Academic Centre
Contents include:
Business Incubator Open for New Prospective Entrepreneurs The Business Incubator (BI) in the Faculty of Economics and Management welcomes new prospective entrepreneurs in the new academic year. Starting the third year of work, the BI has admitted 20 teams or 52 participants. Some prospective entrepreneurs shared their business ideas with us: professional cooking app Cookster – application software that helps to acquire cooking skills; social network for neighbours azza.me; IT system for Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) (World Canine Organisation); mobile application Findo that helps finding your way around without internet connection; manufacturing of functional design objects, for example, kitchen boards; manufacturing of underwear and accessories. The BI participants have access to various free services, such as office premises, prototype studio, storage facilities, support for video-making and processing, expert consulting, etc. Five weeks in the Ebola-affected Sierra Leone Alma Mater meets Antons Mozaļevskis three weeks after his returning from Ebola affected Sierra Leone. Mozaļevskis worked as a general practitioner in Latvia, studied sociology at the UL Faculty of Social Sciences, and then went to Spain, where he acquired epidemiologist’s qualification. As a health care specialist he participated in a mission in Sierra Leone. In the interview Antons explains his reason for taking a risk and going to this African country, and how the knowledge in sociology helped him look at the spread of the virus from a different perspective. Professors and their pets Since 4th October is the World Animal Day, autumn seems an appropriate time for animal protection events. Alma Mater decided to ask the University lecturers and employees to tell us about their pets and their life stories. We could not find any exotic pet owner, but four colleagues agreed to tell us about their cats and dogs. Jautrīte Briede, Professor at the Faculty of Law, Enija Pohomova, the Programme Secretary of the Doctoral programme in Theology and Science of Religions, Vita Zelče, Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences, and Madars Štramdiers, Director of the Public Relations Department, share their pet stories with the readers. Studying the Bible translation by Ernst Glück Jolanta Wiśnioch is a doctoral student at the UL Faculty of Humanities. The object of her research is Ernst Glück’s (1652-1705) translation of the Bible, and the theme for her Doctoral Dissertation -“The Verb in Glück’s Bible Translation”. She obtained her master’s degree at the University of Warsaw, Faculty of Applied Linguistics. Jolanta speaks about how she chose her dissertation theme, how much she likes the Latvian language, and why it is so exciting to study ancient texts. LU Open Minded – higher education online Today it is a common practice to settle one’s accounts and purchase goods on the internet. In Estonia even elections were organised online. The education system is witnessing similar changes – it is the second semester for the UL project Open Minded to offer free bachelor’s level courses in Latvian. Eleven lecture courses have been offered to listeners, covering such fields as natural sciences, social and humanitarian sciences, economy, psychology, medicine, and others. There is also a sub-project Open Minded Practica available for students. UL Open Minded has plenty of listeners – a total of around 5000 people have registered for the lecture courses, and 350 full-time and online listeners have completed the course and received a certificate thereof. “Searching for the Mysteries of the Universe” by Ilgonis Vilks was rated as arousing the greatest interest among listeners. Toms Rēķis – One Man Band Toms Rēķis is a doctorate student at the UL Faculty of Chemistry. In the daytime, he studies the crystalline forms of active substances of drugs in the chemical laboratory. In the evenings, he masters conductor skills at Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music. He tells us about the beginnings of the youth symphonic rock orchestra ''Kazanovas Orķestris'' in 2008, about his interest for chemistry, and how to manage it all. Toms’ motto for life is – the more you do, the more you can do! Research in migration of bats – an opportunity to reveal the unknown In August the UL Institute of Biology, Ornithological Station in Pape launched an ambitious international bat research project. German and Latvian biologists made a unique creel for capturing migrating bats. During the next five years, the creel will be used in the autumn season by the scientists from the UL Faculty of Biology, Latvia University of Agriculture, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, and Leibniz Institute in Berlin. The scientists made experiments with captured bats to find out how they determine the direction of migration. They also ringed the bats, performed various measurements, and collected samples for further research. The previous work by the scientists of Pape’s station allows to record which bat species were present at that time in Pape, and which of them migrated in Latvia more than 20 years ago. A new student-created website for students This year the UL celebrated its 95th anniversary, and it deserved a good and big gift. One has been made by its most important people – students. Since November 24, anyone can get acquainted with the new UL student medium studentiem.lu.lv that brings together already existing UL media - mansmedijs.lv, KIVI.TV, radio NABA, ubisunt.lv, as well as the homepages and latest information from the Business Incubator and the Student Council. Moreover, students worked hand in hand to create video, audio, news and entertainment content for their peers. Student Council Presents Annual Awards Every year the UL Student Council organises Annual Awards Ceremony to look back on the brightest events and honour the people of the year. This year, on December 4, the Council awarded winners in 15 nominations. Nominations can be made by anyone in the UL community – by students, faculty or staff members. This year the Council received 200 nominations, each evaluated by the jury of UL student and staff representatives. Eventually, Ralfs Kokins, Dean of the Faculty of Theology, was awarded as the Dean of the Year; Elza Žumbure was awarded as the Student of the Year; Faculty of Biology was acknowledged as the Student Self-Government of the Year; Edgars Brēķis, Professor of Faculty of Economics and Management, was awarded as the Professor of the Year; outdoor lecture room built on the Faculty of Humanities patio was acknowledged as the Year’s Foremost Innovation.
