University of Tartu invites applications for the expatriate Estonian visiting professor's scholarship

Application is open for the scholarship for expatriate Estonian visiting professor. The scholarship fund aims to make sure that renowned researchers and teaching staff of Estonian descent who work in other countries could take part in the activities of the University of Tartu at least for one year or, as an exception, for one semester. The amount of the scholarship is 50,000 euros for one academic year. 

The scholarship for expatriate Estonian visiting professor was created at the University of Tartu Foundation in November 2018. The scholarship is supported by the Foundation of the University of Toronto Chair of Estonian Studies, the University of Tartu Fund in Toronto, and the Estonian Students Fund in USA. 

Peeter Einola, Director of the University of Tartu Fund in Toronto, recalled that the scholarship for expatriate Estonian visiting professor originated from cooperation with the late Rector Volli Kalm. Einola finds that the scholarship enhances Estonian researchers' capacity worldwide and helps create the necessary research links between Estonian and expatriate Estonian communities. "It is indeed good and proud to be an Estonian, no matter what your country is," says Einola, who has coordinated the establishment and funding of the scholarship since its creation. 

Previously, the expatriate Estonian visiting professor scholarship has been awarded to historian and social scientist David Ilmar Lepasaar Beecher and professor of cultural psychology Jaan Valsiner. 

According to Aune Valk, Vice Rector for Academic Affairs at the University of Tartu, it is very important for the university that the visiting professor is ready to be physically present in Tartu. "This is one of the main selection criteria. It has worked out well with the first two awardees despite the coronavirus pandemic, and it is great that David Ilmar Beecher has stayed in Tartu for longer," Valk added. 

The scholarship may be applied for by a researcher or teaching staff member of Estonian descent who works at a university or research institution outside Estonia. The application is open until 1 October. Applicants are expected to submit an electronic application with all the required supporting materials on the home page of the University of Tartu Foundation.