News

A doctoral thesis defended at the Institute of Chemistry of the University of Tartu has investigated the permeability of drug substances in the gastrointestinal tract using both experimental and cheminformatics methods. The results of the research improve our understanding of how the basic and acidic conditions of the gastrointestinal tract affect the permeability of drug substances.

The Copernicus ‘Eyes on Earth’ Roadshow made it to Tallinn, allowing students and young entrepreneurs to explore the creative ways of using the free satellite data of the European Union's Copernicus programme to create jobs and business opportunities as well as help us understand our planet better. The event was held on October 3 to 4 at the National Library of Estonia and welcomed 226 participants from 20 countries, most of which were students and young professionals.

Last Friday, 4 October, the founding members of the Alliance4Life gathered at Vilnius University to sign a Memorandum of Understanding. Alliance4Life connects 10 leading life science institutions from nine countries in Central and Eastern Europe that have joined the European Union since 2004.

On Tuesday 8 October at 16:15, Raimundas Matulevičius, UT Professor of Information Security, will deliver his inaugural lecture “Information Security Risk Management Using System Models” in English in the university’s Assembly Hall.

The InnoSME project, which is designed to promote innovation in Ukrainian small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) so as to strengthen their competitiveness by building efficient networks between universities and SMEs, was launched on 16 September under the aegis of the University of Tartu’s Startup Lab. The project will focus on boosting skills and awareness in innovation and product development.

The University of Tartu’s Startup Lab launched the new season of its business idea development programme Starter Tartu on 26 September with the Idea Hackathon. The opening event brought together 150 entrepreneurship-minded students from high schools and universities who presented their ideas, joined teams and later that same night started working together on their business ideas.

Today, on 2 October, the election committee approved the candidates for the deans of all the four faculties.

Our health depends on our genes, lifestyles and environment. Yet, for the most part, healthcare systems still treat us with a one-size-fits-all approach. But large-scale genomic research now promises to enable healthcare providers to personalise prevention plans and treatments.

Yesterday, on the 26th of September, Centre for Ethics, University of Tartu (CEUT) awarded quality badges to kindergartens who work on values development systematically. Prof. Margit Sutrop, the Head of CEUT, gave the highest recognition, the Preschool of Values Education 2019 award to Kõrveküla Kindergarten Päikeseratas and Tartu private kindergarten Terake.

On the 26th of September 2019, kindergartens who participated in the “Good Kindergarten as Values-based Kindergarten” recognition programme and who do outstanding work with values development will be awarded with quality badges from Centre for Ethics, University of Tartu (CEUT). In addition, the laureate of the highest recognition, Kindergarten of Value 2019, will be announced.

On the 27–29th of August, the International Society for Child Indicators (ISCI) will be holding their annual conference in Tartu. Head of the organizing committee Dagmar Kutsar from the University of Tartu says that what makes the conference special is the symbiosis of scientists, practitioners and policymakers who come together for one goal – to find better ways to increase child well-being.

The University of Tartu and Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies are honoured to host a guest lecture by Prof Margaret Levi, a world renowned political scientist whose work is concentrated on relations between the state and its citizens, on Tuesday, 24th of September.

Thursday, 26 September, the traditional Memorial Day is held at the University of Tartu to commemorate former members of the university. This year, monuments are unveiled on the graves of former rectors Peeter Tulviste and Volli Kalm. The construction of the monuments was supported by Tartu city government and the Rotary Club. University members as well as all others are welcome to attend the event.

University of Tartu researchers are embarking on an extensive five-year project, during which a Centre of Photonics and Computational Imaging (CPCI) will be established with a €2.5m ERA Chair grant from the European Commission. The new centre will bring together the university’s expertise in photonics and related fields, and will also include a newly formed research group led by a top-level computational imaging researcher. A call for this position has been announced already.

The Times Higher Education (THE), which is considered the world’s most reputable compiler of university rankings, has published the most recent ranking of the best universities. In the 2019 ranking the University of Tartu continues in the 301st–350th band, while the results of European universities in general show a downward trend.

On 26 September, the University of Tartu Startup Lab organises an Idea Hackathon that starts off the new semester’s business ideas incubation programme Starter Tartu. Students and recent graduates of all secondary schools and university curricula are invited to the event to pitch their ideas or join the teams.

In recent decades, mortality from cardiovascular diseases, especially from ischaemic heart disease and myocardial infarction has decreased in Estonia, but it is still higher than the European average.

At the international remote sensing training school in Kubija, Võru County, young researchers and renowned experts from around the world meet to discuss making the life of the Baltic Sea area better by using remote sensing.

Researchers at the University of Tartu have led the way in uncovering the history of the Scythians, nomadic peoples who inhabited vast swathes of southern Russia, Ukraine and central Asia from around the 9th century BC to the 4th century AD. Given their distance in time (the Scythians were mentioned by Herodotus who lived in the fifth century BC), there are still large gaps in knowledge as to who the Scythians really were.

Cleft lip and palate (CLP) is one of the most prevalent congenital anomalies in the world. This diagnosis is given to one in every 677 live births in Vietnam. As this is a major issue, it requires a comprehensive approach. A Vietnamese doctoral student at the University of Tartu conducted the first study of the treatment outcomes of patients with CLP in his home country to improve deformity-related health behaviour and the organisation and monitoring of treatment.