News

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.

In the newly published ranking list of universities from emerging Europe and Central Asia, the University of Tartu has reached the second place, which is also the highest among Estonian universities.

On 21 December at 14:15 Madis Vasser will defend his doctoral thesis “Testing a Computational Theory of Brain Functioning with Virtual Reality” for obtaining the degree of Doctor of Natural Sciences (in Informatics). Supervisor: Sen. Res. Fellow Jaan Aru, Institute of Computer Science, University of Tartu

Cybersecurity is one of the biggest challenges in the digital age, because information became an expensive asset dealing with huge data volumes, improving communication with digital environment. Digital devices and information systems increasingly become attractive for cyber-attacks. According to Eurostat, in 2019, 1 out 3 EU citizens reported security-related threats; among these phishing attacks are the most frequent ones.

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.

The Institute of Computer Science is in mourning. An excellent colleague, a good friend, a valued lecturer, Eno Tõnisson, has left us. Eno Tõnisson acquired a bachelor's degree in 1992 and his master's degree in mathematics three years later at the University of Tartu, and defended a PhD degree in informatics at the Institute of Computer Science in 2017.

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

Perhaps you have noticed a white SUV with the University of Tartu and Bolt logo and a peculiar pyramid on its roof driving around central Tartu. That is the test car of the Autonomous Driving Lab which passed a driving test by the Road Administration and can now cruise the streets on its own.

Although Europe is well-positioned to “lead the global race for blockchain”, a lack of digital skills could hinder this ambition. The new CHAISE project was tasked by the European Commission to develop a new skills development strategy to address the lack of talent in blockchain and distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) across Europe.

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.

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.

In the World University Rankings by subjects, published by the reputable Times Higher Education today, the University of Tartu’s computer science has climbed to the highest position ever, reaching the 176–200 band.

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!

One of the most powerful supercomputers in the world, LUMI, will start to operate in CSC’s data center in Kajaani, Finland, next year. The peak performance of LUMI is an astonishing 552 petaflop/s. To date, the world’s fastest computer, Fugaku in Japan, reaches peak performance of 513 petaflop/s. When LUMI's operations start next year, it will be one of the world's fastest supercomputers.

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.

Research groups of the University of Tartu led by Professor of Mathematical Statistics Krista Fischer and Professor of Bioinformatics Jaak Vilo who have supported the state with the data collection and analysis since the beginning of the corona crisis can continue their work thanks to a private donation by entrepreneur Väino Kaldoja.

On 13 October at 14:15 at Narva Rd 18–1019 and in Zoom room Ardi Tampuu will defend his thesis “Neural Networks for Analyzing Biological Data” for obtaining the degree of Doctor of Natural Sciences (in Informatics). Supervisor: Prof. Raul Vicente, Institute of Computer Science, University of Tartu

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.