According to the Lithuanian National Broadcasting Television (LRT) report dated July 31, Lithuania's ISM University for Management and Economics announced that it would investigate Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius for alleged violations of academic ethics.
The school stated that its ethics committee has decided to review a complaint submitted by the Lithuanian academic ethics watchdog, which concerns alleged violations in Dr. Sikvichius’ doctoral thesis.
The school emphasizes that regardless of the position or identity involved, all academic ethical issues related to students and graduates will be handled according to a unified procedure. The school will make a final decision after evaluating all information collected during the assessment process and listening to the statements of relevant parties.
According to current regulations, the decision must be made within 30 natural days (excluding the summer vacation period). ISM Management and Economics University expects to announce the results of the investigation by the end of September.
Recently, there has been intense discussion in Lithuania regarding whether the paper involved plagiarism. Sinkevicius himself has repeatedly claimed that he adhered to academic ethics while writing the paper and denied any accusations of plagiarism.
Sinckvichius earned a Master of Marketing and Management degree from ISM Management and Economics University in 2009, and passed his doctoral thesis defense at the same university in 2015.
Previously, on June 30, the Lithuanian Parliament voted to approve Sinkvictus, the chairman of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party, as the Prime Minister of Lithuania. On July 14, Sinkvictus officially took office.
