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April 23, 2025

Giorgi’s Journey: From Basketball Courts to Lecture Halls at KTU!

For Giorgi Kokhreidze, KTU student from Sakartvelo, basketball has always been his greatest passion. Born in Tbilisi, and raised in Kutaisi, he grew up in a basketball-loving family. “Both my mother and father played basketball, and I think it followed through my DNA,” he says. His skills brought him to Lithuania, where he was invited to train with the Žalgiris youth team during a summer camp. However, it was a studying opportunity that ultimately convinced him to stay.

“Since childhood, I have been interested in technology and always dreamed of studying abroad,” says Giorgi. Studying Business Digitalization Management at Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) gave him a chance to pursue that dream.


Loves the patriotic spirit of Lithuanians

Giorgi Kokhreidze

Adjusting to life in Lithuania was smoother than he expected. Giorgi’s family frequently visited the country and built lasting relationships with locals. In his parents’ view, KTU is a prestigious university, so for Giorgi, it was an obvious option for his studies.

“The first thing I noticed was the openness and warmth of the Lithuanian people. Coming from Sakartvelo, where hospitality is a core value, I immediately felt at home,” Giorgi recalls. Kaunas as a city left a positive impression with its unique architecture, compact layout, and strong national pride among Lithuanians.

“I love how patriotic Lithuanians are and how much they respect each other,” says Giorgi. He also found daily life surprisingly convenient, as Lithuania offers an affordable and comfortable living environment. With everything nearby, staying focused on studies and work is much easier.

Now, Giorgi finds his studies both challenging and rewarding. What fascinates him the most is how digitalisation is shaping businesses. “I have always been interested in finance and how money works, and this field gives me a chance to explore that,” says a KTU student at the School of Economics and Business. Though he hasn’t fully decided if he wants to pursue a career in finance, he is eager to expand his knowledge and see where it leads.


Will always root for Sakartvelo in basketball

Even with a demanding academic schedule, basketball remains a huge part of Giorgi’s life. “I started playing when I was around 14, during the pandemic, when it was hard to train. But I never gave up,” he says. While basketball currently remains just a hobby for Giorgi, he hopes to turn professional if the right opportunity comes along.

“Basketball is more than a way to spend time for me – it’s a lifestyle. Since childhood, I wanted to follow in my parents’ footsteps and be as good or even better than them,” explains a young basketball player.

When it comes to basketball competitions, Giorgi stays loyal to his roots. “In the summer, I went to the Žalgiris Arena with my father to watch a friendly match between Sakartvelo and Lithuania. Lithuania won, but it was an incredible experience. No matter what, I will always root for my home country,” says Giorgi.

Giorgi playing basketball for the KTU team

For now, Giorgi is making the most of every opportunity, both in academics and sports. “I’m enjoying the process,” he simply reflects. He remains focused and motivated to keep moving forward, regardless of whether his future lies in business digitisation or professional basketball.

March 20, 2019

Kiran from India: “Lithuania gave me friends for a lifetime”

Although Kiran Subbarayadu, Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) master’s Food Science and Safety student is living in Kaunas only for the second year, he has achieved a lot. Last spring Kiran created a nutritious buckwheat cocktail, which won an industry prize in the innovation fair Technorama 2018. Today Kiran is working in a Lithuanian company and his organic innovative product will hit the market in a couple of months.

Indian Kiran Subbarayadu decided to come to KTU after a thorough investigation of the University’s study programmes: “Food Science and Safety in the Faculty of Chemical Technology matched my requirements, and the cost of studies in Lithuania is considerably cheaper than in other European countries”.

Kiran is happy about the diversity of the course modules which provides insights into many aspects of food science, and he is especially glad to be involved in the latest research carried out in the Faculty. His favourite module is New Food Product Development.

Even chilling winters are manageable

As Kiran chose Research Track (available in MA+ study model), i.e. studying with the focus on research activities, he spends most of his days in the laboratory. However, he tries to use the little free time he has got to travel, learn new things; Kiran enjoys cooking and getting to know new people.

In his opinion, Lithuanians are open-minded and respectful towards each other.

