The key facts

  • The ISM University committee found plagiarism and citation violations in Lithuanian Prime Minister Sinkevičius's 2015 dissertation
  • The university gave six months to correct the violations and did not recommend revoking the doctoral degree
  • The prime minister had previously denied plagiarism, claiming he wrote the work himself

University finds violations in prime minister's dissertation

The ethics committee of ISM University of Management and Economics has identified violations of academic writing, citation and source attribution, as well as instances of plagiarism, in the doctoral dissertation of Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius. According to the university's conclusions, the work did not meet the requirement of independent doctoral research. This was reported by broadcaster LRT, Anadolu writes.

What is known about the dissertation and the consequences

The dissertation, which Sinkevičius defended in 2015, was devoted to factors influencing alcohol consumption. The university gave the prime minister six months to correct the violations, but did not recommend revoking his doctoral degree. Sinkevičius himself had previously denied plagiarism, stating that he wrote the dissertation himself and followed academic standards. It is unknown how he will respond to the committee's conclusions and what will follow after the six-month deadline expires.