Advice from Peer Support Student
On this page, you can find information about who Peer Support Students are at the University of Tartu and how they can help you. Below, you can also find instructions on how to become a Peer Support Student.
New students at the University of Tartu are supported by specially trained fellow students called Peer Support Students. Peer Support Students are UT students who have completed a Peer Support Training and who volunteer to help newly arrived degree-seeking students, both international and Estonian, to adapt to the academic environment at the University of Tartu.
Initiating contact
If you have selected, as part of the DreamApply application form, agreement to share your e-mail address with the Peer Support Students, they will receive your e-mail address and will contact you approximately in July. Thereafter, they will continue as Peer Support Students until the end of the first semester.
If you did not agree, Peer Support Students will not contact you, but feel free to contact the Peer Support Students for your study programme yourself (see the list below).
NB Peer Support Students are assigned by study programme (see the list below). If your study programme does not have a Peer Support Student, then you do not have one, and no one will contact you, even if you agreed to this on the DreamApply application.
How can a Peer Support Student help?
Peer Support Students are ready to provide guidance and information on various matters, ranging from the study system and student life to living in Tartu and in Estonia in general.
If you have questions as to how to manage your studies at the University of Tartu (register for courses, etc.), how to adjust to student life and the academic culture of UT, or how to find important locations (computer classes, lunch rooms, etc.), do not hesitate to contact your Peer Support Student. Please note that Peer Support Students are volunteers who are willing and eager to share their knowledge, yet they are not expected or trained to cover all the topics that international students can come across. For example, questions related to visas or residence permits, and finding appropriate and affordable housing in Estonia, should not be addressed to the Peer Support Student. Furthermore, Peer Support Students are not paid for their work, so they should not be asked to bear any costs when helping students.
Here are some examples of the most common questions international students have asked over the years:
- How is the credit system arranged at the University?
- How can I change my University mail account password?
- What is available in the student dorms (for example, what kitchen utensils), and what should I bring?
- How far is the dorm from the bus station?
- Where can I study French?
- What are the opportunities to practice sports in Tartu?
- What is the Estonian national food? Is it also served in restaurants?
- Where can I buy products to make Chinese food?
- How can I buy a monthly bus ticket?
- Where can I buy a second-hand bicycle?
- How can I rent a room?
- Where can I play volleyball?
Here you can find the list of assigned Peer Support Students for English-taught study programmes (bachelor's, 2-year master's) at the University of Tartu. To see the list of Estonian study programmes, please visit the Estonian peer support page.
The list contains Peer Support Students of the autumn semester of the 2025/26 academic year. Emails will be added in July. Peer Support Students have been instructed to contact students from mid-July to the beginning of August.
FACULTY OF ARTS AND HUMANITIES
Estonian and Finno-Ugric Languages (master)
Helena Brit Rosenberg, [email protected]
European Languages and Cultures (master)
Marta Lepson, [email protected]
Folkloristics and Applied Heritage Studies (master)
Kendra Leigh Vine, [email protected]
Philosophy (master)
Kaur Säärits, [email protected]
Semiotics (master)
Martha Mia Veelmaa, [email protected]
FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
International Relations and Regional Studies (master)
Liisa-Lotta Boiko, [email protected]
Business Administration (bachelor)
There is no peer tutor this year. Please contact academic affairs specialist Ave Tiisler, [email protected]
Central and Eastern European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (master)
There is no peer tutor this year. Please contact academic affairs specialist Linda Liis Tanni, [email protected]
Innovation and Technology Management (master)
There is no peer tutor this year. Please contact student Tymofii Kalnichenko, [email protected]
International Law and Human Rights (master)
There is no peer tutor this year. Please contact the programme director Elizabeth Teodora Kasa Malksoo, [email protected]
Politics and Governance in the Digital Age (master)
There is no peer tutor this year. Please contact students Sofia Samoilova [email protected], or Ana França, [email protected].
