Meist meedias

Peeter Hõrak to hold seminar on March 11 at 4 pm in Oecologicum, room 126, titled „Natural selection on phenotypes of Estonians”.

In the coming years, the University of Tartu will focus on developing practical solutions for promoting equal treatment to maintain and strengthen a safe learning and working environment for the entire university community. Planned activities include preventing sexual harassment and developing a system to handle such cases. An important basis for this work is the new gender equality plan for 2026–2030.

The University of Tartu is launching university-wide awareness activities to improve understanding of the principles of equal treatment and the support options available in cases of workplace bullying, unequal treatment and harassment. This forms part of the university’s ongoing work to create a safe and respectful learning and working environment.

At the ceremony marking the anniversary of the Republic of Estonia, the Professor Peeter Tulviste memorial fund prizes, the Ernst Jaakson memorial fund scholarship, and the Lennart Meri awards for research and for master’s thesis were presented.

On Friday, 20 February, the ceremony and concert dedicated to the 108th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia took place in the university’s assembly hall.

A record number of university members took part in the Digital Cleanup Month 2026. This shows that conscious digital hygiene has become a natural part of everyday work.

University of Tartu students can submit applications to study abroad under the Erasmus+ programme in the 2026/2027 academic year until 9 March 2026.

Maaja Vadi, Professor of Management at the University of Tartu, has established the Maaja Vadi Family History Scholarship at the University of Tartu Foundation to support university staff and students in researching and recording their family history, genealogy or the activities of their predecessors, and sharing the results.

This year’s lifetime achievement award was granted to Martin Zobel. The annual awards for research completed and published over the last four years went to 16 researchers from the University of Tartu.

On 13 February at 10:15, Ali Hakimzadeh will defend his doctoral thesis "Long-read metabarcoding: from available tools to reference databases" for obtaining the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

From 9 to 15 February, the Women in Science theme week was held at the University of Tartu to highlight the role of women and girls in science, break gender stereotypes and encourage women to pursue careers in science.

A cross-country skiing trail with natural snow has been opened in Maarjavälja, the area between Viljandi road and the Physicum and Chemicum buildings of the University of Tartu. All skiers are welcome to use the trail for free.

On 23 January, the University of Tartu Foundation recognised the scholarship recipients of the autumn semester of 2025 and thanked the foundation’s donors in the White Hall of the University of Tartu Museum. Scholarships were awarded from 33 funds in a total amount exceeding €200,000.

On 2 February, IT Office will delete Teams and SharePoint groups without an owner. Before this, automatically selected group members will receive a notification email with instructions on how to proceed.

On 5 February 2026, the symposium “Semi-natural grasslands in the European agricultural landscape: plants, pollinators and people in the winds of change” takes place.

From the 2026/2027 academic year, many international master’s curricula at the University of Tartu will offer tuition waivers or reductions to students from the European Union. Students arriving from outside the European Union will have to pay tuition fees.

In 2025, the study that drew the most attention in public digital channels was led by Professor of Botany Meelis Pärtel and confirms the negative effect of human activity on wildlife biodiversity.

All full-time students of the University of Tartu, the University of Latvia and Vilnius University may apply for the 2,000-euro scholarship if their proficiency in one of the Baltic countries’ languages is at least at C1 level and in the other two languages at least at A2 level. Visiting international students who study at one of the three universities in both semesters of this academic year may also apply.

In the recent call for the European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grants, University of Tartu researchers received funding for three projects: to study the climate impact of air pollution particles, the formation of cell patterns in plant leaves, and women’s hormonal sensitivity. Each grant amounts to nearly two million euros, and the projects last for five years.

At the meeting on 8 December, the council of the University of Tartu Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences re-elected Professor in Molecular Ecology Maarja Öpik as director of the institute.