This year the students of Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) Faculty of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (EEF) returned after the summer holidays to a visibly more modern looking and attractive learning facilities. After an apparent facelift the faculty is set to impress its students, teaching staff and visitors with newly renovated labs and significantly more attractive public spaces.
The faculty building, facilities and laboratories’ renewal was funded through the project financed by the EU Regional Development Fund.
“The financial support was vital. In order to make such a high leap quality-wise on our own, we would have been forced to significantly raise tuition fees or compromise the quality of studies. This, in turn, would have made studies at the Faculty hardly affordable. Needless to say, neither of these scenarios was even an option,” shared the Dean of the Faculty of Electrical and Electronics Engineering Algimantas Valinevičius.
The project entitled the Reorganisation of KTU Faculties of Electrical and Control Engineering, Telecommunications and Electronics and Informatics with the aim to improve the quality of studies was implemented in accordance with the second priority means in the action plan of the programme promoting cohesion referred to as the Access to High Quality Public Services: Health, Education and Social Infrastructure.
“For the purpose of improving the faculty infrastructure each year the university can afford to spend around 140 thousand euros. Based on the simplest calculations, without external investors the process of achieving the same apparent results would drag on for two and a half decades. Taken into account the pace of current technological development, we would forever see the backs of our local and foreign competitors,” said A.Valinevicius.
The investment contract between the university and the public enterprise Central Project Management Agency was inked on the 24th of March, 2011. Since then, the Faculty has undergone a major reconstruction of its facilities, added new and renovated the already existing labs, purchased new furniture and modern equipment as well as updated its computer software. The total cost of the project was more than 3.5 million euros.
“The new face of the faculty makes an already joyful comeback after the summer holidays even more uplifting. It seems like you can still feel the smell of fresh paint on the walls of some buildings and I can’t wait to test out the new labs. It seems that even the commonly serious faces of some professors have undergone some non-invasive surgery, as most of them are now wearing a smile,” joked the Head of the EEF Student Representative Office Mantas Eringis.
