European Commission highlighted University of Tartu’s project to help Ukraine

In the publication released in February, “Building hope for Ukraine: 15 inspiring projects from Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps”, the European Commission highlighted the most outstanding projects in support of Ukraine through the Erasmus+ programme and the European Solidarity Corps. One of these was the University of Tartu’s initiative that enabled Ukrainian medical students to continue their studies in Tartu after a year of intensive Estonian language learning.

In the 2022/2023 academic year, the University of Tartu accepted medical students from Sumy, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Lviv and Vinnytsia. The students completed an intensive Estonian language course, supported by Erasmus +, and continued their studies in medicine at the University of Tartu in Estonian in 2023/2024.

“The medical students have been very interested in coming to study in Tartu since the beginning of the war. However, coming to the University of Tartu for a semester or two was not an option, as it would have been difficult for many to return to their home university and finish their studies there at the end of the mobility,” said Piret Maiste, Student Exchange Coordinator at the University of Tartu. “We gathered the medical students, and those who passed entrance tests successfully were admitted as international exchange students on special terms at the University of Tartu. To continue their specialised studies, they were required to master the Estonian language at B2 level within a year, which most of them did,” Maiste added.  

On 13 May, a webinar, “EU Solidarity with Ukraine: Insights from Erasmus+ Projects’ Social Actions,” will be held to present the outstanding projects. Student Exchange Coordinator Piret Maiste will talk about the UT project. Registration is required in Zoom to participate.

In 2023, sixteen new Erasmus+ partnership agreements were signed with Ukrainian universities, mainly aiming to foster student and staff mobility. The programme’s flexibility has enabled the University of Tartu to admit 128 international visiting students of Ukrainian origin since the spring of 2022.

More on this topic: 

Admission of Ukrainian students to the University of Tartu Faculty of Medicine, 10.05.2022

Estonian can be spoken after just six months of study, 10.03.2023