Business Incubator Open for New Prospective Entrepreneurs The Business Incubator (BI) in the Faculty of Economics and Management welcomes new prospective entrepreneurs in the new academic year. Starting the third year of work, the BI has admitted 20 teams or 52 participants. Some prospective entrepreneurs shared their business ideas with us: professional cooking app Cookster – application software that helps to acquire cooking skills; social network for neighbours azza.me; IT system for Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) (World Canine Organisation); mobile application Findo that helps finding your way around without internet connection; manufacturing of functional design objects, for example, kitchen boards; manufacturing of underwear and accessories. The BI participants have access to various free services, such as office premises, prototype studio, storage facilities, support for video-making and processing, expert consulting, etc. Five weeks in the Ebola-affected Sierra Leone Alma Mater meets Antons Mozaļevskis three weeks after his returning from Ebola affected Sierra Leone. Mozaļevskis worked as a general practitioner in Latvia, studied sociology at the UL Faculty of Social Sciences, and then went to Spain, where he acquired epidemiologist’s qualification. As a health care specialist he participated in a mission in Sierra Leone. In the interview Antons explains his reason for taking a risk and going to this African country, and how the knowledge in sociology helped him look at the spread of the virus from a different perspective. Professors and their pets Since 4th October is the World Animal Day, autumn seems an appropriate time for animal protection events. Alma Mater decided to ask the University lecturers and employees to tell us about their pets and their life stories. We could not find any exotic pet owner, but four colleagues agreed to tell us about their cats and dogs. Jautrīte Briede, Professor at the Faculty of Law, Enija Pohomova, the Programme Secretary of the Doctoral programme in Theology and Science of Religions, Vita Zelče, Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences, and Madars Štramdiers, Director of the Public Relations Department, share their pet stories with the readers. Studying the Bible translation by Ernst Glück Jolanta Wiśnioch is a doctoral student at the UL Faculty of Humanities. The object of her research is Ernst Glück’s (1652-1705) translation of the Bible, and the theme for her Doctoral Dissertation -“The Verb in Glück’s Bible Translation”. She obtained her master’s degree at the University of Warsaw, Faculty of Applied Linguistics. Jolanta speaks about how she chose her dissertation theme, how much she likes the Latvian language, and why it is so exciting to study ancient texts. LU Open Minded – higher education online Today it is a common practice to settle one’s accounts and purchase goods on the internet. In Estonia even elections were organised online. The education system is witnessing similar changes – it is the second semester for the UL project Open Minded to offer free bachelor’s level courses in Latvian. Eleven lecture courses have been offered to listeners, covering such fields as natural sciences, social and humanitarian sciences, economy, psychology, medicine, and others. There is also a sub-project Open Minded Practica available for students. UL Open Minded has plenty of listeners – a total of around 5000 people have registered for the lecture courses, and 350 full-time and online listeners have completed the course and received a certificate thereof. “Searching for the Mysteries of the Universe” by Ilgonis Vilks was rated as arousing the greatest interest among listeners. Toms Rēķis – One Man Band Toms Rēķis is a doctorate student at the UL Faculty of Chemistry. In the daytime, he studies the crystalline forms of active substances of drugs in the chemical laboratory. In the evenings, he masters conductor skills at Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music. He tells us about the beginnings of the youth symphonic rock orchestra ''Kazanovas Orķestris'' in 2008, about his interest for chemistry, and how to manage it all. Toms’ motto for life is – the more you do, the more you can do! Research in migration of bats – an opportunity to reveal the unknown In August the UL Institute of Biology, Ornithological Station in Pape launched an ambitious international bat research project. German and Latvian biologists made a unique creel for capturing migrating bats. During the next five years, the creel will be used in the autumn season by the scientists from the UL Faculty of Biology, Latvia University of Agriculture, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, and Leibniz Institute in Berlin. The scientists made experiments with captured bats to find out how they determine the direction of migration. They also ringed the bats, performed various measurements, and collected samples for further research. The previous work by the scientists of Pape’s station allows to record which bat species were present at that time in Pape, and which of them migrated in Latvia more than 20 years ago. A new student-created website for students This year the UL celebrated its 95th anniversary, and it deserved a good and big gift. One has been made by its most important people – students. Since November 24, anyone can get acquainted with the new UL student medium studentiem.lu.lv that brings together already existing UL media - mansmedijs.lv, KIVI.TV, radio NABA, ubisunt.lv, as well as the homepages and latest information from the Business Incubator and the Student Council. Moreover, students worked hand in hand to create video, audio, news and entertainment content for their peers. Student Council Presents Annual Awards Every year the UL Student Council organises Annual Awards Ceremony to look back on the brightest events and honour the people of the year. This year, on December 4, the Council awarded winners in 15 nominations. Nominations can be made by anyone in the UL community – by students, faculty or staff members. This year the Council received 200 nominations, each evaluated by the jury of UL student and staff representatives. Eventually, Ralfs Kokins, Dean of the Faculty of Theology, was awarded as the Dean of the Year; Elza Žumbure was awarded as the Student of the Year; Faculty of Biology was acknowledged as the Student Self-Government of the Year; Edgars Brēķis, Professor of Faculty of Economics and Management, was awarded as the Professor of the Year; outdoor lecture room built on the Faculty of Humanities patio was acknowledged as the Year’s Foremost Innovation.
- <link eng general press almamater _blank>Magazine "Alma Mater"
