24 January The Faculty of Human and Social Studies (FHSS) 2023 Activity Report was presented at Mykolas Romeris University (MRU).
Presenting the results of last year's activities, the Dean of The Faculty , Prof. Dr. Odeta Merfeldaitė, was delighted with achieved results. According to the Dean, it has been a very intense year, which required a great contribution from every member of the university community. Prof. Dr. Odeta Merfeldaitė is grateful to everyone for their efforts, which contributed to the improvement of the indicators presented in the report.
"The results achieved truly reflect the University's strategy of internationalisation," commented MRU Rector Prof. Dr. Inga Žalėnienė and sincerely thanked the Dean of the Faculty and the community for their efforts.
Speaking about the quality of the study process, the Dean of The Faculty was pleased that the number of students and listeners at the Faculty had increased by 9%, and the number of students suspending their studies had decreased to 11%. The number of foreign students seeking a degree has also risen, from 255 in 2022 to 293 in 2023, and the number of exchange students has increased by 6%.
It is important to note that the Master's Degree programme in School Management has been funded by the EU's “NextGenerationEU” project. 58 students were admitted to this study programme. The Erasmus Mundus Master's Degree in Social Work with Children and Young People is also fully funded by the EU for 14 third-country students.
The number of incoming and outgoing lecturers has increased significantly. In 2023, there were 10 more arrivals and 26 more departures than in 2022. The Dean of the Faculty expressed her gratitude to the Internationality Council, the Vice-Deans and the Heads of the Institutes, who continuously initiate the mobility of lecturers.
The number of high-level scientific outputs has increased slightly. In 2023, the total number of publications was 177, 11 more than in 2022, was published, with a total of 5 monographs, 1 part of a TMPL monograph and 9 textbooks. Also, were published 53 Wos/Scopus articles. Professor's Rita Žukauskienė's publication was included in the top 10% of the world's most cited papers. In addition, 24 selected students' articles were published in the publication ”Celebration of Scientific Thought”.
The number of projects in the Faculty has remained stable. A total of 31 national projects and 26 international projects were implemented. Students were also involved in project activities. There were three students' summer research projects, five Lithuanian language internships abroad and five students participated in Norplus project activities. Four postdoctoral internships were also implemented.
The active involvement of PhD students in the activities of the faculty was also encouraging. Aleksandr Segal, a PhD student at the Institute of Psychology, was selected as the most active PhD student and was awarded the Prize of the Science Promotion Foundation.
The amount of revenue from training services has almost doubled compared to 2022. The value of revenue in 2022 was €116522 and in 2023 it was €200719.
In 2023, in the Faculty has been organised 18 scientific events and 7 events to promote the Faculty, of which the non-traditional class hours attracted a lot of attention from students and their parents.
A support agreement has been signed with 360 IT company for a one-off scholarship of €1,000 for the most advanced 2023-2024 first-year student at The Faculty of Human and Social Studies.
In 2024, the focus will continue to be on improving the study process and the internationalisation of studies, with a strong emphasis on increasing the quality of research output, greater involvement in international research projects, and the development of the Career Academy and sustainable partnerships.
Concluding the presentation of the report, Prof. Dr. Odeta Merfeldaitė once again thanked the participants for their work and expressed her gratitude for the full support of the Rector of the University Prof. Dr. Inga Žalėnienė.
