MRU extends inquiry into complaint over Skaistė’s dissertation

Mykolas Romeris University has extended its investigation into a complaint alleging academic ethics violations in the preparation of conservative politician Gintarė Skaistė’s doctoral dissertation, with findings expected in December, LRT reported.

The university’s investigation group is continuing its work and is provisionally expected to submit its findings in the first half of December, MRU Communications Department head Karolina Markauskaitė told the news agency ELTA on Thursday.

The group began work on September 1 under an order from the rector and was initially given two months to prepare its findings. “Yes, the work has been extended,” Markauskaitė said.

The Office of the Academic Ethics and Procedures Ombudsperson received the complaint in August and referred it to MRU for further review. It raises questions about possible problems with text originality, discrepancies in calculations and shortcomings in the presentation of results. Skaistė has said she will provide the university with all the information needed to assess the issues objectively.

Skaistė defended her dissertation, titled “A model for assessing the impact of institutional systems on venture capital investment,” in 2016. She earned an economics bachelor’s degree from Kaunas University of Technology in 2010, later completed economics master’s studies at MRU and obtained a doctorate in social sciences.

Last week, the ethics commission at ISM University of Management and Economics found significant breaches of academic writing, citation and source attribution rules in Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius’s dissertation, including instances of plagiarism. Sinkevičius was ordered to correct the work within six months.