Teaching in Vilnius

Goal

In response to the needs of a growing city, Vilnius aims to address the shortage of teachers in a comprehensive way. 

The project is open to teachers currently working in educational institutions in Vilnius, or to persons with a higher education degree who wish to work as teachers in educational institutions in Vilnius.
Those admitted to the studies will acquire the necessary qualifications and/or additional competences during their non-degree studies at higher education institutions. Completion of studies entitles the holder to teach in the relevant study programme or to engage in specialised pedagogical activities. After completing their studies, participants will be required to work for at least two years in an educational institution in Vilnius in a position corresponding to the study programme completed. The tuition fees of those admitted to the studies will be paid for by the Vilnius City Municipality.

Achievements in 2025

Funded by Vilnius City Municipality:

- 70 places for professional studies in pedagogy to obtain a teacher's qualification;

- 30 places for studies in the pre-school and pre-primary education module;

- 15 places for studies in the primary education module; 

- 30 places for special education module studies;

- 30 places for speech therapy module studies;

- 10 places for social pedagogy module studies. 

We are also testing a new model of professional studies in pedagogy for the first time, with studies lasting two years. Participants in the EDU Vilnius program "I'm Starting to Teach in Vilnius" have the opportunity to earn their first 30 study credits in the first year of the program. In the second year, they will earn the remaining 30 credits by studying at Mykolas Romeris University. Seventeen aspiring teachers began studying under this model in the fall.

Contact

Project manager Donata Šablinienė
donata@eduvilnius.lt

Goal

The teacher shortage is one of the most pressing education problems in Vilnius, and one that we pay particular attention to. With this three-year programme, we aim to help teachers get a foothold in the capital's municipal schools by providing comprehensive support to new or returning teachers.

Description

The programme is aimed at teachers who are new to teaching and those who have returned to school after a long break. Research shows that the first year at school is one of the most difficult, so during the first three years we organise a range of training, workshops and supervision sessions to:

- build the professional confidence and identity of pre-service teachers;
- encourage pre-service teachers to reflect on their professional practice and personal growth, and to face the challenges of collaboration with colleagues with courage;
- strengthen teachers' professional capacities in educational psychology, self-development, educational practice and IT applications.

Achievements in 2025

This year, 210 people applied to participate in the 2025–26 "I'm Starting to Teach in Vilnius" program. We invited just over 100 of them to participate.  

Almost 40 beginning teachers participated in the June and August "Summer Training" sessions and the "Autumn Camp." 

This year, a new program format was introduced, where people who want to become teachers can get half of their credits during the first year of the "I'm Starting to Teach in Vilnius" program, instead of the standard one-year studies offered elsewhere, and the other half at university during the second year. This allows participants in the program to start working in schools and successfully obtain a teaching degree at the same time.

For the second year in a row, 25 teachers are participating in the program, which is tailored to their needs.   

Taking into account the specific nature of the program, training was also provided for novice preschool teachers on topics such as modern educational resources and student empowerment, cooperation with parents, legal aspects of work, assessment and self-assessment in the educational process, promoting student motivation to learn, stress management, complex student behavior problems, etc.

Contact

Project manager Edita Linkevičiūtė
edita@eduvilnius.lt

Goal

We are celebrating Teachers' Day in Vilnius all week long - because we want to thank teachers for their work, and we invite other Vilnius residents to join in the thanks!

Description

Teachers are invited to attend theatre performances, cinema screenings, museums and excursions free of charge during the festive week, as well as to take advantage of discounts just for them. There is also a gala concert where Vilnius Teachers of the Year are awarded.

Achievements in 2025

At a festive concert attended by more than 8,000 educators, the 2025 Vilnius Teachers and Leaders were honored—10 teachers and 2 leaders were selected from 105 nominations, as well as the four most active teachers of the Vilnius Is a School project.

