The Invisible College
Junior
Achievement Lithuania
Lithuanian Journalism Centre
Soros International House
The
Invisible College is an institution established by the Open Society Fund-
Lithuania in 1997, to provide gifted students of the humanities and social
sciences alongside the basic studies with the chance to extend their knowledge
in critical thought and independent research work, and to expand their range of
interests by combining special and interdisciplinary studies.
The main principles of the college are:
·
One-to-one work by a professor with a student. Each student has an
academic supervisor or tutor.
·
Invisible studies. Studies in a college do not confer officially
recognized credits.
·
Students
from regular departments of Lithuanian universities are admitted.
A student in the college can take the same subject as he is studying in the basic higher school. Subjects that are not studied at university, or are studied as parallel subjects, are encouraged. Professors from Lithuanian and foreign universities are invited to teach at the college.
The
college has students from Vilnius University, Vilnius Art Academy, Klaipėda
University, and Vytautas Magnus University. In parallel with the individual
studies, the college conducts two student seminars: on philosophy-culture
studies and history-sociology, and a major seminar for tutors and students. A
summer school is organized, this being the time for students to take tests on
the work done.
The
college is part of the International Invisible College network.
Junior
Achievement Lithuania (JAL) implements an applied economics curriculum in
schools, according to which senior students learn the main concepts of a market
economy, learn to model the market by computer, create educational stock
companies, and come into contact with business people. Teachers are trained to
work with this programme, and teaching aids are published.
Over
4,000 pupils from 190 classes, 105 schools and 43 cities of Lithuania studied
according to the applied economics curriculum in the academic year 1997/98. JAL
organized one seminar for training new teachers and two seminars for the
advanced training of existing teachers, where they could improve their skills.
Some 60 JAL student companies operated within the period. A fair for
student companies was held. Over 60 students from the whole of Lithuania
participated in a student summer camp. In cooperation with the Ministry of
Education and Science and higher schools of Lithuania, an economics olympiad was
organized. Together with the Ministry of Education and Science, a system of
attestation for teachers of economics was put in place. In cooperation with the
firm Vilfima the first junior investor competition was held.
Thirty-three JAL student teams participated in the Hewlett-Packard
International Competition in 1998. A total of 660 teams from 40 countries took
part. Two teams from Lithuania reached the superfinals and went to Atlanta
(USA), where they took third and seventh place. The students from Lithuania were
the first out of all Central and Eastern European countries.
A new student summer project was started. Through an agreement with
Lithuania Statoil, over 50 students had experience working in petrol stations.
The project took place in Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Alytus, Šiauliai and
Utena.
Contacts with business people have been further developed. Over 100
business consultants representatives of the business world - attended
schools and JAL events. Two seminars according to the adult programme Principles
and Practice of a Market Economy were also held.
The
centre helps journalists to improve their professional skills, advises media
workers, and arranges seminars, conferences and courses for secondary school
students planning to study journalism. It also publishes professional
literature, provides public relations basic courses. Lecturers from Lithuania
and foreign countries give lectures at the centre.
During
the year 1998, the centre organized six conferences on the issues of the
regulation of radio and television, equal opportunities in the media, and the
role of journalists in reflecting European integration problems; discussions
focused on the media situation in the Baltic countries and the media as the
basis of democracy.
Newspaper
designers, managers, representatives of regional televisions and the press,
etc., were invited to attend ten seminars. Together with the Chief Electoral
Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Swedish Embassy, a seminar
for Byelorussian journalists, The Work of Electoral Commissions on the Day of
Elections in the Republic of Lithuania, was organized.
The
centre has developed long-term courses: for secondary school students planning
to study journalism; ten-month professional journalism courses; and semiannual
qualification improvement courses in public relations.
The
LJC sent journalists on study leaves, and informed international organizations
on the media situation and freedom of the press in the country. The centre
co-operated with government institutions, foreign embassies, the European
Commission, the Council of Europe, the World Association of Newspapers (WAN),
the Baltic Media Centre, the Nordic Centre for Journalism, the US Information
Service (USIS), the European Journalism Centre, and other international
institutions.
This
is a foreign language teaching centre and a member of the worldwide
International House organization. SIH centres operate in Vilnius and Kaunas.
Here children and adults study general English; entrepreneurs, bankers and civil
servants attend courses in business and special English. Those who wish are able
to prepare for international Cambridge examinations (FCE, CAE and CEIBT).
Opportunities are provided to study the language abroad, in other International
House centres now operating in 30 countries. English language summer schools for
schoolchildren in Lithuania and abroad are organized annually together with
foreign partners. In 1998, in an SIH English
language summer school in Druskininkai, 100
children participated, of which ten were teenagers from Byelorussian and four
from Lithuanian childrens homes who were the winners of a competition
organized by the SIH. The SIH and Open Society Fund - Lithuania covered the
expenses for their participation.
At
the beginning of the autumn semester a computer centre for individual language
studies started operating at the SIH, where students, using special programmes
and the Internet, can perfect their language knowledge independently.
Alongside
language teaching, the centre deals with professional training of English
teachers. Seminars for English language teachers are arranged at the SIH
Teachers Centre. Here, teachers are taught the most advanced methods of
teaching English, and can share their professional experience. In 1998, in a
summer school for non-specialist teachers of English, alongside educators
working in Lithuanian educational institutions, ten teachers from Byelorussia
participated.
The centre is involved in the SPELT Programme (Soros Professional
English Language Teaching Programme) of the Soros Foundations Network, according
to which five teachers of English from the USA work in schools in Lithuania.
Support
granted by the OSFL 45,345 USD