Unforgettable Memory in VMU

chinaHi! I’m Yue, from Minzu University of China and majored in sociology in Faculty of Social Sciences of VMU. I’m so glad and grateful to have an opportunity to study and live in Lithuania for a year! 2016. This year can be a turning point of my life~ I wouldn’t forget anything I’ve acquired here: cheerful and agreeable companions, challenging and meaningful seminars, multi-cultural and distinctive environment, conscientious and adorable professors, etc. You will be definitely welcome to the new world, then you can smash your old knowledge, change your opinion, be shocked by differences, be moved by kindness and grow up!

Yue Zhang from China

Erasmus+ Traineeship Competition and Results of the Second Competition

Businessman explaining plan on laptop to colleagues at creative office

VMU International Cooperation department (ICO) has announced the results of the second competition for Erasmus+ students and recent graduates traineeship grants in the 2017 / 2018 academic year.

The third (and the last one in the year 2017/2018) competition is open for Erasmus+ student and recent graduate traineeship grants. Application deadline is 22nd of April, 2018.

The placement period is from 2 to 4 months. Traineeship must end before 21-09-2018 (for recent graduates – in a year after graduation).

Selection

All VMU fulltime degree students who have not used more than 10 months of their Erasmus mobility (study / traineeship) period are eligible for the Erasmus grant.

Selection documents

For student traineeship (traineeship during student’s year of studies)

Documents must be submitted online

For recent graduate traineeship  (application must be submitted and student must be selected while applicant is still a student at VMU)

The priority in the selection is given to

  • students whom traineeship is an obligatory part of their study programme;
  • students who have never been Erasmus traineeship students before.

Selection criteria

  • student’s motivation;
  • good knowledge of the language which will be used during the traineeship;
  • student’s work, study, traineeship, participation in the international / academic projects, social activities experience in Lithuania and abroad;
  • conformability between the chosen traineeship and student’s study programme;
  • study results (first year MA students should attach transcript of records of their BA/MA degree to the application form).

The competition results will be sent to every participant via e-mail as well as published on VMU website on 3rd of May.

More information

INTERNATIONAL SUMMER SCHOOL ON GROUNDED THEORY 2018 (ISSGT 2018)

11-15 June, 2018

The Institute of Education, Vytautas Magnus University and The School of Social Researcher in collaboration with the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction (SSSI)

 

We are pleased to introduce you to the most renowned Scholars in the Grounded Theory – Qualitative Research traditions, coming from European Universities, learn and live for some days in a historically rich, stimulating and welcoming town of Kaunas (Lithuania). It will be a five-day, intensive course mainly devoted to introducing participants to Grounded Theory with a practical approach and with the aim to giving answer to questions such as “how to do research”, “how to collect, analyse and interpret qualitative data”, “how to write a research report” basing the results on your findings. Join us at the Summer School and be an active learner in our classes and in our collaborative groups. Meet interesting people and discuss topics of your own interest concerning qualitative methods and how to give answer to your daily research problems.

 

Why Grounded theory?

A Grounded theory is a research method that will enable you to: develop a theory and explanation about the main concern of the population of your substantive area and how that concern is resolved or processed. Being new to Grounded theory the onus to understand the methodology and the various versions can be daunting.  Learning and understanding the differences between Grounded theories methodologies can be as much a learning of one’s own research philosophy and this philosophy is often the deciding factor in methodology selection (Gary L. Evans, 2013). Learning the Grounded theory methodology is challenging, but very interesting journey. Grounded theory is a research tool which enables you to seek out and conceptualise the latent social patterns and structures of your area of interest through the process of constant comparison. Initially you will use an inductive approach to generate substantive codes from your data, later your developing theory will suggest to you where to go next to collect data and which, more-focussed, questions to ask (Walsh et al., 2015). For a lot of students, researchers, scholars and scientists Grounded Theory is used to describe a qualitative analytical method, where they create a coding framework on the fly, from interesting topics that emerge from the data. However, that’s not really accurate. There is a lot more to it, and a myriad of different approaches. Basically, grounded theory aims to create a new theory of interpreting the world, either when it’s an area where there isn’t any existing theory, or you want to challenge what is already out there. An approach that is often overused, it is a valuable way of approaching qualitative research when you aren’t sure what questions to ask. However, it is also a methodological box of worms, with a number of different approaches and confusing literature.

Why it is worth attending the ISSGT 2018?

Qualitative researchers often experience issues such as getting lost after collecting and coding data, overlooking possibilities for developing their ideas, and producing disjointed and mundane reports. Grounded theory methods help you expedite analyzing your data and writing your report. This ISSGT 2018 focuses on improving your skills in using Grounded theory strategies to help you to develop creativity skills and to increase the clarity in your research design and its implementation. Studies in the ISSGT 2018 will help you retain the flexibility of Grounded theory while furthering the conceptual depth and scope of your analysis.

We will emphasize how to: develop and recognize powerful codes, engage in comparative analysis, strengthen your emergent conceptual categories, integrate these categories into a coherent and compelling report, satisfy quality in qualitative analysis, communicate your findings.

It will be an intensive course devoted to working with Grounded theory with a practical approach and with the aim to giving answer to questions such as “How to do the Grounded theory research?”; “How to collect, analyse and interpret qualitative data n Grounded theory research?”; “How to make the visualisation-based Grounded theory?“; “How to incorporate social medias into Grounded theory research?”; “What is the contemplative Grounded theory?”; “How to write a research report based on a Grounded theory?” and etc.

 

Who are invited to be applicants of learning community in the ISSGT 2018?

The ISSGT 2018 invites to apply the researchers, PhD students, scholars and scientists who already have acquired their PhD’s and are working with qualitative methodologies or still have not chosen the “right” methodology in their research-based scientific path. All the study process will rely on learning, discussing, practicing, creating. Representatives from the social, humanitarian, health and technology sciences are particularly encouraged to participate in ISSGT 2018.

What you will learn attending the Summer School?

Research Design. Build an incisive research design in Grounded theory, basing on the “constructivist” version. Use “sensitising concept” to guide your research and run theoretical sampling.

Collect and Analyse. Using interviews to collect data; collecting and analysing data; initial coding, memoing, categorizing. Develop and recognize powerful codes; engage in comparative analysis.

Visualize and Interpret. Strengthen your emergent conceptual categories; visualize data to support interpretation and comparation; understand theoretical saturation. Use visual grounded theory.

Theory Building. Integrate categories into a coherent and compelling theory; write a research report; satisfy quality in qualitative analysis; communicate your findings.

 

Who are teachers in ISSGT 2018?

Key teachers: the most renowned scholars in the Grounded theory in Europe – Qualitative Research traditions, professors, coming from European Universities: Tony Bryant (Leeds Beckett University, UK), Krzysztof Konecki (University of Lodz, Poland), Andrea Salvini and Irene Psaroudakis (University of Pisa, Italy), Michael Dellwing (University of Kassel, Germany), Thaddeus Muller (Lancaster University, UK).

Here you will find the detailed information: https://gtsummerschool.vdu.lt/