#EnergySmartSTART programme will help to prepare for matura exams: free Physics and Maths lessons offered for 500 senior-year pupils

The #EnergySmartSTART programme, which brings together various energy initiatives, is teaming up with mokosi.lt to offer free distance learning classes in Physics and Maths to senior-year pupils starting this fall. Senior-year pupils, who are preparing for state matura exams in Physics and/or Mathematics and who are studying in regional regions, will be invited to register for the free lessons. Project partners hope that this will encourage more students to take the exams and to pass them with higher scores.

“The demand for engineers and technologists has been growing every year, and it is predicted that Lithuania alone will need at least 2,500 qualified professionals in these fields by 2030. We are already feeling a shortage of such specialists in the energy sector, which is why the #EnergySmartSTART programme aims to encourage people to study electrical and energy engineering. We have a number of initiatives to organise field trips, meetings with professionals and scholarships for students. In response to the problem, this year we decided to pay more attention to senior-year pupils, offering them, together with our partner mokosi.lt, the opportunity to study additional Physics and Mathematics modules to better prepare for the state matura exams in these subjects," says Giedrė Žlibinienė, head of #EnergySmartSTART.

Senior-year pupils willing to additionally study Physics and Mathematics are invited to register on the programme’s website www.energysmartstart.lt. This year, registration is open to senior-year pupils studying in regions, i.e. all pupils, except those, who live in the five major cities of Lithuania (Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Panevėžys). The aim is to motivate pupils living in regions, who are usually less likely to take these state exams or do not have the opportunity to prepare for them properly.

“One of the aims of the project is to provide opportunities to students who have had more difficulty in finding teachers to help them prepare for their matura exams. We will offer a total of 500 packages of distance learning lessons to pupils, consisting of 32 lessons over a period of eight months, i.e. one lesson per week. Pupils will be able to choose between Physics or Maths lessons, or both if they wish. Lessons will start on 2 October, so don't wait and take the opportunity to register now,” says Žlibinienė.

According to Jurgita Jaruševičienė, CEO of mokosi.lt and President of the Board of the Lithuanian EdTech Association, distance learning is a great solution to connect teachers and students living in different cities. Such solutions allow students living in even the remotest corners of Lithuania to find the best specialists in their field. Moreover, distance learning saves time and allows pupils to connect to a lesson from any location convenient for them.

“Of course, these are not the only benefits of the project. We use a lot of digitised content in our distance learning classes, which makes them much more productive and engaging than face-to-face classes,” adds J. Jaruševičienė.

The #EnergySmartSTART information platform initiated by the energy company Ignitis Group together with other energy specialists is aimed at pupils, students and anyone actively considering a career in the energy sector and wanting to learn more about the field. The programme aims to interest and involve people in the energy sector, encourage them to be energy smart and promote the choice of studies that are strategically important for the energy sector. The programme includes various initiatives such as student excursions to energy facilities, lecturer visits to Lithuanian schools, and others.