In his welcoming address, Rector Prof. Sergei Ignatov stressed: “The most essential aspect of the University life, in addition to studies, is the social life. By virtue of the social life at the University, we all are under the constant evolvement of our picture of the world. The social life of students forms the emergence of leaders of social transformations in Belarus. We are proud to say that our University forms the new elite of Belarus”. Additionally, Rector Prof. Sergei Ignatov expressed gratitude to the major donors of the University — European Union, Sweden, and Lithuania.
On behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, freshmen and faculty of EHU were greeted by Vice Minister Darius Čekuolis. In his address, Vice Minister highlighted the detentions of EHU students during the peaceful protests in Belarus: “While we commence the opening of the new academic year, several students of EHU, including Maryja Rabkova, remain imprisoned, due to defence of their civic rights and dignity of Belarus”.
In her Keynote address to students and faculty, 2020 Belarus Presidential candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said: “Your knowledge, critical thinking, freedom of thought will always come be valued our country. Choose your own path. And remember: no matter what area you devote yourself to, you will always feel welcomed in the New Belarus”.
Final remarks of the Ceremony were presented by University President Prof. Anatoli Mikhailov, who appealed to freshman class: “Education is far more than working with the text or the place where an already prepared knowledge is served. The knowledge should be worked out given the existing real state of affairs and the challenges faced by us, whereas we are figuring out our own solution [to resolve the challenges]. Our University is the University of interaction and cooperation between students and faculty”.
In 2020, 180 freshman students of undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate study programs were enrolled in EHU. The absolute majority of them are citizens and permanent residents of Belarus. In AY 2020/21 there is a total of 680 students at EHU.
