Uudised

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.

The three-minute thesis competition for doctoral researchers, held at the University of Tartu Library on 22 October, featured 13 popular-science short lectures in Estonian and 14 in English.

Three student teams from the University of Tartu took part in the Nordic Collegiate Programming Contest (NCPC) on 4 October, where a total of 173 teams from across the Nordic and Baltic countries competed in the main ICPC category.

Kaur Alasoo, Associate Professor of Bioinformatics at the Institute of Computer Science, University of Tartu, has combined computer science and molecular biology in his research to find new ways of predicting the effects of genetic variants and to better understand rare diseases. He was interviewed by Professor Jaak Vilo, Head of the Chair of Data Science.

For the first time in Estonia, a prototype of a sign language interpreter robot will be developed that will automatically translate spoken and written Estonian into Estonian Sign Language.

At its board meeting on 18 September in Warsaw, the Alliance4Life network elected Professor Toivo Maimets from the University of Tartu as its new President.

Triin Laisk, Associate Professor of Genomics and Reproductive Genetics at the University of Tartu, has become the first person from the Baltics to be selected as one of eight finalists in the Scientific Achievement category of the Inspiring Women in Science competition organised by the journal Nature.

During the Peeter Tulviste memorial week held from 27 October to 2 November, a memorial conference takes place in the university assembly hall, and the exhibition “Bibliophile Peeter Tulviste” opens at the university library.

Last year, Elmo decided to challenge himself by joining the University of Tartu mentoring programme. His mentee was Grete Sakteos, a bachelor’s student in astrophysics.

A recent overview published by the Estonian Research Council (ETAG) reveals that Estonia has performed exceptionally well in the European Union’s framework programme for research and innovation, Horizon Europe (2021–2027). Among Estonian institutions, the University of Tartu has been the most successful participant in the programme, receiving almost €90 million in funding.

On 11 September, following extensive construction work, the Praaga field station was reopened.

In June 2025, the University of Tartu Academic Sports Club conducted a survey on the physical activity habits of the university community.

Until 31 October, nominations can be submitted for the “Contribution to Estonian National Identity” award.

Kelli Lehto, Associate Professor of Neuropsychiatric Genomics at the University of Tartu, is leading a prestigious European Research Council (ERC) grant project that brings together genetics, psychology, and data science to investigate the causes of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults and enhance diagnostic methods.

All university staff and students are invited to nominate candidates who deserve to be awarded the university’s honorary decoration for their outstanding achievements.

All in all, there are 16,052 students at the university.

The mentoring programme that has been popular in the previous years will be held again this autumn semester.

Speech of the President of the University of Tartu Student Union Eneken Riin Salong at the opening ceremony of the 2025/2026 academic year.

At the University of Tartu’s opening ceremony of the 2025/2026 academic year, Andri Türkson, a first-year computer engineering student of the Faculty of Science and Technology, welcomed the participants on behalf of the students.

The car Solaride III Enefit, built with the help of University of Tartu students, won second place in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge – a world championship for solar cars held in Australia, covering nearly 3,000 kilometres.