Samanta Dagytė, a graduate of Kauno kolegija Higher Education Institution Applied Communication study programme, assures that her studies at the Kauno kolegija Higher Education Institution allowed her to get to know more about her future work and assess whether she has chosen the right field. Immediately after completing her studies at Kauno kolegija Higher Education Institution, the graduate successfully enrolled in postgraduate studies at the university, where she is currently deepening her knowledge.

Happy with your choice

The graduate reveals that the practical skills she acquired during her studies helped her to get a job and start accumulate professional experience before she finished her studies, and the work experience she gained allowed her to immediately choose master’s studies.

“I am happy with my choice to finish my studies at Kauno kolegija Higher Education Institution, and then to choose master’s studies at the university. While studying at the Kauno kolegija Higher Education Institution, after doing an internship and getting a job, I gained experience, which gave me the opportunity to choose master’s studies right after I finished my bachelor studies – without work experience, I would not have enrolled immediately,” says S. Dagytė, who is currently working as a communication coordinator, and adds that master’s studies were already in her plans while she was studying in Kauno kolegija Higher Education Institution.

“While studying at Kauno kolegija Higher Education Institution, I had a goal in my plans – master’s studies. I knew that graduates are admitted to the master’s programme after completing additional studies in marketing, business or management, or have at least 1 year of work experience in a field related to the study programme (business management) can be credited for additional studies, I decided to try to enroll immediately because I had already obtained work experience. Also, I graduated with honors in my professional bachelor’s degree, my thesis was graded 10, and all of these count towards graduate school admissions. After submitting the application, after a few days I received an answer that I was accepted,” said the Kauno kolegija Higher Education Institution graduate, who is currently studying Advertising Management at the university.

Supportive and encouraging lecturers

S. Dagytė is glad that she always felt the support and encouragement of her lecturers to actively engage in activities that could contribute to a successful career already during her studies.

“I joined the Students’ Representative Council of Kauno kolegija Higher Education Institution as an ordinary member. In my second year I received an offer to become the coordinator of the Marketing Committee and take responsibility for finding partners and fostering long-term relations with organisations and ensuring advertising services. Also, I decided that I wanted to create more value for the people I work with, so I started conducting trainings, additional classes and strengthening the activities of the Marketing Committee.

The lecturers were always happy to have active students who were involved in extracurricular activities. They noticed us in this way and invited us to various projects. For example, one of the most memorable is contributing to the preparation of communication for Kaunas – European Capital of Culture 2022. The creative work yielded a lot and I am glad that it was possible to see the implemented ideas in the city of Kaunas.

I can safely say that the above-mentioned and other activities contributed to a successful career, because they made me grow as a person, broadened my perspective on various life and professional situations, and understood how voluntary organizations work”, – about the opportunities created to gain valuable experience that will be useful even after graduation studies, said Kauno kolegija Higher Education Instituion graduate S. Dagytė.

The practice acquired during studies is not only for a successful career, but also for “trying on” the chosen profession

Speaking about the Applied Communication study programme, S. Dagytė remembers that during practical sessions and internships in companies, she was able to get to know more about her future work and “try on” the profession.

“Speaking about the Applied Communication study programme, I emphasize one word first – practice. It made it easier to understand exactly what a communication specialist does. Of course, the lecturers-practitioners who shared their experience contributed to this, and during each lecture we immediately applied the theory we heard in practice, for example, performing various tasks in groups, discussing, analysing and proposing one or another creative solutions. The fact that I gained a lot of practical skills during my studies and got to know the nature of my future work up close allowed me to be sure about my studies and, in general, the choice of my professional path,” S. Dagytė, a graduate of Kauno kolegija Higher Education Institution, mentions the advantages of practice-based studies.