Rector praises achievements and encourages pursuing new goals at annual academic meeting

The traditional Academic Meeting of Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) was held on 19 September in the Great Hall. Rector Prof. Aigars Pētersons opened the meeting with a presentation of the University’s achievements and future challenges, thanking the staff for their hard work and acknowledging that we all ‘work like lions’ to achieve excellent results.

Internal and external consolidation of RSU

RSU is carrying out internal and external consolidation to develop its excellence as a science university. Instead of the previous nine faculties, RSU now has five: the Faculty of Medicine, the Faculty of Dentistry, the Faculty of Pharmacy, the Faculty of Health and Sports Sciences, and the Faculty of Social Sciences.

There has also been a consolidation within the University’s scientific units: a merger and creation of several new scientific units, which will allow for the optimisation of the research processes, promote interdisciplinarity, collaboration and sharing of resources, and reduce the administrative burden. The internal consolidation will continue until 2027.

At the same time, an external consolidation of RSU with the Latvian Academy of Sport Education (LASE) is taking place. LASE joined RSU on 1 July of this year, forming a unified ecosystem of health and sports science. The external consolidation will continue until 1 July 2026.

Satisfactory admission results

This year, RSU received 10,094 applications from local students during the summer admissions period, which is 25% more than last year and is the highest figure in the history of the University. Currently, RSU has 11,755 students, which is 19% more than in 2023; this can partly be attributed to the inclusion of LASE students into the RSU student family. This year, 2,523 local students and 740 international students have joined the University. The number of international students has increased by 7%, and they now make up 26% of all students. The largest number of international students come from Sweden, Germany, Finland, and Norway.

RSU branch outside Latvia, accreditation, and new study programmes

On 12 September this year, RSU opened its first branch outside Latvia at Elbe Klinikum Stade (Germany). It is also the first branch in the field of medical studies in Europe among the Baltic States. 

The Health Care study direction has been accredited for the maximum accreditation term, having received high expert evaluations – “good” and “with distinction”. Three study directions are currently undergoing the accreditation process: Education and Paedagogy; Sociology, Political Science and Anthropology; and Internal Security and Civil Protection.

In total, RSU offers the opportunity to study in 61 study programmes in Latvian and eight in English – five new study programmes are under development.

Military medicine is indispensable in today’s world

In the 2023/2024 academic year, RSU began to integrate the Fundamentals of Military Medicine study course into the Medicine programme. RSU is the first university in the Baltic States to offer such training to its students. This year, the course is already being taken not only by medical students but also by dentistry students, prospective midwives, and students from the Physiotherapy and Nursing study courses. 

Digital transformation: modernisation of study content

The University’s Centre for Educational Growth is the first in Latvia to develop guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and work is underway on various digital transformation projects. The annual survey of RSU teaching staff on the use of AI and the need for skills improvement is taking place. The Centre for Educational Growth will organise practical AI training stations for teaching staff.

Study courses developed as part of the project ‘Development of High-Level Digital Skills in Latvia in the Field of High-Performance Computing’, such as ‘Artificial Intelligence in Image Diagnostics’, will be included into RSU study programmes.
24 members of teaching staff have received scholarships from the Boris and Inara Teterev Foundation, which has given them the opportunity to modernise 15 study courses.

Work is underway on new RSU study quality indicators, supporting a culture of continuous improvement of study programmes to ensure an excellent, interdisciplinary, international, and research-based education. It is satisfying to note that the dynamics of filling out the study course evaluation questionnaire have improved – 67.64% of students completed it regarding the 2023/2024 academic year.

Developments in IT systems

Several new IT analytics solutions have been introduced, e.g. analytics of the number of students and a student data monitoring tool. RSU has a virtual assistant, Ieva, who is familiar with RSU’s internal regulations and whose knowledge base currently includes around 700 different documents and materials. An e-book for medical residents has been introduced and the staff portal my.rsu.lv was developed.

Scientific achievements

In 2023, more than 25 new international, local, and industry-funded projects were initiated, attracting approximately 6 million euros to RSU. In 2024, the implementation of nine new HORIZON Europe projects and six fundamental and applied research projects were commenced, bringing a total of 2.5 million euros to research at RSU.

Currently, four tenured professors are employed by RSU, and soon three more will join them.

Finances

RSU is experiencing solid financial growth. The University’s contribution to the economy in 2024 has been 141 million euros, and it is estimated that over the following six years (2024-2029) it will reach more than 1 billion euros. 

Infrastructure development and sustainability

The development of the RSU Sports Complex at 3 Cigoriņu iela is planned to be completed by the end of 2026. There are plans to build a new RSU study and dentistry building and to establish an RSU Family Health Centre on Dārza iela. Construction continues on Kuldīgas iela, and various building, common area, and territory improvement works have been completed.

Much has been done and there are plans to invest in the sustainability development of the university, e.g., in 2024/2025, solar panels will be installed in another 12 RSU facilities. Improvements to environmental accessibility have been implemented - installation of a lift and ramps in the Anatomical Theatre, replacement of the lift in the student hostel, etc.

Awards and achievements

The University takes pride in the number of awards and recognitions it has received in various fields. RSU has been recognised as the best employer in the public sector for the second year in a row, and for the eighth consecutive year, RSU has been singled out as having the reputation among higher education institutions in Latvia. RSU received the Latvian Sustainable Governance Award 2023 and won 1st place in the Latvian Education Innovation Competition. The University’s teaching staff, researchers, and administrative employees have also received many awards, recognitions, and commendations.

RSU brand update

The RSU brand update has been initiated and will continue in 2025, including market and audience research, the development of a brand strategy and guidelines, as well as a website update.

Socialising

After the Rector’s presentation, the audience was moved to tears by a musical performance by Shipsea. The informal part of the Academic Meeting was spent in conversations in the RSU canteen.