On 11 May 2020 Transport and Telecommunication Institute (“TSI”) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of the West of England (“UWE”) with the purpose of fostering between the institutions academic cooperation and exchanges and the development of double degree programmes across a range of academic areas including Computer Science and Aviation.
Transport and Telecommunication Institute (Republic of Latvia) and the University of West of England (United Kingdom) have signed an MoU to establish a deep and broad partnership that will encompass joint academic delivery, joint research and internationalisation of the curriculum and student experience. The Faculty of Computer Science and Telecommunication of TSI and the Faculty of Environment and Technology of UWE have agreed to join their efforts in the fields of Computer Science and Aviation and to collaborate to enhance the academic and research opportunities for their respective students and staff.
The Minister of Economics of the Republic of Latvia, Mr. Jānis Vitenbergs emphasised the value of the established collaboration saying: ‘’I am very pleased with the increased presence of one of the leading universities of the United Kingdom here in Latvia and with the strategic partnership established between Transport and Telecommunication Institute and the University of the West of England. It as a partnership that the Ministry of Economics fully supports and aligns with our ambitions of becoming the IT higher education centre of excellence in the Baltics. I congratulate both sides and look forward to the rewarding outcomes of this partnership.”
The partnership between TSI and UWE will eventually result in the development of the double degree programmes to be delivered in Latvia. It will allow students to gain two internationally recognised degrees – one from TSI and the other from UWE. The collaboration between the two Universities will attract international students globally and will produce graduates equipped to meet the needs and challenges of employers in Latvia and wider Region.
The British Ambassador to the Republic of Latvia, H.E. Mr Keith Shannon highlighted the importance of the collaboration saying: “I warmly welcome this exciting partnership between TSI and UWE and the enhanced study and research opportunities it will bring. It’s a great example of the UK higher education and scientific sector’s commitment to collaboration with international partners on education, research, science and technology initiatives.”
Both institutions will initially join their strengths in Computer Science, Robotics and Aviation to make a significant contribution to the national research priorities, contribute to the need of industry and launch innovative degree programmes. They plan to expand the partnership to include other subject areas including Engineering and Logistics.
“Strategic partnerships are increasingly becoming a vital element of education. TSI has played a key role in the process of economic development in Latvia as both a source of new knowledge and an educator of IT graduates. Latvia has the opportunity to position itself as a country where people can acquire world-class education in order to have a successful career in the IT industry. To increase the number of high-level information technology graduates in Latvia, IT Education Foundation created the Baltic IT Society (BITS) – IT education platform to help universities in Latvia attract foreign students to their programs. BITS platform compiles the best IT study programs in different universities of Latvia,” said Maksims Jegorovs, IT Education Foundation Chairman of the Board and Accenture Lead in Latvia.
Transport and Telecommunication Institute was established in 1999 and is now the largest university-type accredited non-state technical higher education institution in the Republic of Latvia. TSI has established itself as a well-known private STEM University. TSI provides academic and professional programmes in Computer Science, Electronics and Telecommunication, Transport and Logistics, Aviation Transport and Management and offers study programmes including degree awards at Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral levels. TSI provides extensive research and consultancy services to its business and community partners. It has embarked on a transformational strategy to internationalise its curriculum and research and has an aim of becoming the leading private technical university in the Baltic Sea Region.
The University of the West of England is a modern and dynamic University, based near Bristol with the new state-of-the-art learning spaces and world class teaching facilities. The University is well known for its links to leading global companies such as Airbus, and for the quality of its research. The University has over 30,000 students and more than 600 courses covering a wide range of subject areas it is one of the largest and best-known universities in the UK. The University was awarded TEF gold status in the latest Government rankings for higher education providers, which is the highest rating in the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF) 2018.
Transport and Telecommunication Institute (Riga, Latvia) and the University of the West of England (Bristol, UK) will hold a press conference on Friday, 19 June, 2020 to announce a strategic partnership, which will become one of the most significant UK university partnerships in Central and Eastern Europe encompassing double degree programmes and academic and research collaboration across a range of subject areas, starting with Computer Science and Aviation.
The press conference will be held at Transport and Telecommunication Institute, Lomonosova Street 1 (3), Riga, Latvia, at 10 AM, with the participation of the Minister of Economics of the Republic of Latvia, Mr. Jānis Vitenbergs, the British Ambassador to the Republic of Latvia, H.E. Mr. Keith Shannon, “Accenture” Country Managing Director and IT Education Foundation Chairman of the Board, Mr. Maksims Jegorovs and representatives of the both Universities.
