News

Recreational use of cannabis is increasing worldwide, including in Estonia. A study by medical researchers of the University of Tartu shows that the first use of cannabis in Estonia is taking place in increasingly younger age groups – more and more people try cannabis before the age of 16. From the point of view of brain development, this is too early.

Minister of Education and Research Liina Kersna and the Minister of Entrepreneurship and Information Technology Andres Sutt met the leaders and top scientists of the University of Tartu to discuss the long-term plans of the Estonian higher education and the universities’ role as supporters of the development of high value-added economy.

This week’s results of the waste water analysis led by the University of Tartu indicate that the concentration of coronavirus in waste water has remained rather stable over the past few weeks. Compared to the modest decrease in the Estonian average indicators, Harju County stands out by a somewhat quicker decrease in coronavirus level in the waste water.

The European Space Education Resource Office (ESERO) in Estonia was officially launched on 3 March 2021. The goal of ESERO is to support STEM studies in primary and secondary schools by using space as a context. ESERO Estonia, hosted by Tartu Observatory, joins European Space Agency's (ESA) growing ESERO network, currently active in 18 other ESA Member States.

On 28–29 April, Stockholm University and the University of Tartu are holding a virtual conference on the cultural representations of collapse and extinction. The conference brings together diverse researchers from Europe and the Americas working on art, literature and discourse.

The Guild joins other groups of research-intensive universities in Europe in voicing its concern regarding proposals to restrict the UK’s, Switzerland’s and potentially other countries’ access to parts of Horizon Europe.

Coronavirus concentration in wastewater has decreased to a moderate level in many regions in Estonia. The number of samples with very high concentration has dropped by a third in a week.

According to the recently updated Web of Science citations database, the University of Tartu now also ranks in the one percent of the world’s most highly cited research institutions in the field of materials science. This is the thirteenth field of research in which the University of Tartu belongs among the top institutions.

On 21 April, the University of Tartu and Bolt signed a significant agreement to expand collaboration in the development of autonomous vehicle technology. The Institute of Computer Science will considerably enlarge the autonomous driving technology research group, creating better opportunities for research, development and innovation in this field and for the practical training of students.

The study on the prevalence of coronavirus reveals that the number of infectious adults is several times smaller and the number of adults with antibodies against coronavirus has increased by a half compared to a month ago. Slightly more than half of the people with anti-virus antibodies have achieved protection through vaccination.

Disposable face masks are a major cause of the large environmental footprint in the corona crisis. A study by University of Tartu researchers showed that these masks can, in fact, be repeatedly heat-treated before their efficiency starts to significantly decrease.

This week’s results of the wastewater analysis led by the University of Tartu confirm a persistent yet very slow decline in the coronavirus levels. There is still a large amount of virus in wastewater samples all over Estonia and achieving a moderate level can still take weeks.

Throughout May, the university invites all employees, students, alumni and their families to orienteering in the city of Tartu. The spring orienteering course, compiled by the university museum, focuses on places related to sports and recreation. Did you know that according to architect Krause’s initial floor plans there was supposed to be a fencing hall on the ground floor of the main building? If not, come orienteering and find out other exciting sports-related facts about the university.

The University of Tartu has decided to provide extended application deadlines for international master’s studies in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and the Faculty of Social Sciences.

As part of the cultural festival German Spring, the literary walk in the Baltic-German student town, created by the University of Tartu Department of German Studies in cooperation with Tartu City Museum, is presented on Thursday, 8 April. Audio guides and traditional maps will offer interesting background information in Estonian and German to those participating in the walk.

Starting from Monday, 12 April, a limited number of people will be allowed to study in the Univerity of Tarty (UT) Library reading rooms. This opportunity is primarily meant for students who are writing their theses and need materials that can be used only in the library. People who have rented a private work room can also come to the library from Monday.

The University of Tartu School of Law continues its Tartu International Law Conversations. The fifth event of the series entitled “The Nuremberg Trials and the Soviet Union” will take place online on 22 April 2021 at 17–18 (EET, GMT+3). The aim of this series is to invite academics and practitioners from Estonia and abroad to talk about various aspects of international law. Depending on the circumstances, the events take place in person or online.

This week’s results of the wastewater analysis led by the University of Tartu reveal that the concentration of coronavirus in samples taken from larger cities of Estonia has started to decline. However, the virus is widely spread all over Estonia and still abundant in the wastewater, so the situation does not seem to be easing just yet.

Current regulations do not support the sharing of health data with medical researchers outside the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA). Researchers of the University of Tartu have helped the European academy networks to seek solutions to facilitate the transfer and mediation of health data in both regions.

A master’s thesis defended at the University of Tartu revealed that in 2018 in Estonia, the burden of disease associated with smoking totalled to 23,634 years of life, that is 38.9 years per 1,000 inhabitants. Men lost more than four times more years of life than women due to smoking, and most years of life were lost outside Tallinn and Tartu.