Quantitative Economics (master)
There is no peer tutor this year, with questions please contact the programme director Jaan Masso, [email protected]
FACULTY OF MEDICINE
Medicine
Miisa Elsa Maria Seppänen, [email protected]
Venla Helvi Sinisaari, [email protected]
Clinical Nutrition
There is no peer tutor this year. Please contact contact the programme director Alastair Forbes, [email protected]
FACULTY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Science and Technology (bachelor)
Natavan Aliyeva, [email protected]
Actuarial and Financial Engineering (master)
There is no peer tutor this year. Please contact the study adviser Kelli Kalda, [email protected] or programme director Meeli Käärik, [email protected]
Bioengineering (master)
There is no peer tutor this year. Please contact the study adviser Liili Laan, [email protected] or programme director Ilona Faustova, [email protected]
Computer Science (master)
There is no peer tutor this year. Please contact the study adviser Karin Peterson, [email protected]; Merilin Piirmann, [email protected] or programme director Eero Vainikko, [email protected]
Environmental Governance and Adaptation to Climate Change (master)
There is no peer tutor this year. Please contact the study adviser Heli Raagmaa, [email protected]; Kairi Põldsaar, [email protected] or programme director Margit Kõiv-Vainik, [email protected]
Excellence in Analytical Chemistry (master)
There is no peer tutor this year. Please contact the programme manager Ivo Leito, [email protected] or Anu Teearu, [email protected]
Geoinformatics for Urbanised Society (master)
There is no peer tutor this year, with questions please contact the programme manager Madli-Johanna Maidla, [email protected]
Materials Science and Technology (master)
There is no peer tutor this year. Please contact student Anna Soosaar, [email protected]
Robotics and Computer Engineering (master)
There is no peer tutor this year. Please contact the study adviser Liina Katherine Viikmaa, [email protected] or programme director Heiki Kasemägi, [email protected]
Software Engineering (master)
There is no peer tutor this year. Please contact the study adviser Anett Sommer, [email protected] or Merilin Piirmann, [email protected]
You can find your student adviser / academic affairs specialist here.
What freshmen have told
The Peer Support Students were very welcoming and showed us around the city. They planned some nice activities.
Been able to communicate with someone living in the environment I was about going into was really helpful. My study program Peer Support Student was always there to answer any question. So her presence really made me feel welcome to the university before arriving.
Peer Support Student always helped, always prepared for our possible questions. When I first arrived I had troubles integrating, Peer Support Student supported me a lot. Also created events for all of the students to meet.
Peer Support Student was way to contact and answered all possible questions before even we even got to Tartu.
How to become a Peer Support Student
To become a Peer Support Student, it is necessary to take part in the Peer Support Training. For more information on this course (such as the topics taught, responsibilities as a Peer Support Student, etc.) in SIS, please go to Peer Support Training (P2OO.00.007). Registration opens together with general registration for spring semester courses, according to the academic calendar.
After completing the spring part (P2OO.00.007, Part 1) of the course, Peer Support Students will be assigned to groups (study programmes) in cooperation with peer support trainers and programme directors. The peer support activities will be carried out during the second part of the Peer Support Training course (P2OO.00.007, Part 2) in the autumn semester, called peer support practice. Peer support activities start in the summer and end at the end of the autumn semester, so availability by e-mail during the summer and presence in Tartu for the autumn semester are necessary. Please check the timetables for the spring part of the course, as attendance at the seminars is a compulsory part of completing the course.
If you are passionate and want to help and support new students and represent UT in the role of a Peer Support Student, while also being ready to learn more about the regulations and organisation of study at the University of Tartu, please do not hesitate to join the course or ask for more information. Contact us at [email protected].
Why become a Peer Support Student?
In addition to being able to help others, gain the gratitude of many students and university staff, and make new friends among those who follow your specialty as well as in other disciplines, peer support provides an excellent opportunity for personal development. This experience can help develop the skills you need in every area of life, such as public speaking, leadership, organisation, and communication skills, etc. You will also receive optional course credit points for completing the Peer Support Training course.
Peer Support Students recommend
You get to feel the excitement of “starting your studies” again and again, which is very precious
A wonderful experience full of new people and self-discovery
Why you should become a Peer Support Student? In every student’s life there is the initial point of uncertainty – “How will I get there?”, “Where will I live?”, “How will I adjust?”, “Are there scholarships?” etc. By becoming a Peer Support Student you will be trained with social skills and knowledge that will be used to assist the next cohort of students. Also if you are a lifelong learner these skills will empower you.
As a Peer Support Student:
- you meet great people
- you can learn important skills that will be useful in future jobs e.g. time management, presentation, social & communication skills, organising events and team work skills
