Rector: raising an educated nation does not mean grinding down the top, it is about lifting up the lows

Dear rectors, honourable minister, professors, new honorary doctors and doctors of the University of Tartu, dear colleagues, students and friends! 

I extend my greetings and congratulations to all of you on the 105th anniversary of Estonia’s national university. Every year, we gather in the university assembly hall to celebrate the events that took place right here on 1 December 1919, the events that laid the foundations for the young Republic of Estonia. The memorial to students fallen in the War of Independence on the wall of the assembly hall helps us understand the exceptional nature of the opening of the Estonian-language university. At the time of the opening ceremony of the University of Tartu of the Republic of Estonia, these young people were still fighting in the war for their country’s right to exist, not knowing whether they would ever make it to the Estonian-language university. 

But students are also fighting on the front line for their country today. Not Estonian students, not in Estonia, but the war in Ukraine is also a fight for our freedom. The celebrations today allow us to reiterate the fundamental values we need to guard carefully to keep Estonia safe. Unfortunately, it is inevitable in the current world order to purchase artillery, yet we need to be determined and not let the basic principles of the Estonian state and the free world collapse. 

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who recently visited the university, vividly illustrated what the power of consistent authoritarian pressure can do to erode a nation’s self-awareness. According to Tsikhanouskaya, the current regime has long restricted the use of the Belarusian language, and now, people refrain from speaking their mother tongue in public for security reasons. As a result, the people of Belarus no longer know the country’s native language. The intellectual elite in exile works hard to keep it alive, but it has no strong future even there. 

At this year’s Kääriku Metsaülikool (Forest University), Rein Taagepera reminded us that there have been several attempts to deprive Estonians of their language, but he said, “Everything becomes more valuable when you realise that others consider it worth taking away”. 

We recently celebrated the 150th anniversary of the birth of rector Johan Kõpp, one of the founders of the Estonian-language university. He, too, helped keep the Estonian language and culture alive in exile during the occupation years. One of his significant principles was “Heritage obliges”. The legacy of the founders of the Estonian-language University of Tartu obliges us to remember why a small nation needs elite culture, higher education and science in its own language. If you think that there are about 6,000–7,000 languages in the world, but higher education is provided in less than one hundred languages, there is no doubt that the people who created the Estonian-language university found the right key to making us “great in spirit”, as taught by Jakob Hurt. The university’s role is particularly important in the darkening times – to provide a sense of security, make sense of the past and the future, and give hope for the survival and development of the state and the nation through research and teaching. 

I remind you of President Toomas Hendrik Ilves’s speech here in the assembly hall at this year’s anniversary ceremony of the Republic of Estonia, in which he said that the present is a twilight time as we are approaching the end of an era. Not even a year has passed since his speech. However, when we think about what is still happening in Ukraine, in the Middle East, where the United States is being pushed by its leaders, and how democracy is faltering here in Europe, President Ilves’ words about the end of an era have become even more real. The president said that Estonia, along with some Eastern European countries with a similar fate, foresaw the sunset of the ending era years earlier than other Western countries, and “these others have still not fully understood and are rebelling for a return to the good old days or for their continuation.” We do not know whether the new era is better or worse than the current one, but in any way, it will be different. We have no choice but to act wisely so that we can choose for ourselves what the “different” means. 

Since Russia’s invasion, we have watched with genuine pride and understanding the seriousness with which Estonian leaders are committed to securing freedom and the determination with which they stand up to defend a free world. Today, it is appropriate to emphasise that the universities’ autonomy, too, is a means to maintain democracy, and it is protected by the Estonian Constitution. That is why we time and again oppose any attempts to include provisions restricting the autonomy of universities into law acts or the state budget. The power to manage money is a great power, but it also means the wisdom to keep up with the times and the courage to make forward-looking decisions. We still hear, in the context of state budget cuts, that we should not think of resource-intensive developments, including new university buildings. I cannot agree with the expectation that economic stagnation should mean stagnation in all areas of life. Difficult times will pass, but it is precisely this time that we must use to plan for development, ensure vitality, and prepare for new growth. Without this preparation, we will lag behind when it is time for a new spurt. 

Speaking of the university and referring to growth, I mean, above all, the intellectual growth that comes when we give science and education an opportunity to go beyond their current boundaries – onto entirely new paths. But I am also referring to the plan of the building complex for several institutes in the Maarjamõisa field, which would remove a physical barrier from the intellectual potential of an important research field and boost Estonia’s economy. However, erecting the building may seem prohibitively expensive in the present circumstances. We are responsible for growth, especially now that the time of physically building up the young state with the help of European subsidies is virtually over. 

Preparation for the new stage of development must take place at universities and research-intensive businesses that are backed by high-level science. The potential for this leap is here in this hall today – our new doctors sitting next to established researchers and scholars. I admit that we should confer considerably more doctorates each year. To keep pace with the countries we look up to, Estonian universities should admit about 100 more doctoral students than they do now. 

Estonia has set a target to increase the percentage of people with doctoral degrees from one to one and a half and double the number of researchers and engineers in the private sector, but if the number and percentage of people with master’s degrees is falling at the same time, where should the doctoral students be coming from? A somewhat reckless example is Finland’s recent decision to launch pilot projects to admit 1,000 new doctoral students and take them to graduation. By contrast, Estonian leaders’ talk of the growth in productivity and research intensity is not credible in a situation where local companies' research and development staff predominantly include specialists with bachelor’s degrees. 

The former director of the University of Tartu Library, dear colleague Krista Aru has stressed that the leaders of Tartu at the turn of the last century did not work to educate the elite but to ensure that the whole nation developed and grew to be united. We are also having an ongoing debate here about how many Estonians should have higher education, and perhaps young people should be more directed towards vocational education. This, however, would turn higher education into an elitist good. At this point, I would like to point out that to maintain a strong nation and state, we must keep everyone in step with development, but when talking about education, especially that quarter of young people who have no professional education but could fill the gaps in vocational education. Raising an educated nation does not mean grinding down the top; it is about lifting up the lows. 

My good colleague Hanna Kanep, Secretary General of Universities Estonia, has aptly summed up the duty of the current generation of decision-makers to the state that has been entrusted in our care and to the nation:  

“Our generation, more numerous and affluent than ever before, is debating whether we can afford to fund the education of the shrinking younger generation. At the same time, we expect them to cover our pensions, climate damage and debts. This debate lacks both logic and morality, not to mention the ambition to give young people a chance to have a better life and promote national independence. What we need is a more meaningful and responsible debate, which would combine pragmatism and noble ideals and set clear objectives for a fairer distribution of responsibilities between generations.” 

It is, therefore, our duty to pass on a viable Estonian language and culture to future generations and provide them with high-quality education, a tool that withstands all circumstances, regardless of what the new era dawning upon the world will be like. 

I congratulate and thank all the new honorary doctors and doctors of the University of Tartu and wish continued intellectual sharpness to this year’s laureate of the “Contribution to Estonian National Identity” award, whose name will be announced shortly. 

May the Estonian-language University of Tartu live, thrive and flourish!