Sept. 7th, 2016, Mykolas Romeris University (MRU) Rector Assoc. Prof. Algirdas Monkevičius, Alytus Mayor Vytautas Grigaravičius and Adolfas Ramanauskas-Vanagas Gymnasium Director Virginijus Skroblas signed a cooperation agreement establishing a new Academy. The Alytus Economics and Business Academy will begin operation at the Gymnasium in October. It is the first Academy in Lithuania, which connects higher education and General education programmes. The Academy's mission is to provide the best economics and business education in a gymnasium setting. MRU Rector Monkevičius said he was elated with the new partnership and ties with the region. We hope that people that hail from Alytus will want to join in and become a part of the region's improvement, he added. According to Mayor Grigaravičius the Academy is an important step forward for the Alytus community. "It is an important step for our City, which will be very beneficial in the future. I believe that this Academy will allow pupils to more easily select the necessary direction for their studies and that our City's youth will be much stronger as they enter the next stage of their life," said the Mayor. "I wish Mykolas Romeris University and Adolfas Ramanauskas-Vangas Gymnasium much success in implementing this idea," he said. Pupils are already signing up for courses in the Academy and 40 of them have already registered. --Info condensed from news provided by the Alytus municipality