On the occasion of February 16 - the Day of the Restoration of the State of Lithuania, Prof. Dr. Rita Žukauskienė, psychologist at Mykolas Romeris University (MRU), was awarded the Knight's Cross of Merit for Merit to Lithuania for her outstanding merits in promoting the name of Lithuania, developing internationalisation of science, developing a generation of young scientists, and disseminating the scientific results. The award was presented by the President of the Republic of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda.

"I am interested in developmental psychology and how a person changes from the beginning of life throughout his or her life. Textbooks are born out of research, out of what is scientifically proven. Psychology is a science based on facts, so I bring knowledge to the profession of psychology that enriches psychologists, together with my colleagues," says the professor, referring to her scientific work.

During her career, Prof. Dr. R. Žukauskienė has supervised more than 10 PhD students, one of whom, Dr. Audra Balundė, thanking Prof. Žukauskienė for her support and for promoting internationality from the very first weeks of her PhD, emphasised, "This has strengthened my scientific competences and opened up a very wide range of career opportunities: I have obtained an international degree from the world leading University of Groningen".

Congratulations to Prof. Dr. Rita Žukauskienė and best wishes for success in future research projects!