News

In the spring semester, the first expatriate Estonian visiting professor of the University of Tartu David Ilmar Lepasaar Beecher teaches a course on nations and empires in a globalising world. Registration to the course is open in the Study Information System until 7 February. 

The University of Tartu Mentoring Programme is open for applications. The programme, created for the students and alumni of the University of Tartu, was first introduced in 2017 and is now for the first time also available for international students and alumni. 

The School of Law of the University of Tartu has a new Doctor!

On 11 January Taivo Liivak successfully defended his doctoral thesis “Tort Liability for Damage Caused by Self-driving Vehicles under Estonian Law”.

The work was supervised by:
Prof. Janno Lahe, University of Tartu;
Prof. Irene Kull, University of Tartu;
Prof. Giovanni Sartor, University of Bologna (Italy); European University Institute (Italy);
Prof. Mark Fišel, University of Tartu.

Aune Valk, University of Tartu Vice Rector for Academic Affairs

The University of Tartu School of Law is launching a series of Tartu International Law Conversations. The first event of the series „International Law in a Biden Administration“ will take place on 13 January at 17–18 (GMT+2).

The aim of this series is to invite academics and practitioners from Estonia and abroad to talk about various aspects of international law. Depending on the circumstances, the events are conducted in person or online.

On January 2, application for English-taught bachelor’s and master’s curricula was opened for international students at the University of Tartu. For Estonian students, application period starts on February 1.

After having received the regulation of the government of Estonia, and discussing with the Rector’s Office the exceptional situations in which it is very difficult to apply distance learning, we now add more detailed information to the message sent on Wednesday. These guidelines will be in force until the beginning of the spring semester.

The government of Estonia decided today that as of 14 December, all educational institutions, including universities, will be closed. Therefore, the university leaders decided that no classroom studies are conducted at the University of Tartu at least until the spring semester.

On Tuesday, 1 December, the university members celebrate the 101st anniversary of Estonia's national university.

So far, the university has favoured preferring face-to-face learning to distance learning. However, as the coronavirus infection rate is increasing, the Rector’s Office decided at its today’s meeting that it is reasonable to rapidly reorganise studies wherever possible to safeguard the health of all university members.

The Digital Consumer Contract Law and New Technologies Conference will take place November 26-27, 2020 on the Zoom platform.

In 2019, the EU adopted two new Directives in the field of consumer contract law: The Directive on Contracts for the Supply of Digital Content and Services 2019/770 and the Consumer Sales Directive 2019/771. Both directives harmonise key consumer contract law rules regarding digital content, digital services, and smart goods across the EU.

View the video address of Rector Toomas Asser focusing on coronavirus prevention at the university on UTTV and read revised coronavirus guidelines at the university.

This week the Government of Estonia announced new coronavirus measures and based on the government’s recommendations, members of the UT Rector’s Office have laid down the following guidelines.

The University of Tartu announces a design contest to find a mascot to represent the university’s visual identity.

All students, staff and alumni of the university are welcome to submit their design projects until 22 November. The winner will be selected in two rounds: in the first round, a committee comprising the representatives of students, alumni and staff will choose three best projects that will be put to a public vote in the second round. The public vote among students, alumni and staff of the University of Tartu takes place in December.

On 30 October, the University of Tartu Senate decided to award the Johan Skytte Medal to the President of the Republic of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid. The highest award for university members, the University of Tartu Grand Medal, will be given to four long-term high-calibre researchers. Also, the recipients of the University of Tartu Star of Appreciation, Medal, Badge of Distinction and the decoration “100 Semesters at the University of Tartu” have been selected.

The university invites all staff members, students, alumni and their families to city orienteering in Tartu from 19 October to 1 November. Do you know the buildings and sites connected with the university? Do you know what was in these places in the past? Grab a map and find out!

Researchers of the Centre for Applied Social Sciences of the University of Tartu have conducted a survey to analyse how the university as an organisation responded to the crisis, and to what extent it is possible to use the gained experience to plan future work.

The two brand new policy briefs developed in the EU-funded FLOW-project by the European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control (HEUNI) and partners outline key recommendations that would enhance capacity of businesses and authorities to detect, investigate and prevent labour exploitation.

This seems to be what politicians from the Conservative People’s Party of Estonia (EKRE) have asked. As an answer, they have proposed a draft legislation aiming to prevent young people from Ukraine, Georgia, Russia or another non-EU country from coming here to study unless they pay for their studies. The draft legislation turned up at the beginning of September, without any analysis or legislative intent, without notifying the parties concerned or coordinating the draft with them.

Dear members of the university,

To recover from the extraordinary situation that hit the world in spring, a summer holiday is vital for all of us. However, we must remember to exercise caution when returning to work to make sure our life at the university and in the country as a whole could continue as normally as possible.