Ventspils University College ( lv, Ventspils Augstskola) is a higher education establishment in Ventspils,

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

History

Ventspils University College (VUC) was founded in 1997 as a self-governing state university college and a scientific institution. Its basic activity is to carry out scientific research and to implement academic and professional study programmes. On May 20, 2013, VUC acquired scientific institution status, which shows that it has met all state-adopted criteria for a scientific body.

Structure

Ventspils University College has an elected rector, currently Kārlis Krēsliņš. The university has three faculties, a library and a few scientific institutions.

Faculty of Information Technologies

*Dean: Vairis Caune This is the newest faculty founded in 2006. There are available programmes that provide bachelor's and master's degrees in Computer Science and Electronics. In 2014 it is planned to establish a new international study programme in English, thus allowing foreign students to obtain a bachelor's degree.

Faculty of Economics and Management

*Dean: Liene Resele Current study programmes allow to get a bachelor's, master's or PhD degree in Business Administration, therefore providing professional workforce for a large number of local companies.

Faculty of Translation Studies

*Dean: Aiga Veckalne This faculty currently is the most popular by the number of enrolled students. One of the main objectives is to prepare the intercultural communication specialists with foreign language skills for the work in EU institutions and other international organizations.

Centre for Applied Linguistics

The Centre for Applied Linguistics of Ventspils University College is an internationally recognized scientific institution that specializes in language and translation as well as technology applications.

Centre for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Regional Development

Centre for Entrepreneurship Innovation and Regional Development is financially inspired by the Ventspils City Municipality and aims to enhance the intellectual potential of Ventspils City, Kurzeme Region and Latvia. It focus on performing scientific work in the areas of entrepreneurship, innovation and regional development.

Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre – VIRAC

Telescope of Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre

This centre oversees the world's eighth-largest radio telescope that was used by the Soviet military to spy on Western countries during the Cold War.

The Technology transfer centre of Kurzeme

This centre analyzes the ability of Engineering research centre of Ventspils University College and Ventspils International Radioastronomy Center to offer businessmen research services in accordance with businessmen needs and promotes the cooperation between Latvian and European scientists and businessmen.

International Cooperation

Ventspils University College has Erasmus Bilateral Agreements with more than 60 universities. Some of these include:

Notable people

Professors

Jānis Vucāns Jānis Vucāns (born 9 February 1956) is a Latvian politician and mathematician. He is the member of the '' Latvijai un Ventspilij'' Party and a deputy of the 11th, 12th and 13th Saeima, representing the Union of Greens and Farmers. He began his c ...

(b. 1956), former rector of Ventspils University College, politician

Alumni

Dana Reizniece-Ozola Dana Reizniece-Ozola (born November 6, 1981) is a Latvian chess player and politician. She is the current managing director of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) since 2021. She also served as minister of Economics (2014–2016) and mini ...

(b. 1981), chess player, politician *

Haralds Silovs Haralds Silovs (born 7 April 1986) is a Latvian long track and former short track speed skater, who became the 2008 and 2011 European champion in short track. He has participated in three Winter Olympics. In 2018, he finished fourth at speed s ...

(b. 1986), long track and former short track speed skater *

Madara Palameika Madara Palameika (born 18 June 1987) is a Latvian track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momen ...

(b. 1987), javelin thrower

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Universities in Latvia