Innovation Europe > News > Innovation EU Vol1-1 > Daugavpils University

Nowadays humanity has reached a new development stage, in which the expression “Sine labore nihil” (“Nothing without work”) is being paraphrased into “Sine labore scientia nihil” (“Nothing without scientific work”), and knowledge has become the most significant factor of human well-being. In Latvia and Daugavpils a knowledge-based society is forming as well, and the University must be one of the promoters of the development, because each of the academic staff first of all is a scientist, who does research in a specific field and passes the acquired thoughts and results on to the students and society in general.

Daugavpils University is transforming into an educational establishment with new ideas and opportunities, into the centre of science, education, culture and art. Scientific institutes and centres are developing in the University, new scientists are being trained and the scientific schools are improving, projects are being realised and technology transfer is being promoted.

Our objective – to become a modern scientific university, which educates not only students, but society in general as well!

Daugavpils University (DU) is the secondlargest classical state university in Latvia and it is developing as an important centre of scientific research in the Eastern part of the state. DU scientific institutes and centres are strengthening, researchers and teaching staff are taking part in planning and realisation of various projects more and more actively.

DU has five faculties and 10 scientific institutes and centres:

• Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics with its Institute of Ecology, Institute of Systematic Biology, G.Libert’s Innovative Microscopy Centre, Centre of Material Surface Strengthening Technologies and Centre of Mathematical Research;
• Faculty of Humanities with its Institute of Comparative Studies and Oral History Centre;
• Faculty of Education and Management with its Institute of Sustainable Education;
• Faculty of Social Sciences with its Institute of Social Research;
• Faculty of Music and Arts, where it is planned to develop research centre as well.
• Research Institute of Latgale works as an inter-faculty structural unit.

The study and research work of DU is assured by the Centre of Information Technologies and Centre of Foreign Languages, but in 2008 the Technology Transfer Office was formed in order to foster co-operation between scientists and entrepreneurs. The main directions of scientific activities in DU are:

• Systematic biology (entomology, botany);
• Research of water and forest biological resources, planning of nature protection areas;
• Holography, extraction of nano-structured materials, investigation of their peculiarities;
• Comparative research in humanities;
• Sustainable education, pedagogical theories and branch pedagogy, lifelong learning;
• Social research in economics, sociology, social psychology and law;
• Theory, practice and development of sciences of music and arts;
• Research of Latgale region on the basis of regional approach and oral history.

The growth of DU scientific activities is testified also by lots of issued monographs and published scientific articles (in 2008 – 13 monographs and 566 scientific articles), international scientific conferences are organised regularly, and the number of students in eight doctoral study programmes has increased to 138 people. The contacts with scientists from foreign countries are widening and at the moment comprises 60 countries both in neighbourhood and USA, Japan, Canada et.al.

Daugavpils University – a 21st century science centre!

Professor Arvīds Barševkis
Daugavpils, Vienibas Street 13-221
Tel: +371 6542 2180, +371 6542 4321
Fax: +371 6542 2890
E-mail: rektors@du.lv
Website: www.du.lv

Technology Transfer Contact Point
Head: Sergejs Gerbreders
Parades Street 1-123, Daugavpils, LV-5400
Tel: +371 2948 2227
E-mail: sergejs.gerbreders@du.lv

International and Public Relations Office
Daugavpils, Vienibas Street 13-215a
Tel/fax: +371 6542 1606
E-mail: asd@du.lv
Website: www.du.lv
www.du.lv/en/research