Estonia must learn to turn science into capital

Estonia has been long seen as eastern Europe’s poster child for performance in research and innovation, but the small Baltic country now needs to renew its efforts to turn science into economic gain and to find a more equitable balance between basic and applied research.

Toomas Asser was re-elected in April as rector of the University of Tartu with a plan to enhance the university's cooperation with industry, building on progress made by the country over the past 15 years in the digital sector.

“We are great at turning capital into science but not that good turning science into capital,” Asser told Science|Business.

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Estonia has seen remarkable economic growth over the past 15 years, thanks in part to policymakers who understood the significance of investing in digitising public services. As a result, Estonia has one of the most advanced systems in the world, with a single point of access to services ranging from voting and paying taxes, to accessing healthcare and getting a driving licence.

Public investments also spurred innovation in academia and the private sector, with digital start-ups going on to become global leaders in videoconferencing, fintech and other fields. Meanwhile, the University of Tartu led the country to be a leader in genomics, setting up a sequencing database covering 20% of Estonia’s population.

But, says Asser, without commercial translation, this rapid and successful growth of research and innovation is not sustainable in the long run. “We have to change something,” he said.

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