Academic Centre
Patron John Joseph Medveckis (1942) was born in Latvia and emigrated to the United States in 1951 with his family. J. J. Medveckis is a successful US businessman, Honorary Member of the University of Latvia, inceptor of the UL Business Idea Foundation and a generous donor. The patron has supported the UL on several occasions by participating in projects at the UL Faculty of Business, Management and Economics (UL FBME).
On 4 May 2015, the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Latvia in Philadelphia, businessman and patron John Joseph Medveckis was awarded the Cross of Recognition for his significant personal contribution to the development of Latvian higher education and science, advancement of the country's economic growth and promotion of the image of Latvia abroad.
Support
On 2 July 2013, the University of Latvia FBME Business Incubator opened the FabLab (Fabrication Laboratory) network prototyping studio, which is currently the only of its kind in the Baltics. It became possible with the support of USD 10 000 from patron John Medveckis. The event also featured demonstrations of prototyping equipment, creating physical three-dimensional objects in front of viewers' eyes.
In 2013, there were 120 FabLab prototyping studios worldwide in 34 countries, with Latvia joining them. The newly opened FabLab studio is open to anyone interested in creating a prototype of their own idea.
In 2014, John Medveckis continued to support the University of Latvia FBME Business Incubator with a grant of USD 10 000, which allowed modernizing the premises of the Business Incubator, providing a creative environment for developing student business ideas.
Furthermore, to help new entrepreneurs test the viability of their product/service in the market as quickly as possible, in 2014 the patron proposed to set up a Business Idea Foundation, promising to allocate up to USD 100 000 for achieving this objective. The patron offered a starting capital of USD 80 756, promising to match a dollar (euro) for every dollar (euro) donated by other supporters. The Business Idea Foundation is the first business grant fund for students in the Baltics. The matching donation of USD 100 000 (EUR 80 756) was gifted to the Business Idea Foundation by Richard and Inese Driehaus of Chicago, USA. Thanks to John Medveckis' initiative, the UL Business Idea Foundation has more than EUR 188 000 in its capital, donated by 70 individuals and companies.
In 2015, John Medveckis supported the development of the UL Business Incubator with the amount of EUR 8 064.52 (USD 10 000).
We greatly appreciate the generous support to education and development!