RSU Research Week has begun

The Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) Research Week started on Monday, 1 April, with the opening of the conference Knowledge for Use in Practice. The conference on medicine and health sciences will be a three-day event and serve as a platform for cooperation for both local and international researchers, as well as for industry representatives and diaspora organisations; meanwhile, a conference specifically dedicated to social sciences will be held on 2 April. Various additional events will be held within the framework of the conference, among them guest lectures, workshops and the 3rd Symposium of the Baltic Sea Countries on simulation and the use of virtual reality. The Research Week will conclude with the RSU International Student Conference, the largest of the kind in the Baltic countries.

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As RSU Rector, Professor Aigars Pētersons, pointed out in his opening speech, Research Week should be seen as a historical event that will take science to the next level, both at the university and in the country. During their opening speeches Minister for Health, Ilze Viņķele, and the Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Science, Anita Muižniece, stressed the significance of networking at an international event like this which brings together so many great minds.

Over 50 foreign experts are visiting RSU during Research Week. Among them is the President of the prestigious European Heart Rhythm Association, Hein Heidbuchel. During his opening speech, he expressed his admiration for Latvia which, as a relatively small country, is nevertheless capable to stimulate research and organise such a large-scale event with eight parallel sections, ten thematic conferences, and numerous side events.

The opening plenary session continued with a keynote speech by the President of the Club de Madrid and former President of Latvia (1999-2007), Professor Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, which tackled the uniquely contemporary challenges which universities and science in general face today. Molecular geneticist and winner of the French innovation prize (Médaille de l’innovation 2017), Professor Jamal Tazi, was next to speak exploring the opportunities provided by a newly discovered molecule in treating patients with HIV.

Professor Yehuda Shoenfeld from Israel, Professor Peter Goretzki from Germany, Professor of pharmacology Maija Dambrova from Latvia and artificial intelligence researcher Professor Simo Jaakko Saarakkala from Finland also gave reports rounding out the opening plenary session.

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