News

The University of Tartu Student Council has asked the student body to express their ideas on what they expect of the rector. Above all, students want the university to be led by a person who is forward-looking and has a clear vision for both the society and the university.

This spring the Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies conducts an online course “SVJS.TK.003. Diffusion and Impact of Internet Voting” in English. The course duration is eight weeks from 13 March 2017 to 07 May 2017. The course is targeted primarily at non-ICT students and professionals who are active on the labour market, studying or working in Estonia and interested in broadening their knowledge of the e-government in general and internet voting in particular. During the course the following topics will be dealt with:

The University of Tartu and Nordic Automation Systems (NAS), developer and manufacturer of LoRaWAN products, launched the first public free-to-use LoRaWAN gateway, thereby offering the companies in this area an excellent opportunity to test their products and later bring them to the market.

As new facts have become evident in the case of discrimination covered in Eesti Päevaleht and Eesti Ekspress, the university has decided to initiate additional internal investigation and for that period temporarily reorganise the work of the professor in question as head of laboratory and supervisor of doctoral students.

From 26 to 28 February the 95th anniversary of the world-famous scientist professor Yuri Lotman is celebrated with an international seminar in the University of Tartu.

Scientific publishing company Springer published the book by Estonian semiotician Timo Maran titled “Mimicry and Meaning: Structure and Semiotics of Biological Mimicry”, in which the author analyses existing mimicry models and suggests semiotic methods for the comparative research of mimicry cases.

At their session on 16 February, the Government of the Republic of Estonia approved the new composition of the council of the University of Tartu. The rector will convene the first council meeting on 13 March 2017. Members of the council from outside the university:

The “Garage48 Hardware & Arts” hackathon, happening already for the 4th time on 17-19th of February in Tartu, brings together skilled individuals all across the Baltics to build ideas into working prototypes.

Researchers of the University of Tartu and Icosagen Cell Factory OÜ have published an article in PLOS Pathogens journal, which introduces the new cellular monitoring system for evaluating the growth of human papillomavirus (HPV) and the effect of drugs. The new drug screening system could considerably speed up the development of a new HPV drug.

On Monday, 6 February president Kersti Kaljulaid handed over the Young Scientist Award of the Cultural Foundation of the President of the Republic to Tõnu Esko, and the Special Young Scientist Award for the popularisation of scientific thinking to Heli Lukner.

Centre for Ethics, University of Tartu is pleased to invite you to the conference “Researching with Integrity”, which will take place on the 10 February 2017 in the Main Building of the University of Tartu.

From 9 February the Mummy Chamber will be open in UT Art Museum – it is a room filled with stories and inviting to adventures in Ancient Egypt.

Within the Estonian-Finnish joint project Plan4Blue “Maritime Spatial Planning for Sustainable Blue Economies”, UT researchers are studying the possibilities for planning and developing marine and maritime economies in the era of high and rapidly increasing demand for maritime space.

One of the major European research and development projects EUROfusion, established to achieve the production of fusion electricity, has given work to a research group consisting of Estonian and French researchers. The group will have the possibility to create radiation-resistant optical materials, which in future could be used in diagnostics equipment monitoring the operation of fusion reactors.

On February 17-19th the Garage48 Hardware & Arts 2017 is happening again at the Institute of Physics, University of Tartu in Tartu, Estonia. The hackathon gathers electronics, mechatronics and software engineers, UI/UX and product designers, marketers and other professionals for 48 hours under the same roof. The goal is to turn a pitched idea into a working physical prototype. The annual event is taking place already for the 4th time, being it one of the most awaited prototyping boot-camps in the Baltic region.

From 28 December to 10 January, students from UT’s partner university participated in the continuing education programme “Russia and Estonia in the European Dimension” which gave them an overview of Estonian-Russian relations, history, cooperation and future perspectives. Particular attention was paid to security in the region.

Today and tomorrow rector Volli Kalm will host colleagues from Vilnius University and the University of Latvia. The rectors are going to discuss the specific development problems and challenges faced by universities of smal countries.

The new official video for the university creates a vivid picture of the inspiring environment of Tartu and UT. It creates interest in studying and working in Tartu and cooperating with the University of Tartu. The main target group of the video is foreigners with no previous knowledge of the university.

In future, skilful regulation of the intestinal microflora may help to postpone the onset of type 1 diabetes in children. Extensive research in which the Children’s Clinic of Tartu University Hospital has participated over the recent half a century reveals the effect of intestinal microbes on the development of type 1 diabetes.

ESTCube-1, Estonia’s first satellite to be sent to the Earth’s orbit in cooperation with the University of Tartu, Tartu Observatory and other research institutions, took images of such excellent quality, as experts say, that now the Tartu researchers are getting first orders from the space industry. In January 2017 the first custom-made space camera will be mounted to the students’ satellite of the European Space Agency.