RSU Doctoral School Will Create Opportunities for New Researchers

On January 8 Riga Stradiņš University (RSU) opened the RSU Doctoral School - a platform for prospective and current PhD students, applicants, researchers and lecturers. The aim of the Doctoral School is to facilitate faster flow of information, a quality doctoral experience and to develop professional competencies in an interdisciplinary environment.

‘Research is the priority of our development, which is why we can consider the opening of the Doctoral School as a leap forward that will provide additional power and opportunities to the young researchers,’ states RSU Rector Professor Aigars Pētersons.

Provide consultations on how to plan and design research, data processing and interpretation and project preparation will be among the most significant areas of the school’s operation. The Doctoral School will function as a one-stop agency where doctoral students and other researchers will be able to obtain the information and consultations they need to conduct high-quality research.

‘The school will provide doctoral students with knowledge, and enrich and facilitate their research process, because there will be consultations, different seminars for competence development, and networking events for doctoral students and researchers individually or in groups. Additionally, the one-stop agency will provide substantial assistance with data collection, processing and project preparation,’ emphasises Agrita Kiopa, RSU Vice-Rector for Science.

The first seminar was held shortly after the opening ceremony at which Laura Bužinska, an expert at the National Contact Point for the Horizon 2020 research programme, reported on the opportunities the programme offers as well as what networking events they have planned for the upcoming year at the National Library of Latvia.

The next event will be a series of seminars on bioinformatics lead by specialist Baiba Vilne. The series will begin on 24 January. Vilne studied in Germany for 13 years, and is now the project manager and leading researcher of the RSU Bioinformatics Research Group. On 13 February nephrologist Kristīne Oleinika will give a guest lecture. Oleinika obtained her doctoral degree from the University College of London and she will share her experience on writing her dissertation and on publication strategy. For more information about the Doctoral School and its events visit the school’s website.