Vice Rector for Research Mari Moora: When public life loses long-term vision, the university must be the institution that broadens the horizon

Speech by Professor Mari Moora, Vice Rector for Research of the University of Tartu, at the ceremony and concert dedicated to the anniversary of the Republic of Estonia on 20 February 2026.

Esteemed audience, dear colleagues, students and guests,

Today, ahead of the 108th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia, we look not only to the history and future of our country, but also to those of the University of Tartu. These two stories are closely intertwined. The history of Estonia has taught us that the strength of a small nation lies in knowledge, an open mindset, and perseverance. The University of Tartu has been the bearer of these values for longer than the Republic of Estonia itself, which is precisely why the national university has been the balancing point, the clarifier, and a guide for our society’s future.

The University of Tartu is part of a global academic network where new knowledge is created and new generations are educated based on the best available understanding. In a recent brainstorming session held in preparation for the 400th anniversary celebrations of Academia Gustaviana, our colleague Meelis Friedenthal described universities as embassies of thought – institutions through which cities and countries previously unknown have become recognised. Historically, knowledge, understandings and cultural connections have crossed borders primarily through students and scholars. With them, awareness of our existence has travelled across the world. Friedenthal demonstrated that whenever the activities of the university have been disrupted, our region’s visibility in the world has diminished as well, and these disruptions still shape how we are perceived today. For this reason, it is partly the university’s responsibility to ensure that an understanding of Estonians as an independent nation is firmly established in the minds of historians and decision-makers around the world.

The distinctive role of the University of Tartu is to serve the Estonian state while simultaneously being part of the international academic community. As an ecologist, I know well that sustainable ecosystems function thanks to diversity and cooperation. The same applies to the university and the Estonian state. Our university hosts students from nearly one hundred countries, and among our colleagues are citizens of 84 different countries. Here, pioneering schools of thought have emerged – and, importantly, continue to do so. This is well illustrated by the recent success of our academic staff in securing research funding from the European Research Council (ERC), a hallmark of excellence recognised across Europe. Thanks to the outstanding work of our internationally competitive and globally networked research groups, the University of Tartu – and the independent Estonian state – are known and visible worldwide. From this embassy of thought, the University of Tartu, knowledge and the people who have studied or conducted research here continue to spread across the world, serving as our ambassadors in other countries.

The diversity and high quality of our research and education are the foundations of Estonia’s development and longevity. They also form the basis for sound governance, where decisions arise from knowledge rather than the pressures of passing moods. President of Finland Alexander Stubb, who has recently become a stabilising voice in global politics, has said that to understand international relations, it is useful to have experience in both the academic and the political worlds. The academic community knows well that diversity of experience is invaluable for good decision-making, as it helps prevent short-sighted disruptions. One vivid example of such a disruption, as President Stubb has recalled, is that the war in Ukraine pushed world politics towards disorder at the very moment when we ought to be focusing on three major global challenges: demographic change, climate change, and rapidly developing technology.

At a time when politicians have turned their full attention to security policy, it is the responsibility of universities to ensure that these three major transformations do not remain in the background, nor become objects of populist oversimplification, denial or amplification. Because just as in nature, when balance is lost in society, tension shifts elsewhere: from the environment to the economy, to politics, and to human relations.

Here, education and universities have a key role: the strength of democracy lies not only in voter turnout, but also in how well people understand the issues for which solutions are sought. When a recent newspaper headline declared that the world does not need a philosophising sailor, it reflected precisely the kind of mindset universities must counterbalance. To safeguard democracy, it is increasingly important that a sailor, in addition to being highly skilled, also possesses critical thinking – both on deck and when making decisions in an information-saturated world. Systemic thinking and adaptability become essential survival skills at a time when seemingly simple and rapid solutions may turn out to be costly mistakes. If the burden of critical thinking is left to a small circle alone, we once again create the conditions for harmful disruptions.

Endurance, however, has never meant maintaining the status quo. The nearly 400-year history of the University of Tartu is proof of this. The university has endured thanks to its ability to adapt, to rethink itself, and to change without breaking continuity. Such plasticity is a conscious readiness to respond to new circumstances while remaining true to one’s core values. Today, too – when disorder and disruptions threaten to replace thoughtful transformation – this plasticity is among the most important skills the university can and must share with society.

The Estonian state was born and reborn thanks to people who, in situations that seemed impossible, found solutions and managed to implement them. Shaping such people has been the responsibility of the University of Tartu for centuries, and remains so today. The University of Tartu is a place where honest, reasoned, and research-based discussion can take place – a discussion that extends into society. When public debate becomes impatient or polarised, the university can serve as an embassy offering a calm space for reflection. When public life loses long-term vision, the university must be the institution that broadens the horizon.

May free Estonia live and prosper!