This courtyard is one of the 13 located in the ensemble of the university building. The ensemble also owns 13 buildings, including St. John’s Church and a 68-meter-high bell tower, the tallest building in Vilnius Old Town. An Astronomical Observatory was established in this architectural ensemble in the 17th century; it was later closed following a devastating fire. Many of the devices in the observatory were distributed to various institutions of the Russian Empire.

This photo was taken on the 3-4th floor of Stuoka dormitory. To photograph his then girlfriend, A. Sutkus, strapped and held by his feet, leaned over the balcony railings. The artist said he only had 10 seconds to shoot as he feared for his safety.

To this day, the closing evening of the festival takes place in the Motiejus Kazimieras Sarbievijus Courtyard, named after the famous 17th-century European poet and literary theorist. M. K. Sarbievijus, a graduate of Vilnius University, became a professor at the university, taught in Jesuit schools, and was a preacher at King Władysław Vasa’s palace.

Poet and playwright A. Mickevičius, who wrote in Polish, is one of the most famous graduates of Vilnius University, he received his humanitarian education here. After the establishment of the secret anti-tsarist Society of Philarets in 1817, he headed its science and morals department. Later, A. Mickiewicz was arrested by the tsarist government and imprisoned in the Basilian monastery for this activity.

During the reception hours, Rector Prof. J. Kubilius would keep his door open. Rector believed that an honest person could say whatever he wants even if everyone can hear him. He did not like to assign a communal apartment or dormitory based on some sort of priorities because he was convinced and constantly noted that the merits of the parents had nothing to do with the achievements of the students.

For the last 50 years, each year on the Day of Physicists, the students of the Faculty of Philology have been welcoming a unique guest - a dinosaur constructed by physicists. According to legend, this Dino Saur once swallowed a philologist, so physicists annually travel to apologize to them.

Vilnius University admission and final exams procedure has changed over time. For example, in the 18th century, students sometimes had to take public exams at St. John’s Church. Influential state figures and clergy also gathered to watch the examination, and students would have discussions with professors in front of them.

Vilnius University celebrates its birthday on 1 April; on that day in 1579 the King of Poland and the Grand Duke of Lithuania Stephen Báthory issued a letter of privilege to open the Vilnius Academy. On the occasion of its anniversary, the university library exhibits the first printed Lithuanian book - Catechism of Martynas Mažvydas.

Prof. Z. Žemaitis, who has been the Rector for a short time, has been teaching the history of mathematics, methodology, and calculation of variations at Vilnius University for almost 30 years. A. Sutkus remembers that after being photographed, back when A. Sutkus was still a student, Prof. Z. Žemaitis offered him to grab a coffee with cognac, and so their conversation went on for a while.

At the beginning of each academic year, the Faculty of Philology invites all new students to an enigmatic-sounding matriculation ceremony. During the ceremony in the Church of St. John’s, the dean of the faculty reads aloud the names of all those newly added to the university lists (lot. matricula). This is how the young person becomes a formal member of the academic community.

Over time, new birthday traditions emerge at the university. Former Rector Prof. Artūras Žukauskas initiated a traditional staff picnic in the university departments. The aim was to show that the university is like a family.

The occupations also affected Vilnius University. Therefore, the Recovering Memory initiative was launched in 2017 to identify members of the university community affected by totalitarian regimes in accordance with the principles of historical justice and respect. They can apply for a symbolic memory diploma.

The Soviet Union constantly lacked labor force, which led to the forced recruitment of students from the occupied states to various jobs. There was at least one case in the history of Vilnius University when a student refused to go to the collective farm and was thus expelled from the university.

The windows of the long-term rector of Vilnius University prof. J. Kubilius apartment faced the M. K. Sarbievijus Courtyard. However, he could only enter the apartment from K. Sirvydas’ Courtyard, and the only way to this Courtyard was through the Grand Courtyard, the gate of which was locked at night. When Prof. J. Kubilius came home late, he would have to bargain with the keeper. Sometimes, he would even offer him a ruble or two.

Prof. M Gimbutienė, a graduate of Vilnius University, is a world-renowned archaeologist and researcher of Baltic and Indo-European culture. A. Sutkus remembers that during an interview the journalist asked her to name the worst feature of Lithuanians. “Jealousy,” M. Gimbutienė said. She then asked for a couple of minutes to think and said: “Pathological jealousy.”

J. Kubilius is the longest-serving and youngest rector of Vilnius University, appointed to the position at the age of 37. Former peers remember the professor of mathematics as a true erudite who found it crucial to develop critical thinking in students. Allegedly, he once told his students that he was not teaching for the money, as the remuneration he received in a year would not even be enough for him to buy a suit for his son, but to teach them how to think.

M. K. Sarbievijus Courtyard is famous not only for poetry events. During the Jesuit college era, it was called a “hirelings’ courtyard” because there was a brewery with a malt kiln, carpentry workshops, hirelings’ houses, bakery, barns for grain, stables. The eastern center of the building housed blacksmiths, shoemakers, tailors, and bookbinders. With the abolition of the Jesuit Order, these buildings lost their economic function.

