The article presents the evaluation of students' international academic mobility in higher education in the context of the scientific literature, where the barriers to the development of academic mobility are singled out, the more effective management tools of academic mobility and their effectiveness are discussed. The aim of the research: after identifying the problematic areas of the implementation of international academic mobility in higher education, to anticipate the possibilities of its development. Analytical descriptive, quantitative and statistical research methods were applied. Using the quantitative research strategy, the experience of participation of Lithuanian higher education students (n = 349) in the Erasmus+ mobility programme was clarified, the reasons for non-participation in international academic mobility programmes were revealed and the factors determining higher student mobility indicators were singled out. The results of the study revealed the need to improve the system for the promotion and implementation of international academic mobility in higher education, as the results of the study showed that only a small number of research participants took part in the Erasmus+ programme. Despite the fact that participation in academic mobility programmes provides experience in communication and cooperation with representatives of other cultures, professional foreign language development, independence skills are developed, however, according to the research participants, fear, self-confidence due to insufficient professional knowledge and skills, lack of foreign language knowledge, intimidating selection procedures and interviews, and fears of possible difficulties in adapting when moving to another country, as well as reluctance to break up with family or close friends and insufficient financial support (scholarship), are among the reasons for not participating in Erasmus+ mobility. When assessing the possibilities of developing international academic mobility in higher education, the highest average scores show that higher scholarships and paid internships, as well as opportunities for groups of students to go to the same higher education institution or company in another country and places offered (educational institutions, internship places), the diversity of of places for academic exchanges and the high level of quality of professional training (education, studies and internships), according to the research participants, would encourage students to participate more actively in international academic mobility programmes. The results of the study will have practical implications for anticipating possible more effective tools for managing academic mobility in higher education.

The article validates the assumptions of implementing sustainable development goals (SDGs) using communication tools from a theoretical point of view. The research investigates the possibilities of implementing the SDGs through communication tools. 198 respondents took part in the study. Analytical descriptive, quantitative and statistical methods were used. The quantitative research strategy (questionnaire survey) was used to determine respondents' attitudes towards the SDGs in the environmental, social and economic spheres, to identify their experiences of engaging with the SDGs and to explore the possibilities of managing the SDGs using communication tools. Quantitative data analysis was carried out by calculating the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and percentage distribution (frequency). The results showed that more than two-thirds of the respondents were self-critical about their efforts to engage with the SDGs, with an overall mean score of M = 4.81 out of a maximum of 10. The research also found that more than half of the respondents are sometimes influenced and encouraged to act by the information provided on sustainable development and its implementation, and almost a quarter of the respondents are strongly influenced by the information towards the implementation of sustainable development principles. This confirms the importance of communication as one of the possible solutions to the implementation of the SDGs and indicates the need to find more effective means of information to enable the use of the chosen means of communication to shape attitudes towards sustainable development by exploiting the potential of television and websites, which, according to respondents' assessments, are the most frequent means of receiving information on sustainable development processes. The research results also revealed the need to strengthen the social responsibility of organizations and organize courses and training, which, according to the participants, need to be sufficiently exploited in the context of the prerequisites for disseminating sustainable development objectives and their implementation. The research results will have a lasting value for the scientific debate on the impact of the communication tools used in the implementation of the SDGs and their practical implications for the provision of guidelines for the management of sustainable development processes through communication tools.

The expression of personality traits and creativity of students in different study programmes may differ. The goal of the research is to investigate and compare differences in the expression of personality traits and perceived creativity and their links in two groups of research participants: 1) where the study programmes do not include study subjects for promotion of creativity expression, and 2) where the study programmes include the study subjects that promote the expression of creativity. The research methods: the NEO Five Factor Inventory (Costa, Mc.Crae, 1992) was used to investigate the students' personality traits. Perceived creativity was analysed applying the Questionnaire for Personality Creativity (Petrulis, 1988). The data collected during the research was processed using the method of statistical analysis. The analysis of comparing the values of the components of the personality traits and perceived creativity was conducted applying the Student-t test. Investigation of the correlations of perceived creativity with the indicators of the personality traits was carried out using the Pearson's correlation coefficient. The research results showed that significantly higher average values in the scales of originality, childishness and pursuit of creativity were observed among students from the study programmes, which included the study subjects that enhance the expression of creativity, compared with those of students, who chose the study programmes without the study subjects that promote the expression of creativity. However, criticality was stronger expressed among the latter students. Evaluation of the expression of personality traits disclosed significantly higher average values of openness to experience and neuroticism in the group of students from the study programmes with the study subjects that promote creativity compared to the students from the study programmes without such study subjects. However, the level of extraversion expression was characteristic of the students in the latter group. The conducted correlation analysis of the interaction of perceived creativity and the Big Five personality traits disclosed different results of strength and quantity of links between the indicators of personality traits and perceived creativity in the different participants' groups. The research results will have enduring value in the scientific debate about the peculiarities of the expression of the components of students' perceived creativity and the personality traits and their interrelations, their practical significance foreseeing conditions and possibilities for efficiency of creativity expression in higher education.

The article examines aspects of the use of biometric technologies and the protection of personal data as it relates to the protection of critical infrastructure in the state. The use of biometric technologies for the protection of critical infrastructure is e xamined in this article through employee identification to establish the identity of employees unequivocally, for example, when entering such infrastructure facilities. The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) sets specific conditions for processing biometric data. Still, the relevant data controllers often have problems finding the appropriate basis for processing, especially in the context of GDPR Article 9. The authors, having examined the conditions for the processing of biometric data, propose introducing a particular legal framework for the processing of biometric data as far as it relates to the protection of critical infrastructure.