The visit of KTU students to LITEK™
Students from Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) physics and nanotechnology study field visited LITEK ™ companies on November 15th, 2018. In order to attract and motivate young people to pursue a research career, LITEK™ organizes doors open days every year to laser, optical, and biotechnology companies, and Center for Physical Sciences and Technology (FTMC), where physics students can actually make sure that the work of scientists in laboratories is creative and interesting.
Researchers at FTMC Department of Nanoengineering presented annually to students innovative projects implemented here and surprising inventions applicable in life sciences and medicine. For example, in the future for the treatment of periodontitis-damaged gums, dentists will be able to offer their clients an extremely rapid collagen hydrogel for wound healing, soaked in geranium root extract and thus having antiseptic properties. Scientists in the field of life science will be able to explore a cell grown in non-polymeric cells, but in artificial hydrogel nanostructures imitating the human body environment.
Precision Science – secured investment in your own future
According to LITEK™ manager Julius Paužolis, applied physics, materials or nanotechnology studies are invaluable investments in your own future. After completing their studies and having practical experience in laser, optics, engineering or biotechnology, specialists are welcome both in international research centers and in the rapidly growing high-tech industry. For example, researchers of one of the largest laser manufacturers in Lithuania JSC Ekspla, always emphasize the great potential of laser technologies and future prospects by telling students the success story of this company and demonstrating constructed laser equipment and its application possibilities, thus encouraging them to choose the researcher’s path in Lithuanian laser technology companies.
More and more young people, after a few years of work in the company and seeing market needs, are determined to start their own technology business and create jobs for others. Cluster ecosystem and infrastructure that create technology and promote entrepreneurship are perfect for this.
Three reasons to choose a research career in Lithuania
“As a manager of LITEK™, I constantly visit cluster companies, communicate with employees and wonder what they like best in their work,”- says Julius Paužolis. According to him, young people usually name the following three advantages:
- First, you feel important, especially when work in a smaller company. Your abilities and ideas greatly affect the success of the whole company. Work is not routine, because there are a number of production cycle operations, and there are also new challenges every day to find a creative solution.
- The second is the working environment in which to be happy, because you are surrounded by educated people with higher moral values.
- Third, internationality, because companies operate on a global scale, production is export oriented, so companies, clients, partners with whom they have to communicate daily are usually from abroad. Not the last place is the salary, which in October this year in the laser technology sector was almost 90 percent higher than Lithuania’s average salary during this period.
For Graduate Students – Career Opportunities at LITEK™
Every year for all precision science students, wanting to practice, are offered places in LITEK™ technological enterprises, research center laboratories to develop a solid approach to what to choose in the future. Often they have a permanent contract with companies after practice.
“The most motivated graduates who have decided to relate their future to physics, engineering, life sciences, after graduation of studies are always welcome in Lithuanian high-tech companies, including LITEK™ cluster companies, where they are given full opportunities to develop in the professional field and realize themselves. It is not necessary for young people to emigrate because excellent opportunities to work and earn in the high-tech sector are in Lithuania”,-says Julius Paužolis, the Head of LITEK™ cluster.