“So far, Lithuania gave me so many new and beautiful experiences, friends for a lifetime and much more. I got persistent and patient by facing everyday challenges as a university student, which also taught me to live an independent life. I developed an attitude to accept everything that life throws at me, for the best or the worse”, says KTU student from India.

He is enjoying new experiences life in Lithuania is opening. According to Kiran, Lithuania is a great country with beautiful landscape, countryside and rivers, and it is great to spend summer days in the open air.

“These bone-chilling winters are also quite manageable”, adds Kiran with a smile.

Organic buckwheat cocktail to hit the market soon

Lately, Kiran has even less time to enjoy leisure activities, as he has already found a New Food Development Technologist job in a Lithuanian company Ekofrisa.

“It all started in Technorama 2018, where I introduced my new food product and won Ekofrisa’s prize for it. As I was interested to bring the product into the market, I talked to the company’s director, and they provided me a summer internship. After my internship, the company accepted my choice to work with them”, Kiran explains his proactive attitude towards the job-seeking.

The organic buckwheat shake is a healthy mix made of roasted buckwheat flour, organic cashew and organic cane sugar. The cocktail contains a good amount of protein and various nutrients, which are the building blocks of the human immune system. According to the young food scientist, the nutritive value of buckwheat is considerably higher than that of many other grains, and the cocktail helps in building body muscles and reducing blood sugar.

“In India, generally mothers prepare a home-made mix from various types of millets, grains and lentils, which help their children to gain good health. That was my inspiration behind the product”, says Kiran.

The buckwheat cocktail created by KTU student from India is ready for production and will be available in the market in summer 2019.

Enjoys the atmosphere in the workplace

Kiran’s experience of Lithuanian job market so far has been very positive: “Everyone is greeting me with a smile and people are very warm”.

He especially likes the tradition of common lunches, when employees are eating together with the director of the company and are sharing not only foods but also ideas. According to Kiran, this is very rarely happening in India.

“Here every employee is treated equally respective of the work they do, and that’s what I like the most. Of course, with fun also comes the responsibility to create new products – and this is the most challenging part”, says Kiran.

After studies, he is planning to stay and work in Europe for a few years, or even to create a start-up in the organic food sector.

“If I get a good opportunity, maybe I will stay in Lithuania. I like the way how everything is organised here. Lithuania has a lesser number of people, and it is calmer and more peaceful”, admits Kiran, Food Science and Safety, 2nd-year master’s student at KTU Faculty of Chemical Technology.

 

Admission for studying at Kaunas University of Technology has already started. Find out more and apply online.

 

Source – Kaunas University of Technology (KTU)

March 19, 2019

4 Lithuanian Universities are Ranked Among the Top Universities in the World

The latest “QS World University Rankings by Subject” are in and Lithuanian higher education field can not be prouder! For the first time ever, one of the Lithuanian universities is ranked among the top 100 best universities in the world. In total 4 Lithuanian higher education institutions are listed in the rankings.

According to the latest “QS World University Rankings by Subject 2019” (published on February 27th) Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VGTU) continues to grow strong and gains wider recognition. The university ranks in 51-100 place in Engineering – Civil and Structural subject group. In the subject area of Engineering and Technology VGTU ranks at 256 place. So far VGTU is the first university in Lithuania to reach such a high position in the ranking.

Vilnius University (VU) is listed in the rankings under the subject areas of Linguistics (201–250 place), Physics and Astronomy (251-300 place), Accounting and Finance (251-300 place), Natural Sciences (383 place), Social Sciences and Management (384 place), Arts and Humanities (393 place). In addition, VU is ranked in the subject groups of Business and Management Studies (401-450 place), Medicine (451–500 place), and Biological Sciences (451–500 place). Also it is ranked in subject areas of Informatics and Information Systems (451–500 place), Engineering and Technology (451–500 place).

Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) this year is ranked in subject group of Electronics and Electrical Engineering (401–450 place) and in the subject area of Engineering and Technology (451–500 place), and in the subject group of Business and Management Studies (451-500 place). Mykolas Romeris University (MRU) is also among the ranked universities. It is listed on 251–300 place in the Law subject group.