News

Until 31 October, nominations can be submitted for the “Contribution to Estonian National Identity” award.

Kelli Lehto, Associate Professor of Neuropsychiatric Genomics at the University of Tartu, is leading a prestigious European Research Council (ERC) grant project that brings together genetics, psychology, and data science to investigate the causes of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults and enhance diagnostic methods.

All university staff and students are invited to nominate candidates who deserve to be awarded the university’s honorary decoration for their outstanding achievements.

All in all, there are 16,052 students at the university.

The mentoring programme that has been popular in the previous years will be held again this autumn semester.

All University of Tartu students can now use, free of charge, the AI-powered Copilot Chat which is now running on OpenAI’s latest model, GPT-5. The platform can be accessed conveniently and securely using a ut.ee account, ensuring data protection through Microsoft. The data entered is not used to train AI models.

Speech of the President of the University of Tartu Student Union Eneken Riin Salong at the opening ceremony of the 2025/2026 academic year.

At the University of Tartu’s opening ceremony of the 2025/2026 academic year, Andri Türkson, a first-year computer engineering student of the Faculty of Science and Technology, welcomed the participants on behalf of the students.

Speech by Professor Toomas Asser, Rector of the University of Tartu, at the opening ceremony of the academic year on 1 September 2025.

The car Solaride III Enefit, built with the help of University of Tartu students, won second place in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge – a world championship for solar cars held in Australia, covering nearly 3,000 kilometres.

The Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs, in cooperation with the University of Tartu’s High Performance Computing Centre, have announced a major procurement for the purchase of graphics processors to increase the country’s computing capacity and accelerate the development of AI solutions.

The Von Bock House of the University of Tartu (Ülikooli 16) has undergone a major renovation, and the Institute of Cultural Research has moved back to the building.

This autumn semester, the second edition of the popular optional course “Deep Tech Entrepreneurship” (LTGI.00.005) takes place.

In the 2025/2026 academic year, nearly 450 degree-seeking students and 300 international visiting students will start their studies in English-taught curricula at the University of Tartu.

On Wednesday, 27 August, the governments of Estonia and Latvia meet in Tartu for their second joint session to discuss their cooperation and the region’s future. Rector Toomas Asser will welcome the delegations. The session and the press conference with the prime ministers of both countries take place at the University of Tartu Museum.

On 23 July, the supervisory board of the University of Tartu Foundation approved the foundation’s strategy for 2025–2035. The strategy focuses on expanding the University of Tartu endowment fund, engaging alumni and the wider public, increasing the impact of scholarships and awards, strengthening partnerships, improving visibility, and enhancing organisational and risk management.

Estonian space education and space technology are entering a new phase. On 22 August, the University of Tartu (UT), Tallinn University of Technology and the Estonian Student Satellite Foundation signed an official cooperation agreement to initiate a joint space programme running for at least three years.

On 18 August, the Minister for Justice of Sweden Gunnar Strömmer met with Rector Toomas Asser, Director of the School of Law Priit Pikamäe, Deputy Director for Research of the School of Law Aleksei Kelli and the Head of International Cooperation Kristi Kerge.

In the genetic study on heart health led by the University of Tartu Estonian Biobank, the required number of participants – just over 2,500 gene donors – have now expressed their willingness to take part. With their help, researchers aim to determine whether heart disease can be more effectively prevented with cholesterol-lowering treatment based on genetic risk assessment.

The work of University of Tartu intersectoral doctoral researcher Eduardo Brito could reshape how we verify truth in the digital world. His research on a decentralised Proof-of-Location system, recently published in Nature Scientific Reports, offers a new way to cryptographically prove where and when something happened, without compromising privacy or relying on centralised authorities.