Akadēmiskais centrs
During the annual meeting of the Vertically Integrated Project (VIP) Consortium in Georgia Institute of Technology, USA, the RSU received award for its success in building partnerships with European HEIs and in sharing its experience in integrating of research in the study process. The RSU is the only European University that has received this high award.
VIPs are innovative programmes linking research and study process, and this initiative launched by Georgia Institute of Technology in the 1990ies has been successfully implemented also in many American and European HEIs.
The VIP Consortium is a non-profit alliance established to support and promote the success of VIPs in colleges and universities worldwide.
The RSU received the Partnership Building Award for creation of partnerships within the framework of the project “HIVE: HEI Innovation for Knowledge Intensive Entrepreneurship” financed by EIT Health. The HIVE project aims to strengthen innovation and entrepreneurial capacity in its higher education institutions by networking and exchanging the best practices identified, improving the commercialisation innovation ecosystems in the research institutions and higher education institutions. The key objectives of the project include development and implementation of a new entrepreneurship and innovation management study course and sharing experience with the partner HEIs.
Professor Ivars Vanadziņš, Director of Institute of Occupational Safety and Environmental Health and VIP expert at the RSU, emphasises: “Research is one of the strategic goals of the RSU as a science university, and this high award is a proof that we have chosen the right way. Incorporation of VIPs in the study process is instrumental for integration of research and studies, thus educating a new generation of researchers who gain practical skills in planning and conducting of research projects already in their early study years”.
The RSU introduced VIPs in 2019 as a new and innovative supplement to its study process, integrating research and studies. Participation in VIPs is a great opportunity for students to gain in-depth practical skills and knowledge necessary for conducting their own research.
VIP teams are multidisciplinary and vertically integrated – it means that first year students, master-degree and post-graduate students from different programmes can work together as a team for several semesters under the guidance of experienced researchers.
