Thank You for Your Faith in Me! Letter From the Rector to All Students and Staff

Dear colleagues! Dear students!

On 23 November, a very important event took place at our university - the Rīga Stradiņs University (RSU) Constitutional Assembly voted on the position of rector and decided in whose hands the leadership of our University would be for the next five years.

I am truly touched by the faith that has been shown in me and for the unanimous support of my candidacy!

I thank everyone at the University for the path we have walked together. Our strength lies in us as a team and together we can achieve a lot! Every year, the interest in studying at RSU grows as does the list of countries from which our students come. We are the most international university in the Baltics, we have been awarded the status of research university, and we have the best reputation among Latvian universities for many years in a row. What is more, our name is included in prestigious international rankings. We should take pride in these achievements!

However, it would be a mistake to rest on our laurels. I am ready to dedicate the next five years to taking RSU to new heights.

We are on our way to the being one of the top 500 universities in the world, and we are working on upgrading our study programmes and improving our learning environment. We are succeeding in research and striving to ensure that our everyday lives are intertwined with innovation and digitalisation.

This is a joint effort and not something that can be done alone.

I wish us all resilience and the ability to keep the bar high. As Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, President of Latvia (1999-2007) and Honorary Doctor of our University, said: 'If we do something, we do it brilliantly, otherwise it is not worth the effort'. May the next five years of development for Rīga Stradiņš University be rewarding! 

Thank you for placing your trust in me!

Prof. Aigars Pētersons

Rector, Academic Staff