From 14 to 25 September 2026, Prof. Dr Francesca Tittarelli from the Polytechnic University of Marche (Università Politecnica delle Marche, Italy) visited the Faculty of Civil Engineering at Vilnius College. She delivered a 40-hour series of lectures and practical sessions entitled ‘Durability and Sustainability of Cementitious Building Materials’ to second-year students on the Construction programme.
During the lectures, students learnt about the historical development of binding materials, cement production, hydration and types of cement. The professor also discussed the components of concrete – water, aggregates and chemical admixtures – as well as concrete degradation, reinforcement corrosion and the durability of reinforced concrete.
The final two days of the course were devoted to practical exercises in concrete mix design. These enabled the students to apply their theoretical knowledge in practice and to select the composition of the concrete mix independently.
The professor’s visit was funded under the Education Exchange Support Fund programme ‘Support for the funding of visits by guest lecturers from abroad’.
