The University of Tartu excelled in the ICT evaluation report

A report was published which evaluates ICT related research activity in Estonian research institutions. The University of Tartu was given the highest grade in the ICT domain. The main recommendations were to develop international recruitment and ICT infrastructure.

The report for the targeted evaluation of research in information and communication technology in Estonia also covered the research and development activity of the Institute of Computer Science at the University of Tartu. The most outstanding research groups at the Institute of Computer Science were the Bioinformatics, Software Engineering, Cryptography, Language Technology, and Distributed Systems research groups whose activity was judged as high international level.

The report pointed out that although the number of PhD graduates is low, and this is mainly due to low state funding, the students in the ICT field are more satisfied with their financial state than students in other fields. It was also outlined that the UT Institute of Computer Science enlists PhD students in projects which add value to society. In addition, the panel commended the decision to develop a fully English–taught master’s programme in computer science, similarly to the master’s programme in software engineering.

It was recommended that in the future, international cooperation should be developed even more and international recruitment should also be increased. Attention was also drawn to the fact that the current infrastructure is starting to feel a strain and it should be improved.

The report also evaluated the UT Institute of Technology’s Intelligent Materials and Systems Laboratory which has a strong interdisciplinary focus that includes material science, robotics, chemistry, computer science and electronics. The lab has potential to collaborate with educational researchers to improve STEM education—education which includes scientific and technological knowledge, engineering skills and mathematical thinking. The panel outlined the high international level of the laboratory.

The Geo–Informatics and Cartography research group at the Department of Geography was recognised for the high–level international research in developing mobile positioning. According to the report, the working group has the opportunity to use unique mobile datasets for new discoveries about human mobility. Although the research group mainly focuses on geosciences, the panel recognized the impact that the group’s ICT related research has created in their domain.

The Bioinformatics research group at the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology focuses on large scale biological sequence analysis which uses the ICT techniques as a tool for creating impact in their domain. The group was recognised for their high quality publications and excellent graduates, many of whom have continued with post–doctoral studies, for example, at the University of Illinois, Oxford University, and the University of Bergen.

Professor Marlon Dumas, Professor Jaak Vilo and Professor Maido Remm were given special credit for their high–level work as leaders of research groups.

The report for the international evaluation of research in information and communication technology in Estonia was presented in Tallinn on 11 June. The report evaluated ICT related research activity at the University of Tartu, Tallinn University, Tallinn University of Technology, Cybernetica, ELIKO Competence Centre in Electronics-, Info- and Communication Technologies, and the National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics.

Targeted evaluation is the external evaluation of research and development activity which is carried out in order to prepare strategic action plans for research and development activity or other decisions and methods in research policy or to evaluate and analyse their impact and implementation.

Have a look at the report at the website of the Estonian Research Council.