VU IIPRS Humans. Bernardas Daugirda

Tell us about the beginning of your journey to IIRPS VU and your studies at the institute. What aspects captivate you the most?

My path to IIRPS VU was quite unexpected. In my senior year of high school, I was torn between all the social and humanities programs offered at Vilnius University (and, deep down, engineering sometimes seemed intriguing too). I considered studying history, culture, and anthropology, until finally, my Lithuanian teacher said, “Bernardai, you should study at IIRPS VU, you’ll see, you’ll like it.” And the most important thing is – I did!

Up until that point, I wasn’t too interested in politics; I had only a general understanding of how things worked around me, the conflicts we had, the political history of countries, and so on. This was thanks to my grandmother. Since early childhood, I heard historical epics, stories of Ancient Greece, tales about Lithuania’s past and present. She is a historian both by profession and in her free time. Perhaps that is also one of the reasons why I ultimately took the advice to study political science.

In my studies, I rediscovered political science – from election predictions to political philosophy. Everything became so fascinating that I felt at home. What impressed me most was the quality of teaching: I have never seen such enthusiastic lecturers, all deeply engaged with the subjects they teach. They’ll even continue discussing them after class if you ask. I am incredibly grateful for this warm and active community.

You are an active student, involved in student organizations. What does student activism mean to you, and which initiatives are the most memorable?

In my opinion, student activism is the most beautiful thing – young, fearless students doing what they are passionate about, and most importantly, believing that everything will work out. As long as there’s enthusiasm, every idea, in one form or another, becomes reality. I’ve heard the same from my grandmother’s stories about her youth.

I decided to become part of VU SA (Vilnius University Student Representation) because I wanted to pass on the magic of the first year to future generations. For my generation, the freshman camp, the integration process, and the mentors became such strong memories that, as soon as I joined the university, I immediately became part of VU SA. When I had the opportunity, I contributed to continuing that “magic” by becoming a mentor twice in a row.

From current initiatives, what resonates the most are the “PoDi” concerts, discussions, community evenings, and the “Barrel” event. These initiatives are becoming synonymous with the institute. I hope these traditions will be preserved by future students, especially the “Barrel”. It’s probably the most political science-focused event I’ve ever attended.

My advice to first-year students and future institute members – student organizations make up half of the university experience. You might forget some of the readings, but you’ll remember the people, the events, and the initiatives for a long time. So, while you don’t have to work and while you don’t have to count every minute, go out and get involved. These are the best days of your life.

In the festive parade marking the start of the academic year, for a few years now, we’ve seen a brightly colored car decorated with the institute’s symbols. How did you come up with this idea? Tell us more about your passion for cars.

The idea, like my decision to study, came up very spontaneously. It all started a couple of days before the September 1st celebration. When I first set foot in the institute, making posters with my course mates, I remembered a conversation with my good friend Donatas, who had restored a classic “Austin Mini” car with his own hands and promised to let me drive it someday. That’s how the idea was born. I showed the car’s photo to the mentors and said, “Maybe we can somehow include it in the parade?” Well, you can guess what happened next.

However, while the yellow Mini with the IIRPS VU banner on the roof looked great in the parade, it was acting up a lot that day. The gear shift lever even broke. Retrospectively, it’s funny to remember, but at the time, I was scared to death. In the end, everything worked out – the car returned safely to its owner.

After that successful appearance, I wanted to repeat the idea. It did not work out in 2023, but this year, 2024, I decorated the parade again—this time, I brought a red Volkswagen Beetle. This time, together with VU SA, we came up with something even more creative – we decided to mount the PoDi-man sculpture on the car. We successfully pulled it off—on September 2nd, at 8 a.m., I picked up the mannequin from IIRPS VU with the Beetle, and after five good hours, the idea became a reality. I hope this initiative will continue to be a highlight in future events.

As for my passion for cars, it’s probably the hobby that has taken up the most of my time. I’ve been interested in them since my teenage years, and my curiosity stemmed from a deep desire to understand how they work. Why are their shapes the way they are? What is their historical development? How have different countries and companies interpreted the purpose of the car? Essentially, cars, especially classic ones, became a way for me to explore history and the world. To me, they became a “living history” of the last century that you can experience, touch, and enjoy by driving. Eventually, this interest led to one of my first jobs – for over a year now, I’ve been giving tours at the Vilnius Auto Museum.

As much as I love vintage cars, I wish people would drive less in cities, especially when it’s not necessary. There are plenty of cars, but we only have one planet, and we should respect it, especially in the current context of climate change.

What does your free time look like outside the institute? Do you have any special hobbies?

My insatiable curiosity drives me. As a student, I’ve already spent a year dancing lindy hop with a VU dance group, interned at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, participated in various IIRPS VU conferences, and even attended the NATO summit. In the winter, I go cross-country skiing, and in the summer, I enjoy water sports. I come up with a lot of activities, sometimes even too many, so many of my newly discovered hobbies and interests tend to be short-lived.

I don’t think it’ll surprise anyone that my main leisure activity is working on classic cars. In my first year, I decided to follow in my friend Donatas’ footsteps – I bought an Austin Mini too and decided to restore it from the first to the last bolt. This process has been going on for over a year now, but I think I’m halfway there – the car has been repainted, and I’m currently reassembling it. But don’t think that a future political scientist really knows how to fix cars – I get a lot of help and advice from a close friend, Dovydas, an engineering student. Without him, I wouldn’t have dared to take on this challenge. I really hope that my Mini will be able to make an appearance at one of the VU IIRPS events.

What would you wish for the IIRPS VU community?

I wish for the community to remain just as strong, active, and close-knit. Most importantly, during these turbulent times, I hope it continues to seek truth, remain brave, and engage in deep discussions to shape Lithuania’s future both within the institute and beyond. IIRPS VU people enrich those around them with their political insights and analyses. So, I wish every student or graduate to continue carrying a deeper understanding of politics into the wider world and to contribute to building our collective future.