The Centre for Scandinavian Studies was established in 1991, and is currently the only higher education institution in Lithuania offering Scandinavian language studies. The centre currently teaches Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, and Swedish to more than 100 students, but a lack of resources has left the centre struggling to meet the demand for language courses.
"The Centre for Scandinavian Studies currently has very little space at our disposal, and there is a significant shortage of computers and teaching equipment," said project coordinator Aurelija Cepiene.
Backed by a €500,000 grant from Norway, the centre will now be able to reconstruct one of the university buildings in order to expand the centre's capacity. The financial support will also contribute towards new equipment and teaching materials for the reconstructed building.
"Scandinavian countries are important partners for Lithuania, both in business and cultural fields" continued Cepiene. "The demand for language training is increasing, and this project will help improve the standard of Scandinavian studies in Lithuania," she said.
The Scandinavian language programmes will be revised and developed in cooperation between the University of Vilnius and the University of Oslo, and a new Norwegian-Lithuanian dictionary is in the pipeline. The two educational institutions are also aiming to harmonise the Scandinavian studies at Vilnius University with language courses at Scandinavian universities.