Popovienė on Prime Minister's dissertation: The issue should also be raised regarding university quality

Lithuanian Minister Vilija Blinkevičiūtė addressed concerns surrounding Prime Minister M. Sinkevičius's 2015 dissertation, emphasizing that such academic processes are primarily handled between the author and the university.

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In such situations, the process is between the person who wrote the work and the university itself. All these processes are always evaluated by the relevant institutions. I think that is the case now.

"In such situations, the process is between the person who wrote the work and the university itself. All these processes are always evaluated by the relevant institutions. I think that is the case now," Blinkevičiūtė told LRT television. She added that all academic works are reviewed using anti-plagiarism software, a standard procedure in universities.

Questions have surfaced recently in public discourse regarding the dissertation defended at ISM University of Economics and Management in 2015. Specifically, concerns have been raised about its submission to Lithuania's electronic theses and dissertations system (eLABa) and the possibility of plagiarism. In response to inquiries about why the Prime Minister's dissertation was not initially available in the eLABa system, M. Sinkevičius signed an agreement for its public disclosure. An ISM University representative confirmed that the work was uploaded to the system on July 16.

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Every work prepared must be reviewed and using anti-plagiarism programs – this is done in universities.

On Thursday, ISM University announced it had received an official request from the Office of the Academic Ethics and Procedures Controller concerning potential misconduct related to the Prime Minister's doctoral dissertation. The university stated it would review and investigate the inquiry according to its established procedures. The Prime Minister himself expressed confidence that any investigations would conclude favorably for him, asserting that he authored the work himself and that discussions on the matter should cease.

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The question should probably be raised more broadly – about the quality of universities and other things.