News

On 16 January, the Estonian Academic Sports Federation’s combined events tournament took place at the NET sports hall in Tartu. The University of Tartu was declared the overall winner of the competition, and the best student athletes and the universities most active in sport in 2025 were recognised.

The University of Tartu is the first university in Estonia to receive certification confirming compliance with the international information security standard ISO/IEC 27001:2022. This shows that the university manages the information in its possession in a systematic, transparent and risk-aware manner.

At the end of last year and the beginning of this one, the University of Tartu hosted a delegation of grant advisors, project managers and financial managers from the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE). The study visit was organised by the UT Grant Office within the framework of the European Commission–funded BRIDGE project, which aims to strengthen the resilience and capacity of Ukrainian research institution KSE.

During the Faculty of Social Sciences Winter Days, the recipients of the Outstanding Societal Contribution Award and the Act of the Year were announced.

On 14–15 January, the conference “Teaching for learning 2026: anxiety and excitement of teaching” took place at the University of Tartu. The focus of the two-day event was on shaping an academic culture that supports learning and pedagogical wellbeing.

The European university alliance ENLIGHT has recently published its 2025 Impact Narrative – a data-based overview of its activities since the launch of the network in 2020. The results prove that ENLIGHT has had a significant impact on not only the academics and staff of the network, but has also developed its community and culture.

On 2 February, IT Office will delete Teams and SharePoint groups without an owner. Before this, automatically selected group members will receive a notification email with instructions on how to proceed.

At the conference “Teaching for learning 2026”, Vice Rector for Academic Affairs Aune Valk presented the teaching awards and the teaching quality award of 2025.

The University of Tartu is recruiting an equality officer to support university members in cases of unequal treatment and ensure a fair and professional handling of such cases.

Together with sixteen other European higher education organisations, the The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities, including the University of Tartu, have issued a joint statement calling on EU policymakers to ensure that at least €60 billion are allocated to Erasmus+ in the ongoing negotiations for the next Multiannual Financial Framework for 2028–2034.

The University of Tartu invites international students interested in English-taught curricula to submit their applications in DreamApply. Studies will start on 31 August 2026.

It has been a busy year at the University of Tartu: we celebrated the 106th anniversary of Estonia’s national university, our researchers and students received recognition, the number of admission applications increased at every level of study, and a new strategic plan was adopted.

A project of the University of Tartu Youth Academy aiming to create mathematics clubs for lower secondary school students has received support from Targa Tuleviku Fond (Smart Future Foundation). With this funding, a nationwide network of mathematics clubs will be established, offering lower secondary school students the opportunity to engage with mathematics beyond the standard curriculum.

At the end of November, the University of Tartu and the Commercial Association of Estonian Dairy Producers (EPIKO) signed a cooperation agreement to take research-based solutions and cutting-edge technology into everyday agriculture.

On 13 December, the team Rowtalia, consisting mainly of University of Tartu alumni – Karl Jürgenstein, Kait Kaarel Puss, Arnold Rein Tatunts and Andres Käosaar – set off to compete in the ocean rowing race World’s Toughest Row Atlantic 2025.

From 28 to 30 January 2026, the 10th international business festival Startup Day takes place at the Estonian National Museum in Tartu. The University of Tartu will be present with a diverse and engaging programme.

In 2025, the study that drew the most attention in public digital channels was led by Professor of Botany Meelis Pärtel and confirms the negative effect of human activity on wildlife biodiversity.

We wish our university community and friends a joyful holiday season and a Happy New Year!

On 19 December, the UT senate elected Kristel Uiboupin as the director of the university’s Youth Academy. She will begin her five-year term of office as the director on 1 April 2026.

Researchers at the University of Tartu Institute of Computer Science, Junior Research Fellow of Artificial Intelligence Joonas Ariva and Associate Professor in Artificial Intelligence Dmytro Fishman, together with radiologists from Tartu University Hospital and engineers at Better Medicine, have developed an AI-based tool that accelerates the detection of kidney cancer. Its effectiveness was validated in a study published in Nature Communications Medicine.