Challenges and opportunities for the development of the graphic and digital media studies in Lithuania

Abstract

The graphic and digital media industry plays an important role in Lithuania and abroad, yet it inevitably faces a lack of specialists in this field. The shortage of professionals in the sector leads to the slower growth of businesses and industry, the lower value of GDP, and, in many cases, unskilled work, poor quality and inadequate presentation of information through different media. These challenges can be attributed to shortcomings of the Lithuanian higher education system. According to the Lithuanian Qualifications Framework, levels 5 (short cycle), 6 (bachelor’s), 7 (master’s), and 8 (doctoral) are classified as tertiary studies. In Lithuania, short-cycle studies in the media industry sector are still not available as the main focus is on the training of bachelor’s and master’s degree specialists.
The article analyses and presents the peculiarities of the Lithuanian education system, competencies, and acquired qualifications in different levels of studies. During the research, Lithuanian higher education institutions were compared, such as universities and colleges – higher education institutions (kolegijos in Lithuanian), which provide study programmes in different field related to the media industry. In addition, the role and potential of vocational schools in training media technology specialists is presented.
The results of the research show that the role of the Lithuanian education system is vital for the media industry. However, the potential is underexploited due to poor students’ career guidance, lack of specific practical skills, or the worsening demographic situation in the country. The significant shortage of specialists can be related to the global pandemic, which had a negative impact on the learning process and, at the same time, forced the search for new teaching methods and tools. The analysis of the education sector’s capacities to ensure smooth, rapid, and efficient training of specialists suggests that more emphasis should be placed on the training of media specialists in the narrow field within a relatively short period time. Such a study concept can be  implemented in short-cycle studies when a specialist in specific media is trained through the synergy of a higher education institution and an industrial enterprise within a year and half or two years.