Mandatory collective assistance was not the only way to encourage student labor during the Soviet occupation era. The then authorities ordered Vilnius University to create conditions for studying without interruption from work. As a result, in the 1970s, more than half of all students studied in the extramural and evening departments of the university. Those with work experience received privileges in the competition for admission.

Today, the faculties have different christening traditions, but all first-year students are united by more than the traditional procession of 1 September on Gediminas Avenue. The tradition was born in 1994, when the then rector of Vilnius University, Prof. Rolandas Pavilionis, came up with the idea to demonstrate that the city is home to the best university in the country. Even the number of steps on the route was measured in preparation for the first procession.

“Education is a source of technological and societal progress but we should not give in to the illusion or convenient assumption that scientific work is an ongoing process of searching for answers. Basically, the real task of a researcher is to recognize what is problematic, what is unclear, inaccurate, and to formulate a meaningful question. The formulation of the question (or problem) itself is an essential step.”

“It is also important to show that professors are humans, just like every student. They’ve simply read more books. I don’t shy away from admitting when I’m sad, what events, deeds disappoint me, I can admit I’m scared or I don’t know something, or if I can’t make a decision. And I can openly say how much I admire their knowledge, their motivation, the work they put into preparing for the lecture, or that I am delighted with their contribution to moderating the workshop or designing the presentation slides.”

“There are no stupid questions because the question itself means that the person is interested, and if someone is interested, then there’s meaning. Even if the meaning is seen through the prism of personal usefulness, it is still better than indifferent participation or the performance of tasks without an internal impulse. After all, often we don’t ask at all, not because everything is clear to us, but because it’s not even interesting.”

“Asking the correct and accurate question at the right time is one of the most important skills these days. The questions open the door to answers that lead to understanding the problem, the situation, getting to know the person, finding out the direction and, of course, raising new questions. Asking questions that start with the words “why, what, how” is not enough. Today’s world calls for more nuanced questions.

“The most important thing is mutual respect and the desire to get to know each other. It is important for me to get to know the students, to ask what interests them, what their hobbies are, and what is important to them. I also always emphasize that students are my equals, they are my colleagues. ”

“Teaching is not just about passing on the teacher’s knowledge to the student, it is also a discussion during which a lot can be learned, for example, to develop skills of thinking outside the box, to discover unique solutions. I often tell students that the more I tell and discuss the same things with them, the more new aspects I discover – the learning process is endless.”

“There are so many role models in my life, from parents to certain researchers that I have never met, but who do very interesting work that inspires my research.”

“The beginning of knowledge is a question. A question is the main tool that allows one to learn about the world. Asking is important to removing ourselves from ignorance, finding things out, understanding, and further improving. The importance of asking is breaking free from ignorance and quickly moving towards progress.”

“Most of the great scientific discoveries and technical inventions have been and continue to be the result of correctly formulated questions. At the human level, the ability to ask is also related to the ability to understand one thing or another. After all, we often prefer to state rather than ask, to impose our opinion on the interlocutor rather than to listen to them.”

“Role model is a person who inspires with their experience and wisdom, professionalism, but most importantly, their life and attitude. Also inspiring are this person’s communication and openness, the desire to generously share their wisdom, and at the same time, willingness to learn from others, to contribute to the common good.”

“Mutual trust benefits not only a professor and students. Trust builds trust. I would like the state to see university not only as a place of science but also as a workshop of trust (in knowledge and people).”

“Asking, above all, means to acknowledge one’s limitations, one’s incompleteness, and one’s inadequacy. Asking means not shutting yourself off from others, opening up to the world, social and physical environment. If one asks out of true curiosity, there is a real tension, a recognition of some sort of inner emptiness and, at the same time, a belief in the possibility of overcoming that emptiness.”

“While we are sometimes frightened by the possibility of a negative response, it also makes us more resilient. It is easier to hear a negative answer a second time than a first. Finally, when we ask a question, it often turns out that others do not know the answer either. It creates a certain sense of community, an understanding that we are all human beings, our goal is to improve, and not knowing is not something to be ashamed of.”

“Few things are as fun to a professor as a well-told cool nuance about physics and the students that get excited after hearing it for the first time. It’s like telling a very funny joke to people who have never heard it before.”

“A young person, a personality, a creator must not be afraid to doubt, ask, deny, offer new ideas, create. And this is incompatible with the idea of authorities dictating obedience, following. Only the courage to change, to create something new one, to disobey the established order guarantees change, improvement, growth and development.”

“For me, the role models have always been prominent scientists, world-class explorers, people dedicated to knowledge and a desire to know, creating a better world for all people to live in. For me, these are Marie Curie, a two-time Nobel Prize-winning scientist, as well as Katherine Johnson, a black woman, a mathematician at NASA, and Uğur Şahin, a person of extraordinary dedication to science who developed a vaccine against coronavirus.”