BAFF ALUMNI PROFESSIONAL TRAVEL GRANTS ANNOUNCED
BAFF Alumni Professional Development Grants support alumni professional development and networking by providing funds for teams of two or three BAFF Alumni to attend a professional conference or short-term training in the U.S. This round we received 12 applications and want to thank all applicants for the initiatives that tighten the BAFF community, unite colleagues from different countries, and create collaborations that can impact the future.
After careful consideration of all projects, we’re proud to announce the 5 selected teams who will be going to the U.S. to develop their professional skills and experience:
Dace Pukite (LAT) and Davis Freidenfelds (LAT) will attend the Lean and Six Sigma conference organized by the American Society for Quality in Phoenix, AZ. Upon their return, they will present their gained knowledge to the BAFF Alumni community about how to use Lean Six Sigma to continuously improve their organizations by eliminating resource waste and defects.
Liisi Org (EST), Ruta Labalaukyte (LIT/EST) and Martins Pjalkovskis (LAT) will attend Super Technology North America in LA, CA. Gaining expertise in the newest technology and venture capital industry trends will enable them to make smarter investment decisions aligned with best global practices and give them tools to spot and support promising Baltic startups. The team plans to share their insight by creating a topic-based group within the BAFF alumni community, that could serve as a catalyst for forming closer ties between alumni involved in VC.
Laura Kalam (EST) and Eduards Ozolins (LAT) will attend StratCommWorld Conference in Washington, D.C. They’ll sharpen their career skills in diplomacy and international relations, but also gain knowledge of cutting-edge trends in information and technology, including ways to fight disinformation and malign influence, which is increasingly present given the current geopolitical context after Russia’s war in Ukraine. In addition to applying this knowledge in their current positions, they'll share it through the BAFF Mentorship Program.
Zuzana Vasiliauskaite (LIT) and Dr. Kristjan Kask (EST) are joining the P.E.A.C.E. 5-Day Investigative Interviewing Course in Detroit, MI. They will go through hands-on experiential training in the difficult and sensitive topic of interrogative interviewing. As forensic psychology is a novel area of practice in the Baltic States, this training will not only provide them with needed knowledge but could also provide a space for discussing possible future collaborations in order to advance this field in their respective countries as well as the Baltic States.
The Lithuanian Professors’ trio - Arturas Jukna, Vilma Petrikaite, and Arunas Stirke will travel to the University of Rochester, NY to implement a project on THz time-domain spectroscopy for investigating the physical properties of biological materials. The project is connected to developing a new medical diagnostics tool for early detection of tumor diseases.
The selected projects will receive support in the combined sum of over $40 000.
