On October 9, with the support of the Transform4Europe Alliance of European Universities, the grand opening of the Mariupol State University Center took place on the basis of Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas. 

The ceremony of signing the agreement between the rectors of the two educational institutions, Mykola Trofymenko and Juozas Augutis, took place within the framework of the forum "Transformation of Academic Communities".  

Deputy Ambassador of Ukraine to Lithuania, Counselor Viktor Hamotskyi and former Minister of Education of Lithuania, Member of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania Jurgita Šiugždinienė delivered welcoming remarks at the opening of the forum. 

The center is designed to help high school students in Lithuania with their admission to MSU and to bring the cooperation between Mariupol State University and the universities participating in Transform4Europe to a new level. 

Katerina Goryunova, a leading specialist at the Center for International Education, will coordinate the activities of the new structural unit. During the opening ceremony, Rector Juozas Augutis handed her a guest book as a symbol of the beginning of a new history. Each of the attendees could leave their wishes for the new center. 

On the eve of the working trip to Lithuania, the Academic Council of MSU decided to award representatives of Vytautas Magnus University for their significant contribution to supporting the enduring university, promoting its values, strengthening international relations, and a positive image in Ukraine and abroad.  

On this occasion, Mykola Trofymenko awarded the titles of Ambassador of Mariupol University to Vilma Bijeikienė, Vice-Rector for International Cooperation, Ineta Dabašinskienė, Institutional Coordinator of the Transform4Europe Alliance, Aistė Žemaitytė, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy, and Vytautas Magnus University