This brand new kindergarten welcomes 2–6-year-old local children and a group of Ukrainian refugee children and teachers, in cooperation with the Vilnius Ukrainian Centre. It is located in the university, and children are able to use some of the university facilities, such as the music room and the large stage in the amphitheatre.

The staff is made up of experienced professionals and students from various study programmes, as well as Erasmus+ students, volunteers and apprentices from around Europe. The kindergarten carries out projects, including European ones, with the university community, and participates in university activities. For instance, I’m not a robot is an ongoing Erasmus+ project which supports some of the pedagogical work to introduce new technologies to young children, and its final conference is coming up on 28 June.

The kindergarten also pays great attention to family relationships, with a digital, weekly newsletter that reports on all the activities and learning that takes place during the week and announces workshops to inform them on parenting or pedagogical topics.

Very importantly, the kindergarten provides the conditions for university teachers, students and postgraduates to carry out a wide range of research in the field of education, the results of which contribute to the improvement of educational activities. This is the reason you can find the little ones taking part in practical lectures at the university, such as Child’s play pedagogy, Child’s physical education, Child’s language and communication, or Music pedagogy.