News

On 27, 28 and 31 May, the University of Tartu in cooperation with project partners from Finland (Hansakallion koulu), Germany (Carl-Friedrich-Gauß-Schule (KGS) Hemmingen) and Iceland (Hrafnagilsskoli) is organising an international e-workshop on digital pedagogical entitled "May the Digital Pedagogy be with you" for teachers. Experts from Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, and the United States make presentations and organise hands-on activities. The working language is English.

A team from the University of Tartu is working on an innovative energy technology platform that could find use in diverse applications in the future. It recently received €154,000 from the European Union to support the project, called “Microtubular solid oxide fuel cells finally in microscale,” or FIMS. FIMS is set to officially commence on August 1 and will run through the end of July 2023.

H.E. Ambassador Archil Karaulashvili will be giving an open lecture on Georgia’s foreign policy and perspectives for EU integration process.

The results of the recently completed wave of the study on the prevalence of the coronavirus in Estonia led by the University of Tartu show that the easing of restrictions at the beginning of May has not led to a new increase in the number of infectious adults. According to the study, one in 280 adults is infectious, and antibodies against coronavirus have developed in half of adults.

The newest results of the waste water monitoring study led by the University of Tartu show a stable yet very slow decrease in the coronavirus levels. There are fewer samples with very high levels of virus, but the virus has not completely disappeared from any region.

Altigene, a research group of young scientists of the University of Tartu is developing a gene test, which can warn mountaineers of predisposition to altitude sickness. The test can also help livestock farmers save millions of dollars. Altigene is a group of young researchers of the University of Tartu who believe that their gene test enables to diagnose altitude sickness and thereby prevent its serious consequences. Altitude sickness causes flu-like symptoms and at worst may develop into life-threatening cerebral or pulmonary oedema.

The pre-selection round of Kaleidoskoop also took place completely online this spring. Student teams selected based on three-minute video pitches will have the opportunity to present their ideas at the business festival Startup Day on 27 August.

For the fourth year already, the three rectors’ scholarship is awarded to a student who is the best at the languages of the three Baltic states, i.e. Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian. In the final round of the competition held on Zoom on 14 May, the committee selected the winner: Krišs Kapenieks, who has a doctoral degree in history from the University of Latvia and continues his studies in the master’s programme in Baltic philology and works as a research fellow at the Latvian War Museum.

As the world is running out of lithium, planet-friendlier batteries are waiting to hit the market. We are using up lithium, the essential metal in rechargeable batteries. Some experts estimate that there won’t be any lithium left by 2035, and some say that it may already disappear within four years. Who should lose sleep over this? Anyone with a smartphone, a laptop or an electric car.

From Monday, 17 May, vaccination centres start work all over Estonia and the national vaccination programme against COVID-19 opens to all people aged 16 and up, including foreigners staying in Estonia.

This week’s results of the waste water monitoring study led by the University of Tartu show a decrease in coronavirus levels. The results of the analysis show that in several Estonian settlements, the concentration of virus in waste water is back to a low level. At the same time, researchers acknowledge that the amount of virus in the waste water is still considerable. The situation is particularly worrying in some of the larger towns in Ida-Viru County, where the amount of virus in waste water continues to be above the Estonian average.

Despite the government’s decision to allow face-to-face studies also in higher education starting from 17 May, the university continues work as previously planned. Decisions about the organisation of studies continue to be made by the head of institute in cooperation with the vice dean for academic affairs. The only change is that the requirement not to exceed 25% room capacity has been lifted. The allowed percentage of room capacity is to be decided by the head of institute.

This year marks a quarter of a century since the opening of the Pärnu College of the University of Tartu. On 14 May, this milestone is celebrated with a ceremony, an appreciation event and giving recognition, with presentations and discussion groups, and the symbolic opening of a part of the college building that has been newly renovated for a joint project.

Universities of four European countries and their partners from kindergartens launched the DigiKid project this week at a virtual kick-off meeting with the goal of more systematic application of digital pedagogy in pre-primary education. The project partners discussed, specified, and approved the project objectives, content, action plans and deadlines.

The University of Tartu School of Law continues its Tartu International Law Conversations. The sixth event of the series entitled “International Organisations as Agents of Constitutionalisation: From Neoliberalism to Postcolonialism?” will take place online on 21 May 2021 at 15–16 (EET, GMT+3).

Warmer weather has finally made the cowslips bloom in Estonia, which is not just lovely to see but also of great interest to researchers. This spring, the citizen-science campaign “Estonia is looking for cowslips” launched in 2019 has spread throughout Europe. Led by researchers of the University of Tartu, the cowslip team now includes partners from 30 countries. Everyone is welcome to participate in the observations.

The Office of Academic Affairs in cooperation with the Student Union have chosen the new course registration start time. Based on the results of the survey conducted, registration will start at 21:00.

The launching of the company UniTartu Ventures OÜ founded at the end of 2020 for investing intellectual property created by University of Tartu researchers will be led by its newly elected Investment Director, innovation expert Mart Maasik, who has a long-time experience in management and international business.

This week’s results of the wastewater analysis led by the University of Tartu show an increase in coronavirus levels. Samples with high virus concentration have been collected all over Estonia, which is why precautions to prevent the spread of the virus must be taken very seriously everywhere.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in Estonia after cardiovascular diseases, and therefore finding new, more effective treatments are very important. One promising option is using low-temperature gas plasma, writes Sirli Raud, Associate Professor in Human Physiology at the University of Tartu. In today’s developed society, the incidence of cancer is on the rise. This is explained by various factors, such as increased life expectancy, decreased physical activity, environmental pollution, etc.