Signe Bāliņa and Gundars Bērziņš will compete for the University of Latvia rector’s post

Signe Bāliņa is currently a professor at the UL Faculty of Business, Management and Economics and an adviser to the UL rector. Gundars Bērziņš is the dean and professor of the UL Faculty of Business, Management and Economics.

“At present, when specific candidates have been named, I can express my satisfaction that, regardless of which of the nominated candidates will take the position of head of the university, UL will be headed by a strong and experienced personality. However, the pre-election process is not over yet, because before the election of the new rector, the applicants’ discussions with the UL family are to take place, and UL community is awaiting these meetings with genuine interest and expectancy,” says Professor Ivars Kalviņš, chair of the UL Council.

In the following months, the university administrative and teaching staff, as well as students will have the opportunity to get acquainted with the rector’s candidates perspectives regarding the actions necessary to ensure the advancement of UL, including internal and external consolidation, in order to achieve the goals set in the UL Strategy in the areas of scientific excellence, study quality and other fields relevant to the university. It is expected that, when meeting with applicants for the position of rector, the entire university family and especially the members of the Constitutional Assembly will be able to obtain the necessary information to establish which candidate is the most suitable for the position of the UL rector. The selection of the new rector will conclude with the election of the rector at the UL Constitutional Assembly.

The application for the position was announced on September 25. A total of 24 applications were received during the month.

The candidates for the position of UL rector were required to have a doctoral degree in one of the areas of strategic specialization of the University of Latvia, in compliance with the Republic of Latvia Cabinet of Ministers Order, impeccable reputation, management experience in the field of higher education and science at least 8 years, experience in building international strategic partnerships and managing development or research projects, experience in research management and achievements in scientific research at the international level (articles in internationally cited publications, participation in research projects), experience in attracting private or public funding for research and innovation, as well as Latvian and English language proficiency at least on the level C1. 

Furthermore, the applicants for the post of rector had to meet additional requirements – understanding of the normative acts regulating the operation of a research university; academic work experience; experience in elaborating and implementing the development strategy of a higher education institution; comprehension of quality assurance processes in the European Education Area; professional development in the field of higher education management and quality assurance; communication and reasoning skills, orientation towards development and achieving results; experience in change management in academic environment. 

The monthly salary before taxes was set from 11,935 euros in accordance with the Unified Salary Procedure and budget of the University of Latvia.

The professional experience of the candidates and the election process in greater detail will be provided on the website www.rektoravelesanas.lu.lv.