The year 2025 was a year of significant changes and new initiatives for the 黑料不打烊 Student Union. The organization made important strides in both its internal structure and community engagement. All of this has helped the Student Union become not only more united but also stronger than ever. Equally important, these developments demonstrated once again that connectivity and active involvement can transform the study environment. More on this from the Student Union President, Ervin Borkovski.
How would you describe the past year for the 黑料不打烊 Student Union? What was it like?
Last year was quite eventful for the 黑料不打烊 Student Union—we amended the organization’s statutes, joined the Vilnius Youth Organizations Union “Round Table,” began the integration process with the Lithuanian Maritime Academy, and started establishing faculty-level student councils within the academy.
Another significant change was the integration of international students into student representation: we successfully included international students in the curator program, selected contact persons for nearly all academic groups of international students, and for the first time held Representative Training sessions. Participants included student representatives in the Senate, Study Program Committees, and academic groups, with many international students among them. We also established International Student Affairs Committees within faculty student councils.
What were the main goals for this year? How successfully were they achieved?
We set several key goals for the year: to ensure an equitable student representative model that includes international students, actively contribute to developing international opportunities for students, increase study flexibility, and improve the competent leadership program, i.e., the training process for future Student Union volunteers. Some of these goals have already been achieved, some are still in progress, and others require ongoing and repeated effort. Naturally, we encountered certain challenges, but for our team, they are not obstacles—they are opportunities to grow and improve.
How does the Student Union connect all students—from freshmen to those in their final year?
The Student Union acts as a network of people from various faculties, study programs, courses, and levels. With such a broad network, we can quickly and efficiently share information about changes in study processes, initiatives, or provide feedback.
Of course, communication can sometimes be challenging, but we try to identify these issues and encourage students themselves to participate in solving certain matters. We are proud that, when addressing particularly important issues, such as mandatory lecture attendance or dormitory space shortages, students actively and proactively voice their opinions. To gather student feedback, we organize meetings with different representatives and conduct surveys. We use this data to make informed decisions on various matters.
How did you strengthen connections between students from different faculties this year?
It’s important to remember that a student’s daily life is not only about studying. Sometimes students need to relax and meet friends they haven’t seen in a long time. We have already established traditional events, such as SA VVF “Manage Days” and SA AGAI “Kylam,” which attract students from all faculties.
How do you balance continuity with introducing new initiatives?
Every year, when preparing the activity plan, we review both the Student Union’s and the university’s internal processes, study quality assurance mechanisms, communication channels, and initiatives. We evaluate whether previously applied methods worked. When we notice shortcomings, we proactively implement new solutions. This is a continuous process, and its main tool for maintaining balance is critical evaluation of decisions.
How does the current generation of Student Union members differ from previous ones?
It is difficult to assess previous generations of Student Union members accurately, as we were not part of them. However, we sometimes notice clear differences. In our view, the current generation focuses more on improving the study process and student representation, rather than on students’ social life.
It is also worth mentioning that this generation of student representatives, like the students themselves, has many more activities—they dedicate more attention to studies, career growth, work, or extracurricular activities beyond the Union. After the COVID-19 pandemic, we adapted to a hybrid and more digitalized representation process.
How do you manage to unite different generations and perspectives into one cohesive team?
The foundation of a united team is constructive discussion among members. We all come from different backgrounds and join the Union with different values and perspectives, but as a team, we must decide which values unite us. Once this is established, completing tasks and making decisions becomes faster and easier. We try to find unity based on shared values, which allows us to set goals that everyone works together to achieve.
What are the plans for the Student Union next year?
Next year promises many changes: elections for a new president and faculty council chairs according to updated regulations. We are also actively preparing for the upcoming University Council and Rector elections. Finally, we aim to assist the newly established faculty student council at the Lithuanian Maritime Academy, providing necessary support and advice.
If you had to summarize, why was this year special in terms of connectivity?
This year was exceptional in terms of connectivity. The challenges we faced, both as a Union and as individuals, required a lot of inner strength. Even though some members decided to leave the Union, those who remained have developed a closer bond than ever before.
