From January 19th to January 23rd, 2026, the baroque-influenced capital of Lithuania, Vilnius, hosted the next Erasmus+ event. Our ongoing project on the Isolation, Purification and Evaluation of Purification of the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP), glowing under UV light, produced by E. coli, was a preparational meeting for the upcoming project in Évreux, France.
Participants from across Europe, including teams from Germany, Denmark, Poland, Greece, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, France and even a team from the USA, were welcomed by the Lithuanian team in the Jesuit Gymnasium Vilnius for a full week of learning, experiments and cultural exchange. The Lithuanian team managed to organize host families for all international students, which was an unforgettable experience for all the students.
The student mentors were educated from 17.01 till 18.01.2026 by a teacher team before the workshop started.
From January 19th to 20th, the laboratory internship was performed by the workgroups, each consisting of mixed-nationality student teacher workgroups with two participants each, who were guided through the experiment by one mentor from Lithuania, Greece or Poland.
The experimental part of this meeting was focused on the understanding and the actual performance of Hydrophobic Interaction Chromatography (HIC) and SDS-PAGE electrophoresis for the control of the isolation of GFP. These activities were aimed at deepening practical lab skills and biotechnology knowledge.
Each workgroup presented their experimental findings to the entire assembly. A short quiz tested theoretical understanding and lab concepts learned during the week.
The experiment was documented by the Lithuanian national news broadcaster LRT, which made a four-minute report of our work (see Publicity).
After the scientific program, participants had the chance to explore the old town of Vilnius, but also had a tour through the school to get a view of Lithuanian school life. The tour included the historic St. Casimir Church, which is integrated into the school. The cultural activities started with a walk through the city to the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights. Here, the students got a glimpse of the long and cruel history of Lithuania. Keeping with the motto of Erasmus+ Global Networking, the international students took part in an improvisation course to get to know each other better and make new friends.
In order to familiarize the students with Lithuanian culture, the school invited a music association to teach them about the history, songs and dances. The dances were later performed not only by the music association but also by the students.
To gain insight into the emerging biotechnology industry in Lithuania, the students visited two large biotech companies: Thermo Fisher Scientific Baltics and Norway Biotech.
To complete the week, the students had a goodbye dinner, which included dinner, a slideshow of the highlights of the week, and the documentation from LRT. All participants received Erasmus+ certificates. The winners of the quiz were honored with extra prizes and a Certificate of Achievement.
We hope to see each other again at the next meeting in Evreux, France.