RSU Senate Nominates Five Candidates for RSU Council

On Tuesday, 23 November, the RSU Senate nominated five experienced and highly professional candidates to work in the RSU Council:

• Professor Dace Gardovska, Head of the Department of Paediatrics, is nominated in the field of research management competence;
• Professor Andris Jumtiņš, Head of the Department of Orthopaedics, is nominated in the field of academic management competence;
• Associate Professor Kārlis Kupčs, Department of Radiology, is nominated in the field of international cooperation competence, including international project management,
• Dins Šmits is nominated in the field of strategic development competence, including cooperation with employers;
• Juris Lācis, Chairman of the Board of the North Kurzeme Regional Hospital, is nominated in the field of financial management and risk management competence.

Prof. Dace Gardovska, Full Member of the Latvian Academy of Sciences, Dr. habil. med. has been the Head of the Department of Pediatrics of the RSU Faculty of Medicine and Head of the Clinic of Paediatric Infectious Diseases of Children’s University Hospital since 1998. From 1997 to 2004, Prof. Gardovska was the Dean of the RSU Faculty of Postgraduate Education. Ten doctoral thesis defenses were held under the professor’s supervision, and a number of important research projects were implemented, including some as part of national research programmes. Prof. Gardovska has developed and led several programmes and courses in paediatrics. She is an expert on the Latvian Council of Science and has written many internationally cited scientific publications. Prof. Gardovska is an RSU Senator, a Member of the RSU Council of Professors, the RSU Faculty of Residency and the Faculty of Medicine. She is an Officer of the Cross of Recognition and has won the Andrejs Priedkalns Award.

Professor (Dr. med.) Andris Jumtiņš has over 30 years of experience in academia. He has been the Head of the Department of Orthopaedics at the RSU Faculty of Medicine since 2009, as well as an orthopaedist at the Hospital of Traumatology and Orthopaedics. From 2013 to 2016, Prof. Jumtiņš was the Vice-Dean of the RSU Faculty of Medicine. In 2014, he established the RSU Young Physicians Academy. Prof. Jumtiņš has been a Member of the Board of the Doctors Safe Train Training Centre since 2013, which was established jointly by RSU and the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies. He is the author of over 200 scientific publications. Three doctoral thesis defenses have been held under his supervision. He has performed demonstration operations in Latvia and abroad and wrote the book Traumatoloģija un ortopedija (Traumatology and Orthopaedics - ed.), which is the first textbook for medical students published on this topic in Latvian. Modern training methods in traumatology and orthopaedics, which are highly valued by international students and experts, have been introduced under the professor’s guidance. Prof. Jumtiņš was one of the founders of the Latvian Association of Traumatology and Orthopaedics. The professor is the winner of the Pauls Stradiņš Award in Medicine (2020), and an Officer of the Order of the Three Stars. As an RSU Senator, and since 2018 also the Deputy Chairman of the RSU Senate, Prof. Jumtiņš is involved in the RSU Senate Presidium and RSU Council of Professors.

Associate Professor (Dr. med.) Kārlis Kupčs has more than 20 years of experience in establishing international cooperation with the world's leading universities and clinics. Kupčs has been training at Uppsala University Hospital in Sweden and elsewhere in the world since 2001, has led many demonstration operations and performed at international congresses, establishing and strengthening extensive international cooperation in the field of medical education and research. Assoc. Prof. Kupčs is the Chairman of the Board of the Latvian Society of Interventional Radiology. Two doctoral thesis defenses have been held under his leadership. Assoc. Prof. Kupčs has been working at the Department of Radiology at the RSU Faculty of Medicine since 2010 and has lead the Diagnostic Radiology Institute of Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital since 2011. In 2007, he established the clinic DiaMed, where he is also the Medical Director. Assoc. Prof. Kupčs established and is the Head of the Interventional Radiology residency programme.

Assistant Professor (Dr. med.) Dins Šmits has 22 years of experience in the strategic management of large companies. He led the GlaxoSmithKline headquarters in Latvia for 15 years starting from 1998. From 2014 to 2015 he was the Chairman of the Board of Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital and from 2013 to 2017 he was Chairman of the RSU Convent of Councillors. He has held senior positions in the Repharm Health Group companies since 2016, where he is currently the Deputy Chairman of the Council. Šmits was elected as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Public Health and Epidemiology of the RSU Faculty of Public Health and Social Welfare. He has been the Chairman of the Board of the RSU Alumni Association since 2017. Asst. Prof. Šmits is an international research project manager and is engaged in solving issues related to patient adherence and medical technology. He is also an expert of the Latvian Council of Science.

Juris Lācis has 26 years of work experience in the field of finance. Since 2017, he has been the Chairman of the Board of the North Kurzeme Regional Hospital. From 2014 to 2015, Lācis was the Head of the Finance Department at Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital. Between 2010 and 2013, he was the RSU Vice-Rector for Administration and a Member of the Board of the RSU Institute of Stomatology. He worked as the Chief Financial Officer and a Member of the Board at Linstow Center Management from 2007 to 2010. From 2004 to 2007, Lācis was ALSTOM's Financial Controller in Northern Europe. He worked in the Tax Working Group of the Foreign Investors Council in Latvia for three years from 2007. Between 1995 and 1999, he was a senior specialist of the Monetary Policy Department at Latvijas Banka. Since 2018, Lācis has been Member of the RSU Convent of Councillors.

The candidates were evaluated by RSU Supervisory Board Selection Committee established by the Senate, which also included a student representative. The candidates had to prove their experience and achievements in one of the areas of competence needed for the strategic management of RSU: academic and research management, financial and risk management, international cooperation, and strategic development. Excellent knowledge of English and an impeccable reputation are also requirements.

In accordance with the Law on Higher Education Institutions, the RSU Council will consist of 11 members, including five members nominated by the RSU Senate. One member, an outstanding representative of the academic field not related to the activities of the higher education institution, will be nominated by the President of Latvia. Five other representatives will be selected by the Ministry of Health and nominated by the Cabinet of Ministers, involving the general public. The Council will be established no later than 31 January 2022.