c. International Cooperation

meet industry requirements to ensure that graduates integrate as successfully as possible into the labor market. “SUCCESS” aims to help students and professionals in the field to develop a set of skills that will increase their confidence and ability to present their knowledge to the public in their field of specialization in an engaging and interactive way. The project involves five partners – RTU, Technische Universität Dresden (Germany), Universidad Politecnica de Cartagena (Spain), Association Leonard de Vinci (France), and Paul Francis East (Germany). The project will last for three years and is expected to conclude at the end of 2024.

On 13 February, the Ambassador of Mexican to Latvia Francisco Eduardo del Río López and the Honorary Consul of Mexico in Latvia Carlos Arredondo Martinez met with the representatives of the RTU management to get acquainted with RTU activities and various cooperation projects with Mexico. RTU representatives presented RTU activities, history, and scientific activities, as well as various cooperation projects with higher education institutions of Mexico. RTU has signed eight cooperation agreements with various Mexican higher education institutions and is actively implementing student exchange and other projects. The closest cooperation has been established with the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education – 40 exchange students come to RTU per year, and with the National Polytechnic Institute of Mexico – RTU welcomes 10 exchange students per year. Six fulltime students from Mexico are currently studying in RTU Bachelor and Master degree programs. RTU-Mexico cooperation in studies and research is also facilitated by an agreement signed between the governments of Latvia and Mexico, which offers scholarships to Mexican students for studies and research in Latvia, as well as for participation in the summer schools organized by RTU.

On 23 April, Ambassador of Italy to Latvia Stefano Taliani de Marchio paid a working visit to RTU to get a deeper insight into the development of RTU infrastructure and technical support, as well as to meet with students from Italy and RTU representatives who are actively implementing academic and sciencerelated activities in cooperation with Italian higher education institutions. During the visit, great attention was paid to the development of the international summer school “Nonlinear Life” established by RTU International Cooperation and Foreign Students Department and the Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Nanotechnologies. The Ambassador also met with Italian nationals Francesco Romagnoli and Claudio Rochas, professors at the Institute of Energy Systems and Environment of RTU Faculty of Electrical and Environmental Engineering. They presented to the Ambassador the activities of the Institute, highlighting, in particular, its active cooperation with partner institutions in Italy in the implementation of international projects, provision of student internships, and joint development of graduation papers.

On 2 September, the first Korean Corner in Latvia was officially opened in RTU Scientific Library. At the opening ceremony, the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Latvia Seong-Jin Han and RTU Rector Leonīds Ribickis signed a

Memorandum of Understanding. The Korean Corner was opened to promote Korean culture and raise awareness about Korea in Latvia. The Korean Corner offers audiovisual materials on Korean studies, technologies, and culture, and also displays traditional Korean art objects and musical instruments.

On 16 September RTU signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with one of the world’s leading universities of technology– Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It provides an opportunity for Latvia to join a global community of faculty members of higher education institutions, technology experts, researchers and policy experts and, with the support of MIT, to build an innovation and research ecosystem in Latvia. MIT has been a leading education and research institution in the world for many decades, it aims to support and strengthen the capacity of other universities. The Memorandum foresees that support of MIT will be available to any higher education institution in Latvia, since an international center of excellence in education and innovation will be established in Latvia. Its mission will be to use MIT support to promote educational excellence, transfer of international best practice, promoting digital transformation and reform in Latvian higher education. The center will be operated by RTU Riga Business School (RBS) in cooperation with MIT.

On 24 September, RTU Vice-Rector for Research Tālis Juhna welcomed the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Thailand to Latvia Kanchana Patarachoke on a familiarization visit to inform about RTU activities in the field of studies, science and innovation and discuss possible areas of cooperation with higher education institutions in Thailand. During the meeting, the Ambassador was introduced to the summer schools organized by RTU, which could be one of the potentially most effective means to promote RTU in Thailand.

On 15 October, the Ambassador of Mongolia to Latvia Barkhas Dorj paid a working visit to RTU to get a deeper insight into the development of RTU infrastructure, technical support and to discuss cooperation between RTU and higher education institutions in Mongolia and its further development areas. During the meeting, the Ambassador was informed about RTU studies, science and innovations, as well as was provided with the insights into RTU cooperation with Mongolian higher education institutions.

On 23 November, RTU Rector Leonīds Ribickis welcomed the Ambassador of Ireland to Latvia, Eimear Friel, on a familiarization visit to inform her about RTU activities in studies, science and valorization, to discuss cooperation with Irish higher education institutions and to outline further areas for its development. During the meeting, cooperation between RTU, Technological University Dublin and six other European universities on the development of a proposal for the European University of Technology