilinskas, Senior Researcher, Institute of Data Science and Digital Technologies, Vilnius University, PhD. Laimas Virginijus Jonaitis, Professor, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, PhD. Narimantas Evaldas Samalavičius, Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, and Prof. PhD. Egidijus Šarauskis, Director of the VDU Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Safety.