Starting from the year to come, the partnership between Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) and Public Company ORLEN Lietuva will be further facilitated. The contacts set up between the two organizations a number of years ago were consolidated by the official cooperation agreement signed on the 19 December 2018.

Agreement between the business entity being of considerable significance for the Lithuanian economy and one of the most modern technical universities was signed by KTU Rector Eugenijus Valatka and ORLEN Lietuva General Director and Chairman of the Board Michał Rudnicki.
‘We see some major points of contact, one of which being the qualified specialists, and the other – scientific research', told M. Rudnicki, General Director of the company operating the only crude oil refinery in the Baltic States.

It is an interesting fact that 22 percent of the Company' employees are KTU graduates. ORLEN Lietuva has almost 1'400 employees with 290 of them having graduated from KTU. This is a considerable number which clearly proves the ability of the University to develop top specialists and professionals’, added M. Rudnicki.

Majority of such specialists counting to 135 have graduated from the chemical engineering or environmental engineering studies in Faculty of Chemical Technology.

'One of the key missions of our University is to prepare professional engineers who, as evidenced by experience, fit perfectly in the Lithuanian industry', noted KTU Rector Prof. Eugenijus Valatka.

As per him, the agreement embodies the constantly-evolving cooperation and the active search for new opportunities. 'University means not only the science and laboratories; it also implies the coexistence and culture. It is a perfect opportunity for growth and strengthening', emphasized Prof. Eugenijus Valatka.

As per him, the partnership is enhanced by the University’s pursuit for close relations with industry. 'Our objective is not only to assist our students in gaining theoretical knowledge but also to show, jointly with our partners, the practical effect and labour market opportunities, noted E. Valatka.

ORLEN Lietuva is involved in the process of studies through offering the apprenticeship opportunities for KTU students, proposing the subjects for their final paper as well as through active sharing of professional knowledge, sector trends and innovations.

The range of joint activities between KTU and ORLEN Lietuva will expend in future. The parties have also discussed about enhancing the learning of natural science and foreign languages in schools, and analyzed the possibility to establish 3D Chemistry Laboratory in the University.

Public Company ORLEN Lietuva consists of the crude oil refinery in Mažeikiai, Marine Terminal in Būtingė, the network of crude oil and product supply pipelines, and Wholesale Department in Vilnius. In 2006, the Company became a member of Polish Concern PKN ORLEN Group.

The history of ORLEN Lietuva has a number of great achievements which mark the international recognition of the Company's activities and its production. For several years the Company was announced the Exporter of the Year, is a member of the National Responsible Business Network in Lithuania, has been awarded with the medals for the Product of the Year, Investment of the Century, received the awards of the Most Reliable Company and Top Performer in Latvia.

Whereas, according to the ranking list of the magazine Reitingai, KTU was ranked as the best university according to the assessment of students and employers. The ranking granted under the criterion of 'Alumni added value and employers' assessments' is given on the basis of the employers' feedback on university graduates and their employability.