Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre (VIRAC) was founded on July 22, 1994 as a department of Latvian Academy of Sciences when the state commission was established and real estate (object Star) from body of the Soviet Army was taken over.  After two years VIRAC was reorganized to state scientific profitless organization - limited liability company. On December 16, 2004, VIRAC was included in Ventspils University College as a scientific institution, but on the November 25, 2005 VIRAC as a department of Ventspils University College was registered in the register of scientific institutions of the republic of Latvia.

On March 1, 2010 VIRAC was added to Engineering Research Centre of Ventspils University College and institute’s name was changed to Engineering Research Institute Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre of Ventspils University College.

One of the institute’s advantages is the integration of business and applied sciences, both by testing and applying academic knowledge in practice (among the employees of centre are students and graduates of university college), and by carrying out fundamental researches in economics, finance, and modelling business processes.

The objective of the Engineering Research Institute is to provide companies with high quality services of applied sciences, promote the regional development of scientific and technical potential of electronics and electrical engineering, as well as perform observations of natural and artificial radio sources, in order to collect data for research programmes in fundamental and practical radio astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology, geophysics, geodynamics, geodesy, coordinate-time service etc.

There are four departments in Engineering Research Institute:

• Department of Electronic Engineering
• Department of High Performance Computing
• Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics
• Department of Space Technology

Engineering Research Institute of Ventspils University College also offers excursions to International Radio Astronomy Centre.

Contact information of Ventspils University College’s Engineering Research Institute Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre:

Address in Ventspils: Inženieru Street 101, Ventspils, LV-3601
Phone number in Ventspils: +371 63628303
Fax in Ventspils: +371 63629660
Address in Irbene: Irbene, Ance parish, Ventspils county
Phone number in Irbene: +371 63600347 (security guard)
Information about excursions: +371 29230818, e-mail: infovirac [at] venta [dot] lv
Homepage: http://virac.venta.lv