From Challenges to Solutions: Addressing Systemic Issues for Early Career Researchers in the Baltic States

Prof. E. Sužiedėlienė graduated from Vilnius University, majoring in biochemistry (1986). She continued her scientific career at Vilnius University, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. In 1991–1993, she interned at Washington University (St. Louis, USA), in 2000 and 2001 – at the P. and M. Curie University (Paris, France) and the Karolinska Institute (Stockholm, Sweden). Her scientific interests include fundamental and applied research in the fields of biochemistry and molecular biology, the study of molecular mechanisms of bacterial antibiotic resistance, responses to environmental stress and pathogenesis, and the development of molecular detection and inactivation methods for pathogenic bacteria.

Ms. Baiba Rivza is Professor, Dr Habil. Oec. of Economics of Latvia University of Life Sciences and technologies; ex-minister of Ministry of Education and Science of Latvia, President of the Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences of Latvia; Secretary General of the Academy of Sciences of Latvia; Foreign member of the Swedish Royal Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Science, of the Academia dei Georgofili and of the Lithuania Academy of Sciences; Expert from the European Academy of Sciences Academic Advisory Board (EASAC) in the field of economics. Coauthor of Research „Circular economy: a commentary from the perspectives of the natural and social sciences”( www.easac.eu ). Baiba Rivza has experience on international and national scientific projects. Together with doctoral students Vivita Viksnina based on research and economic calculations, proposals will be made regarding plant and soil health and sustainability. Sustainable soil heath in the Nordic and Baltic regions is of vital importance, hence the need to develop and implement new innovations and economically justified solutions.

Prof. Baiba Rivza gave a speech on behalf of authors Prof. Baiba Rivza, prof. Andris Teikmanis entitled “Challenges of early-stage researchers in Latvia and what can we do? 

Prof. Dr. Gita Revalde, a Member of the Academy of Science of Latvia, is a professor at Riga Technical University and a leading researcher at the University of Latvia with over 30 years of academic and administrative experience. She held several administrative leadership positions such as Deputy Rector of RTU, Rector, and Director of the Latvian Research Council, and president of a university in Kazakhstan. She worked also for the Ministry of Education and Science as a Director of the Higher Education department in the period 2007 -2012.  Gita Revalde works as a recognized accreditation expert and takes part in many consulting bodies related to science and higher education policy. She has received many honorary diplomas, including from the Prime Minister of Latvia and the Minister of Education and Science. Prof. Dr. Gita Revalde gave the speech “Is it easy to be an ECR at Latvian universities?”

Prof. Dr. Loreta Kelpšaitė‐Rimkienė is member of Klaipėda University Council. She brings extensive experience in academia, research, and leadership with a multidisciplinary background in Environmental Physics and a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Beyond her research she has played pivotal roles in academic administration from the head of geophysical department to the member of the Klaipėda University Council. She gave a speech entitled: “The ECR Journey: Overcoming Systemic Barriers to Success “

Jūras Banys is the president of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences and a professor at the Institute of Applied Electrodynamics and Telecommunications, Faculty of Physics, Vilnius University. Prof. Banys is a member of the Advisory Board of the European Conference on Applications of Polar Dielectrics, the European Committee on Ferroelectricity, the AMPERE Group, and a Senior Member of the IEEE. He is a foreign member of the Latvian Academy of Sciences, a corresponding member of the Saxon Academy of Sciences, and an honorary professor at the University of Uzhgorog (Ukraine).

His main areas of research encompass lattice dynamics, ferroelectrics, structural phase transformations, dipole glasses, relaxors, dielectric spectroscopy, multiferroics, composites, and electron paramagnetic resonance. He has published 600 papers and presented over 1300 papers at international conferences.

Prof. Jūras Banys has been awarded the Officer’s Cross of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas, St Christopher’s statuette, and the Medal of the Baltic Academies of Sciences. He is also a recipient of the Lithuanian Science Prizes (2002, 2023), the Povilas Brazdžiūnas Prize of the Lithuanian Academy of Arts and Sciences and other awards.

Dr. Toomas Vaimann is a research professor in Tallinn University of Technology, Department of Electrical Power  Engineering ang Mechatronics. Currently he serves as president of Estonian Young Academy of Science. He has been working in Aalto University, Finland as a researcher (2015-2017) and ITMO University, St. Petersburg, Russia as a visiting professor (2019-2022). His main research interest is the diagnostics of electrical machines and devices.

Moderator: Rima Budvytyte earned her PhD degree in Biochemistry at Vilnius University in 2012. In 2017 she returned from her postdoctoral studies at Niels Bohr Institute (NBI, University of Copenhagen, Denmark) and now she is the head of the Department of Bioelectrochemistry and Biospectroscopy and a senior fellow researcher at the VU Life Sciences Center.”. Budvytyte R., was awarded by L ́Oréal Baltic For Women in Science program’s fellowship “For Women in Science” in 2020 for her significant contribution to the development of the science field in Lithuania.

Dr. Mindaugas Zaremba is Chief scientist at Vilnius University, Institute of Biotechnology Life Science Centre. His major research interests: Protein-DNA interactions, enzymology of nucleic acid enzymes, protein engineering, single molecule experiments, Illumina and Nanopore sequencing, restriction endonucleases, prokaryotic Argonaute proteins, CRISPR Cas9 proteins, Thoeris systems, genome targeting, off-target determination methods. 2015 he together with colleagues dr. G. Tamulaitis and dr. G. Sasnauskas was awarded by Lithuania State Science Award

Dr. Sandra Pralgauskaitė, Assoc. Prof. of Vilnius University Faculty of Physics. Sandra Pralgauskaitė received Bachelor Degree in Radio physics and Master Degree in Telecommunication Physics and Electronics in 1997 and 1999, respectively, in Vilnius university. In 1999 Sandra Pralgauskaitė started doctoral studies in Semiconductors Physic Institute (Lithuania). In 2003 Sandra Pralgauskaitė has defended doctoral dissertation on “Optical and electrical low-frequency noise characteristics of multimode and single mode InGaAsP/InP multiple-quantum well laser diodes” and received doctor degree in Physical science. Since 2003 Sandra Pralgauskaitė is working in Institute of Applied Electrodynamics and Telecommunications (former Radio Physics Department) of Vilnius University. The main research interests of Dr. Sandra Pralgauskaitė are optoelectronic devices, noise characterization, quality and reliability of electronic devices. Dr. Sandra Pralgauskaitė is chair of Council of the association and BASNET Forumas alternate member of EPWS board.