Cutting-edge research and lasting connections: Studying Materials Science and Technology at the University of Tartu

When Līga Maskova first came to Tartu for an Erasmus exchange programme, she only planned to stay for one semester.

When she arrived, she soon realised that wouldn’t be enough.

Thanks to a shared love of heavy metal, Līga quickly made Estonian friends, who took her to shows by local bands and introduced her to “other metalheads” in the city.

“That’s how I kind of infiltrated the scene,” she laughs.

“It was a great experience,” Līga says of her Tartu Erasmus semester. So much so that once her bachelor’s degree was complete, she knew she wanted to return for a master’s.

“When I got home, I applied straight away.”

Learning by doing

Līga enrolled in the University of Tartu’s newly launched MA in Material Sciences and Technology. From the start, she saw the benefits of a programme that combined theory with the practical experience needed for a future career in science.

“It was very applied and hands-on” Līga says. “When we learned something, I could immediately imagine how to apply it to a job in real life.”

As part of her studies, Līga took a course in entrepreneurship – something that was entirely new to her but has “really come in handy” since.

“Knowing what a business plan looks like and what industry wants,” Līga says, has helped her a lot in her current role, where she conducts scientific research and collaborates with partners in the private sphere.

Līga’s experience in Tartu gave her a real insight into “what this industry is like and how startups work,” leaving her well prepared for roles both inside and outside academia.

“It really showed me what was possible.”

Taking on new challenges

Līga has always been curious about different academic paths.

Before coming to Tartu, she’d studied in several scientific fields. For her master’s thesis too, she chose to explore something entirely new.

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“I researched metasurfaces and how they can be used in sensors,” she says.

Working mainly with computational modelling, Līga’s thesis examined “how metasurfaces can increase levels of electromagnetic radiation to boost the signals of things you want to sense.”

“If you have a very small concentration of carbon dioxide in the air and want to sense it, for example, then you can't do that with a regular sensor – you have to enhance the signal somehow,” she explains.

“It’s a very complicated topic,” Līga admits. “You have to understand what‘s happening at a quantum level to really get it.”

Not that that was a bad thing – getting to grips with such a difficult subject and achieving positive results gave Līga even more confidence moving forward.

“It gave me the feeling that if I can do this, then I can do anything – even switch subjects again.”

Finding a balance

Outside her studies, Līga found plenty to enjoy in Estonia. Music in particular offered a creative outlet away from the intensity of her course.

“I’d been singing in choirs or playing in orchestras my whole life, so, I knew I wanted to do something with music when I came here,” she says.

When joining a choir didn’t work out, she picked up her bassoon and auditioned for the University of Tartu Symphony Orchestra. It ended up being the perfect fit.

“I like classical music as well, not just heavy metal,” Līga says, with a smile. “And this was definitely my bassoon period.”

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Being in the orchestra was also a great way to see more of Estonia. She performed in Tallinn and attended orchestra camps in smaller Estonian towns like Paide.

She also had chance to travel in Estonia in her free time. One of her favorite spots was Alatskivi Castle, which she made sure to show her friends when they visited from Latvia.

“I really liked the place and took all of them there,” she says. “It was so nice.”

Connections that last

As her time in Tartu drew to a close, Līga began thinking more seriously about what would come next.

One afternoon in particular, when she sat down with a notebook by the Emajõgi River and mapped out her future, has stayed with her.

“I realised I really wanted to help the planet,” Līga says, and to do that “energy storage was the way to go.” So, after completing her master’s, she returned to Latvia to pursue a PhD in that field.

But Līga’s Estonian ties didn’t end there.

“When I started my PhD, I remembered a professor from my Erasmus time, who gave lectures about batteries on an electrochemistry course,” Līga explains. “So, I reached out to see if our research groups could be introduced.”

They met, exchanged experiences and, “now,” Līga smiles, “we have a connection with the Tartu electrochemistry group.”

For Līga, what began as a single semester has grown into something far more enduring – shaping her own work and laying the foundations for professional collaborations between Estonian and Latvian institutions.

“And these,” she says, “are connections that will last.”