News

Maaja Vadi, Professor of Management at the University of Tartu, has established the Maaja Vadi Family History Scholarship at the University of Tartu Foundation to support university staff and students in researching and recording their family history, genealogy or the activities of their predecessors, and sharing the results.

At the Startup Day business festival held in Tartu from 28 to 30 January, the university’s researchers showcased latest achievements in their research and development work and held discussions about them.

Although creativity has often been associated primarily with the fine arts, no field of life can do without it, least of all entrepreneurship and research.

This year’s lifetime achievement award was granted to Martin Zobel. The annual awards for research completed and published over the last four years went to 16 researchers from the University of Tartu.

From 30 January to 1 February, the 10th edition of the traditional Student Winter Games took place in Kääriku. The University of Tartu came second in the rankings with 235.7 points.

Preliminary results of the International Student Barometer (ISB) show that international students are satisfied with their studies at the University of Tartu. They highlight strong academic quality, supportive learning conditions and the city of Tartu as an excellent living environment.

The community of Estonian neurologists, neurosurgeons and researchers has suffered a painful loss – on 30 January, the distinguished scientist, teacher of several generations of doctors, and respected physician, Professor Ain-Elmar Kaasik, passed away.

Are you ready to immerse yourself in the Estonian language and culture this summer? We are accepting applications for the Estonian summer courses, which will take place from 27 July to 7 August 2026 in Tartu, Estonia.

A novel technological solution for improving the quality of 3D images was introduced in an article published in the Journal of Physics: Photonics by Shivasubramanian Gopinath, a doctoral student at the Institute of Physics.

Ahead of this year’s Independence Day, President Alar Karis bestows Estonian state decorations on 203 people, 16 of whom are members of the university family.

A cross-country skiing trail with natural snow has been opened in Maarjavälja, the area between Viljandi road and the Physicum and Chemicum buildings of the University of Tartu. All skiers are welcome to use the trail for free.

On 23 January, the University of Tartu Foundation recognised the scholarship recipients of the autumn semester of 2025 and thanked the foundation’s donors in the White Hall of the University of Tartu Museum. Scholarships were awarded from 33 funds in a total amount exceeding €200,000.

At an international lifelong learning conference held in December in the Czech Republic, participants confirmed that universities must invest increasingly in lifelong learning and offer flexible continuing education opportunities for learners at every stage of life. Representatives of the University of Tartu also took part in the conference.

The €10,000 prize for outstanding and already applied achievements in economics was awarded to Jaan Masso, Associate Professor of Applied Econometrics at the University of Tartu Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, for his cycle of works entitled "Analysis of Labour and Employment Relationship Changes: Combining Innovative Datasets and Methodological Approaches.

On 22 January, Tartu city council awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of Tartu to Professor emerita Ene Ergma and Professor Aare Märtson, Head of the Department of Orthopaedics at the University of Tartu Institute of Clinical Medicine.

Researchers from the Institute of Clinical Medicine at the University of Tartu have developed an artificial intelligence-based machine learning model that enabled the relapse risk of endometrial cancer to be assessed before surgical intervention.

On 20 January, representatives of the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance of Ukraine visited the University of Tartu to discuss the Ukrainian universities’ experiences of teaching and research under crisis conditions.

On 16 January, the Estonian Academic Sports Federation’s combined events tournament took place at the NET sports hall in Tartu. The University of Tartu was declared the overall winner of the competition, and the best student athletes and the universities most active in sport in 2025 were recognised.

The University of Tartu is the first university in Estonia to receive certification confirming compliance with the international information security standard ISO/IEC 27001:2022. This shows that the university manages the information in its possession in a systematic, transparent and risk-aware manner.