News

On 6 November, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (THE) published more rankings by subject, where the placement of the University of Tartu’s business and economics programmes moved up to range 201-250, which is its highest ranking to date.

On the eve of the anniversary of the Republic of Estonia, President Alar Karis bestowed Estonian state decorations on 148 people.

The second call for applications takes place in spring 2022 already and will involve up to 20 researchers.

Estonian Microbiome Project, using electronic health data from more than 2500 biobank participants finds long-term antibiotic usage, independent from recent administration, has an impact on the microbiome, partly explaining the common bacterial signatures overlapping between diseases.

The Guild calls for the new European Research Area (ERA) to develop and implement a holistic vision to strengthen and deepen excellence in less R&I performing (Widening) countries.

The Government of the Republic has decided to give the Ferdinand Johann Wiedemann Language Prize to Specialist of Language Technology, Professor emerita Mare Koit for her outstanding work as the founder and developer of Estonian language technology and computer linguistics.

The government of Estonia decided to give the national lifetime achievement award for culture to Professor emeritus of the University of Tartu, art historian Jaak Kangilaski. The two other recipients of the lifetime achievement awards were architectural acoustics expert Linda Madalik and literary scholar Mati Sirkel.

The award of outstanding lifetime achievements in research and development was presented to Professor emerita of the University of Tartu Ene-Margit Tiit and a total of 11 researchers of the University of Tartu were recognised with the annual awards for best research completed and published during the previous four years.

On 11 February, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science will be held for the second time in Estonia, initiated here by the University of Tartu and the Estonian Young Academy of Sciences.

On Thursday the University of Tartu opened a newly renovated academic and research building for the staff of the Department of Botany and the Department of Zoology of the Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences and the students of life sciences.

On 2 February, the new Ambassador of Japan to Estonia Yukihiko Matsumura visited the University of Tartu Delta Centre and the Library and met Rector Toomas Asser.

The University of Tartu offers its researchers and students a science-based business development program. During the program, participants will gain practical knowledge and support from the best mentors in their field to help bring a science-based product or service to market. The program consists of six month phases and lasts up to three years.

Rector of the University of Tartu, Professor Toomas Asser said that universities cannot take on additional obligations for the next three years without knowing whether the government provides the necessary funding to meet these obligations.

The results of the prevalence study led by the University of Tartu show that the number of people with coronavirus infection has surged compared to December. Most of the infected persons have no symptoms, however, and carry the virus unknowingly. The percentage of adults with antibodies is increasing slowly, having risen only by 1 per cent over the last month.

At the first session of the new composition of the University of Tartu council on 21 January, Ruth Oltjer was elected as council chair. She also chaired the university’s highest decision-making body during the previous five-year period. The members of the council acknowledged Oltjer’s work both as an advocate for the university’s interests and in leading the work of the council.

The Digital Cleanup Week takes place at the university this week and all members of the university are invited to declutter their personal or their unit’s digital life to move in small but effective steps towards a greener university.

The Deep Transitions research group of the University of Tartu looked at the fundamental ideas, institutions and practices of modern industrial societies –– termed as industrial modernity –– during the past 120 years. Researchers identified two main problems that feed the environmental crisis.

The Rector’s Office of the University of Tartu has decided that the university continues face-to-face teaching in spring semester 2021/22. To be able to meet in classrooms and avoid major viral outbreaks, it is still important to get vaccinated, stay home when ill and postpone large events.

The research news section gives regular hints about interesting studies in various fields of research. Social sciences Women tend to overeat after negative emotions, men after positive ones

EU laws are too narrow to embrace the changes in office work, University of Tartu law professor Merle Erikson concluded. A playful toddler and a baby walked into their dad’s home office in the middle of his live BBC News interview, becoming a sensation five years ago (kids interrupting work!) and by now has been viewed almost 50 million times.