We continued the tradition and presented the 2024 Vilnius Teachers of the Year every month through EDU Vilnius communication channels. 

During Teachers' Week in 2025, educators were invited to attend theater performances, movie screenings, museums, excursions, swimming pools, and sports activities free of charge, as well as take advantage of discounts at cafes, spas, and even ice skating! In total, there were more than 40 different offers, for which we are grateful to our 15 partners.

540 teachers watched films and plays

185 teachers swam, skated, and participated in other sports 

200+ teachers visited museums and creative workshops

Thank you to our partners: Active Vilnius, Akropolis, Crustum, the Energy and Technology Museum, Gym+, Raštinė, the National Museum of Lithuania, SPA Vilnius, and the Vilnius City Museum.

Contact

Project manager Jogailė Misevičė
jogaile@eduvilnius.lt

Goal

Vilnius is a big city and schools have a wide range of practices that other schools often don't hear about. 

We wanted to organise a larger event that would be useful, interesting and, most importantly, a space for educators to meet, see each other and share good practices.

Achievements in 2025

For the second time, we organized a conference for teachers to share best practices, "Mokau(si) 2025" (I Teach/Learn 2025), which attracted more than 400 participants.  

We had three different themes: citizenship, modern technologies, and preschool education. Teachers and other members of the education community shared their experiences and invited discussion.

Participants rated the conference an average of 8.77 out of 10. From the feedback: 

- Conferences like this could be held several times a year.

- Thank you for the opportunity to learn and interact with colleagues.

- Overall, it is very good to be in the company of like-minded people, to share experiences and to be inspired. 

Goal

To create a sustainable system of competence development and professional networking for general education teachers in Vilnius City.

Description

The project aims to develop teachers' general, didactic and subject-specific competences by mobilising teacher communities for collaboration and professional development, providing them with opportunities to share their practical experience with each other, and to collaborate with researchers and other social partners.

Achievements in 2025

There are 30 subject-specific methodological councils operating in Vilnius, which, with the help of EDU Vilnius, organize professional development events for their subject communities as needed. 

The councils have organized 35 seminars, conferences, and educational and exploratory visits. Over 2,000 teachers participated in these events.

A final event was organized for the research project "The Story of One Photo" for students in grades 5–8 and 9–12.  
The project aimed to encourage students to open up their personal family memory repositories—photo albums—to (re)construct the past through narrative, establish a memory connection between generations, and give meaning to our collective civic and historical memory. The historical events and moments in the lives of the students' families and relatives were woven into a whole story and took shape in the form of an electronic publication of the students' research work.

In March, psychologists from Vilnius educational institutions traveled to Anykščiai, where art therapist Monika Tekutienė awaited them at the Arts Incubator with her seminar "Strengthening Inner Resources through Art Therapy Methods." 

Special attention was paid to preschool education – after the Minister of Education, Science, and Sports approved the guidelines for the preschool education program, each institution had to prepare its own preschool education program that would help to better identify the educational needs and progress of each child and be adapted to each child and group of children. 

Special attention was paid to preschool education – after the Minister of Education, Science, and Sports approved the guidelines for the preschool education program, each institution had to prepare its own preschool education program that would help to better identify the educational needs and progress of each child and be adapted to each child and group of children. 

In order to help institutions prepare their programs, 18 meetings were held in the methodological groups of preschool education institutions to update the education programs. Over 360 managers and teachers participated. With the help of the preschool education methodological council, 145 preschool education institution programs were evaluated.

An introductory visit to the Tauragė municipality was organized for the preschool education institution council (directors and deputy directors). 

At the conference "Mokau(si) 2025" (I teach/learn 2025), preschool education had its own hall, where 12 principals and teachers from Vilnius city preschool education institutions shared their best practices. 

We heard the need and created a page where methodological teacher groups can share information and methodological materials relevant to them. 

Contact

Project manager Gražvydas Kazakevičius
grazvydas@eduvilnius.lt