News

Nearly 350 people will be participating in the 2016 ECPR Graduate Student Conference, hosted by the UT Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies on 10-13 July. The ECPR Graduate Student Conference is a biennial conference which gives graduate students an opportunity to organize and take part in an international academic event designed to cater specifically for their needs, e.g. giving the experience of acting as section heads, panel chairs and discussants.

An international Cyber Security Summer School for doctoral students and young researchers titled “Digital Forensics – Technology and Law” is held in Tallinn from July 3-8, and brings together leading cyber security and IT law practitioners to Estonia from all over the world.

UT students and their programmed robots team Philosopher are in Germany at the major international event RoboCup, where they are aiming high in robot football.

The Brexit situation has caused plenty of dismay in scientific communities. Researchers are worried whether and how it will be possible to participate in international research projects, particularly those initiated with EU Structural Funds support, or cooperation with foreign researchers in general. ERR Novaator asked the University of Tartu Rector Volli Kalm about the possible impact of the UK’s exit from the European Union on international research cooperation and academic mobility. Volli Kalm:

The University of Tartu International Summer University programme brings participants from Europe and the USA to study in Estonia. This time learners also include participants from various Asian countries—the Philippines, China, India, Iran, Japan and South-Korea. Popular courses address Lotman’s semiotics of culture and analyse the current political situation.

The University of Tartu signed the Prague and the Poitiers declarations that both emphasize the importance of education and the role of academia in the current world as the haven for democratic values. The Prague Declaration was signed by 76 universities belonging to Coimbra Group on 13 May 2016 at a conference held for the celebration of the 700th anniversary of the birth of King of Bohemia and Roman Emperor Charles IV in the historical building of Charles University.

It is only a matter of time before the winners of the UT business and project idea competition Kaleidoskoop, the creators of the website Konku for rental ads without estate agents fee, will target the US market. The students, who participated in the international programme Network Globally, Act Locally, stood out in the US and won second place and 2,000 USD to implement their idea.

Academia Europaea, the European Academy of Humanities, Letters and Sciences, elected UT Professor of Literary Theory Marina Grishakova, Professor of Modern Estonian Language Helle Metslang and Professor of Comparative Literature Jüri Talvet members of the Academy of Europe. It is recognition of their international research work and continuous contribution to European research.

The President and Board of Trustees of the Academia Europaea elected Jüri Allik, Professor of Experimental Psychology of the University of Tartu, Academician to membership of the Academia Europea in recognition of his international scholarship and sustained contribution to European research.

Until 30 June, admission applications can be submitted to the University of Tartu’s 53 Estonian-taught bachelor’s and 54 master’s programmes, including seven new programmes. In the coming academic year, UT will admit 2,342 bachelor’s and 1,417 master’s students.

University of Tartu Estonian Marine Institute is participating in an international project to identify the biodiversity dynamics of the Baltic Sea, its causes and management implications. The annual meeting of the project takes place from 27 to 30 June in Tallinn, with workshops on topics where Estonian researchers have the leading role in the project—spatial and temporal dynamics of zooplankton and invasive round goby.

Until 22 June, UT students of Computer Science will, as the only Baltic team for the second year in a row, compete in Frankfurt at the international student cluster competition. The student team feels strong because the experience of the previous competition has taught a lot.

The First Annual Tartu Conference on Russian and East European Studies taking place from 12 to 14 June brings nearly 200 researchers and experts from around the world to Tartu to introduce the most recent research work in the field and discuss topical subjects, such as political and economic developments, culture and society in East Europe.

In the latest ranking of Eastern European and Central Asian universities by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), one of the world’s leading compilers of university performance ratings, the University of Tartu scored a high fifth place, maintaining the highest rank among Estonian universities. QS ranked the Eastern European and Central Asian region’s best universities for the third year in a row. The University of Tartu has figured prominently in the rankings in all three years, with fourth place in 2015 being its highest to date.

Airbnb, PayPal and Bitcoin are only some of the most common examples of where today’s market is headed. The current market is built on new platform-based contracts, the use of which raises questions regarding the finalisation of the contracts and consumer rights.

On 27 May, Swedbank’s Head of Career Centre Grete Kotkas and Head of Human Resources Ülle Matt visited UT to discuss entrepreneurial cooperation possibilities. On 2 June, the representatives of the Police and Border Guard Board visited the university. Partnership Programme Manager Kristel Reim introduced the options of the partnership programme to the guests. Both organisations are interested in development projects so they also met researchers and visited various university laboratories.

In recent years, engineering has strongly made its way into biology, enabling to create systems with completely new qualities. Several herbs, fuels and medication are produced with the help of such technologies. The Centre of Excellence for Molecular Cell Technology, led by UT Professor Tanel Tenson, works in this field.

The IEEE Distinguished Lecturer Prof. Hamid Krim is going to deliver a speech on Friday, Jun. 10, 15:30 - 17:30, in the Auditorium (room 111) of the Computer Science Department, located at Juhan Liivi 2, 50409 Tartu. The event is organized by the University IEEE Student Branch, and sponsored by the iCV Research Group. The speech will be followed by free discussion and refreshments. Two attendants will win prizes each being worth a one-year IEEE student membership.

Three University of Tartu Idea Lab teams were chosen for the international Network Globally, Act Locally programme to develop their business ideas. The programme begins today in Tartu, where the entrepreneurial youth from two USA universities have also arrived, and ends on 24 June in Nebraska, USA, where teams will present their business ideas to the local business people.

Imagine redesigning a city in only 2 days. That’s exactly what American and Estonian students did last week, when they participated in an exciting 48-hour urban planning challenge as part of a laboratory practicum led by Dr. Daniel B. Hess, Visiting Scholar in the Centre for Urban and Migration Studies at the University of Tartu and Marie Skłodowska- Curie Fellow. UT students in the Department of Geography were joined by visiting American students to develop new schemes for redeveloping Tartu city center.