On 10 July, by the order of the Minister of Education, Science and Sport, Gintautas Jakštas, a number of Presidents of the Republic of Lithuania Nominal Scholarships were awarded to the outstanding students in Lithuanian. This year, Kristina Marcinkevičiūtė, a sixth year student of the integrated Medicine Study Programme at the Faculty of Medicine of Vilnius University (VU MF) was among those who received a scholarship.
“These Presidential Scholarships are awarded in recognition of the students with the highest level of achievement. They are also a beautiful tradition to honour the former presidents of the Republic of Lithuania in combination with the young people of our country. We are delighted by our talented young people who have chosen to pursue and excel in higher education in their homeland and we want to make a positive contribution towards them succeeding at their studies. We congratulate the winners and are very proud of them. Let this be an incentive for them to continue on the path of academic discovery and to strive for excellent results,” Minister of Education, Science and Sport Gintautas Jakštas said.
When one of this year’s winners, Kristina Marcinkevičiūtė of VU MF, was asked how she felt when she found out that she had been awarded her presidential scholarship, she was excited to share her impressions: “Of course, I was very happy! It’s great to have your work recognised. I don’t know how many students have applied, but there are a lot of active and talented students who perform research and write research papers, so I would say there is quite some competition. And you have to bear in mind that students from different universities are competing. So, this is great recognition and positive feedback, that will motivate me to continue with my studies and work in the field of science.”
Marcinkevičiūtė explained that she had chosen to study medicine five years ago because she had always found the human body to be the most interesting scientific object. “My opinion hasn’t changed during my study years and I am very happy with my decision to study medicine! Why study in Vilnius instead of Kaunas? I had very good recommendations about Vilnius University and the Faculty of Medicine, and I also really wanted to study and live in Vilnius.” She wanted to express her gratitude to the Director of the Clinical Medicine Institute of VU FM: “I would like to single out a teacher, a role model, who motivates me to study, write research papers and do biomedical research – Prof. Tomas Poškus. I would wish that everyone can find a person in their field who will not only advise them, open up opportunities for action, but also support them, encourage them, always sharing their experience, while at the same time, rejoicing in every achievement, even the smallest ones. I have found such a teacher and I would like to thank him very much for all the help, motivation and mentoring. My sincere thanks to the Professor!”
When asked about her spare time and what her future plans are, she explained: “Apart from my studies, I spend a lot of time in the hospital practicing abdominal surgery and conducting research. In addition to studies and work, I like sports, dancing, spending time with my family and travelling when I can.” About her future plans, she shared: “My immediate plans are to enter the medical residency programme in abdominal surgery (next year!), and I would also like to continue doing research, something I came to love during my studies.”
Kristina Marcinkevičiūtė is also an active member of the VU MF Student Research Network (SRN), she was one of the first prize winners in the Gastroenterology and Abdominal Surgery Section at this year’s 75th anniversary SRN Conference.
We are delighted, and would like to congratulate the scholarship holder from the Faculty of Medicine, Kristina Marcinkevičiūtė!
Kristina Marcinkevičiūtė / Personal archive
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The scholarships of the Presidents of the Republic of Lithuania—Antanas Smetona, Aleksandras Stulginskis, Kazys Grinius, Jonas Žemaitis and Algirdas Brazauskas—are given to the country’s finest students every year.
The student candidates are selected on the basis of their achievements in their studies, research, social and artistic activities, and are rewarded for outstanding academic performance, participation in competitions, expeditions and student research projects, published research papers and other activities.
In the academic year 2023-2024, 29 students were awarded presidential scholarships in recognition of their outstanding academic achievements in various fields of study. This year, the largest number of winners was from Vilnius University.