On 7-9 December 2021, a team of international experts carried out institutional external evaluation of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. The initial conclusions drawn by the experts are favourable.
At the meetings organised by the Centre for Quality Assessment in Studies (SKVC), the team of international experts met with several different groups representing the LMTA community. The experts were assessing the LMTA activity of the last five years. The first meeting was with LMTA Rector, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Judita Žukienė. Later, the experts met with Vice-Rectors Prof. Rūta Rikterė and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ramunė Balevičiūtė. These were followed by a series of meetings with other LMTA community members: the self-assessment team, the LMTA Council, members of the Senate, and heads of LMTA units (deans, heads of departments, and heads of centres). LMTA staff responsible for quality, students, graduates, doctoral students, teachers and researchers, representatives of the administrative staff also took part in the meetings with the experts. A meeting with a focus on the LMTA facilities and resources and an interview with social partners took place too. The series of the meetings and interviews was closed by a meeting with the ex-Rector Prof. Zbignevas Ibelgauptas who had been leading the Academy during the assessment period.
All the meetings and interviews were followed by a general meeting at which the expert team announced their initial conclusions to the Academy community. Such aspects as the unity of the LMTA community; the leadership of both rectors and their teams; smooth processes that maintain the balance between the formal and the informal; successful merging of the Klaipėda Faculty; opportunities related to the construction of the LMTA campus; and quality management were emphasised as strengths. The involvement of students in decision-making, the quality of artistic research and activities run by the doctoral students, the LMTA input in the Lithuanian culture, and the fact that the LMTA study programmes meet the needs of the culture of Lithuania were also mentioned as advantages.
The detailed conclusions by the experts and the conclusion on the LMTA accreditation drawn up on the basis of the experts’ feedback is to be announced at a later date.
The institutional assessment was carried out by a team of six experts:
Prof. Mark Hunt (the team leader): an independent higher education consultant, Deputy Chair and Non Executive Director at British and Irish Modern Music Institute (BIMM Ltd), Quality Assurance Agency Auditor for Higher Education (United Kingdom);
Christina Rozsnyai (secretary of the expert team): actively involved in quality assurance in higher education with a particular focus on Central and Eastern Europe, Member of the Agency for Quality Assurance and Accreditation Austria (AQ Austria); Member of the Board at the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education; Member of Steering Committee and Team Coordinator of the Institutional Evaluation Programme at the European University Association (EUA IEP) (Hungary);
Dr. Daniela Jobertova (a representative of the world of academia): Vice-President for Quality Assurance and International Relations at the Higher Education Council; Expert at the Czech National Accreditation Bureau (Cz. NAB – Národní akreditační úřad pro vysoké školství); Expert at EQ-Arts – Enhancing Quality in the Arts; Teacher at the Department of the Theatre Theory and Criticism; Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (Cz. AMU – Akademie múzických umění v Praze); former Vice-Rector for Studies and Quality at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (Czech Republic);
Prof. Margus Partlas (a representative of the world of academia): Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs and Research of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre; Member of the Quality Assurance Committee of the Estonian Rectors’ Conference (Estonia);
Dr. Nomeda Šatkauskienė (a representative of social partners): Artistic Director at the Šiauliai State Drama Theatre; Director of the Public Enterprise VšĮ Istartas; Associate Professor at the Department of Arts of Vilnius University Šiauliai Academy (Lithuania);
Miranda Harmer (a student representative), student of the Music Studies Programme (Cello specialisation) at the Leeds Conservatoire, Student Expert at the EQ-Arts (Enhancing Quality in the Arts), Student Expert at the ESU – European Students’ Union, Student Expert at MusiQuE (Music Quality Enhancement) (the United Kingdom).
Like all other Lithuanian higher education institutions belonging in the European Higher Education Area, the LMTA has to go through the external quality assessment procedure every several years and obtain accreditation for studies. The last institutional assessment took place in 2013. At that time, the Academy received high evaluation and was awarded accreditation for a maximum period of six years.
LMTA information
9 December 2021
Assoc. Prof. Vytautas Dambrauskas, Head of the LMTA Department of Film and Television, says that quite recently, the film industry of the Baltic countries has seen rapid development. Lithuania has hosted both foreign and national film production. However, such notable advance makes Lithuania and other Baltic countries experience a shortage of labour and other issues due to the lack of skilled staff in film production.
