Topic: governance

On 13 May, the Ministry of Education and Research and the University of Tartu concluded an administrative contract for 2026–2028. It sets out the objectives of increasing student admissions in fields with higher labour demand, expanding the volume of doctoral research related to artificial intelligence, and supporting internationalisation and talent policy.

Speaker application is open until April 1 for TEDxUniversity of Tartu.

At its public meeting on Friday, 20 February, the council of Tartu Observatory unanimously elected Antti Tamm to continue his duties as director of the institute.

At the meeting on 8 December, the council of the University of Tartu Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences re-elected Professor in Molecular Ecology Maarja Öpik as director of the institute.

On 28 November, the council of the Institute of Computer Science at the University of Tartu elected Jaak Vilo as the next head of the institute. His term begins on 1 January 2026.

On 27 October from 13–18, the University of Tartu development conference “A university for us, Estonia and the world” took place in the university assembly hall and online. Keynote speakers were Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Kersti Kaljulaid and Kristina Kallas.

On 16 June, the council of the University of Tartu approved the new strategic plan, which sets the direction for the university’s activities for the next ten years.

Over the past decade, widening countries (those with lower research and innovation performance) have made substantial progress in increasing their participation in European research and innovation programmes. However, differences have emerged in the development capacity and needs of research institutions in these countries.

On 4 April, the council of the Institute of Bioengineering elected Associate Professor of Molecular Biology Ilona Faustova as the institute’s director. Her three-year term of office starts on 1 May.