Meist meedias

Last Friday, 4 October, the founding members of the Alliance4Life gathered at Vilnius University to sign a Memorandum of Understanding. Alliance4Life connects 10 leading life science institutions from nine countries in Central and Eastern Europe that have joined the European Union since 2004.

The opening assembly of the University of Tartu of the Republic of Estonia on 1 December 1919 marked the establishment of an Estonian-language university that was above all designed for Estonian students and to serve Estonian society. The centenary of the national university is celebrated throughout the year with a nation-wide cultural programme, an opinion festival and the largest gathering of alumni to date. The anniversary year draws to a close in December.

On 30 November, the University of Tartu became a full member in the EIT Health network of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), and also participates in two new Knowledge and Innovation Communities that were announced on 5 December: EIT Manufacturing and EIT Urban Mobility. EIT funding to the new innovation communities will increase over the next three years from four to 80 million euros per year.

On Saturday, 1 December, the University of Tartu celebrates the 99th anniversary of the Estonian national university. At the anniversary ceremony, doctorates and honorary doctorates are conferred and the award for contribution to national identity is presented. During the week, many fascinating anniversary events take place at the university – for students, alumni and all those interested.

Today, on 26 April 2018, the 263-member electoral council elected Professor of Neurosurgery Toomas Asser as rector of the University of Tartu with 187 votes.

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The first global study of soil genomics revealed a battle right under our feet. The clash between fungi and bacteria and research into this topic may benefit both farmers and the pharmaceutical industry. The microscopic fungi that inhabit soil are essential for plant growth, but they are constantly at war with bacteria in order to survive. The discovery was made by an international research team led by the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the University of Tartu in Estonia.

In a joint study by the University of Tartu (Estonia), the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences (New Zealand) and the University of Salzburg (Austria) more than 5,800 scientific articles from three environmental research journals were digitised and analysed. In addition, a geographical search method was developed to identify the location of a studied area.

With great sorrow, the University of Tartu announces the unexpected death of Rector Volli Kalm on Saturday, December 23. Volli Kalm was born on February 10, 1953 in Vändra. He graduated from the University of Tartu in 1976 with a degree in geology. In 1984, Kalm earned his PhD in geology from the Estonian Academy of Sciences after successfully defending his doctoral thesis "Formation, composition and usage of glaciofluvial deposits in Estonia." From 1988-1989, he attended postdoctoral studies in the geology department of the University of Alberta.

At the extraordinary senate session on 27 December, the senate of the University of Tartu unanimously appointed professor Tõnu Lehtsaar as the acting rector. In his speech to the senate, Lehtsaar said that his primary goal as the university’s acting rector is to maintain stability and find a new rector. “We will keep the university going. I asked members of the Rector’s Office at the meeting this morning if they were willing to continue in their office. I didn’t expect them to answer right away, but they confirmed that we will go forward together,” he said.

Professor Volli Kalm, Rector of the University of Tartu (10 February 1953 – 23 December 2017)

Friday, December 1 2017 marks the 98th birthday of the Estonia’s national university in Tartu. To celebrate the event, several events take place during the week-long celebrations – honorary doctorates and doctorates are conferred, the University’s honorary member named and the laurate of The University of Tartu Award for Contribution to Estonian National Identity named.

Meelis Luht, former management board member of Eesti Meedia Group, will start work as the Director of Administration of the University of Tartu on 21 August. Rector Volli Kalm said the new director of administration has been in charge of several different areas of activity in his career and is a top leader with international work experience. We can see his capability as well as his desire and ambition to actively contribute to the implementation of the university’s development goals.

Nature published five of the best images from the competition, which ran throughout March and attracted about 170 entries, from New Zealand to Norway, Canada to Qatar. Winners were chosen by a panel of Nature designers and journalists, who judged the images purely on their aesthetic impact. We did not ask for additional context, and we accepted only one image per person. Submissions could be made either through social media or by e-mail.

Researching and using natural resources is once again at the centre of attention, bringing plenty of information pollution and false information. UT development fund allocated 100,000 euros to the Earth Resources Centre (MAREK) of the Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences which has engaged researchers from different fields to clarify several questions related to Earth resources.

One of the two 40 000 euro research awards for outstanding lifetime achievements in research and development was given to Professor Emeritus Ülo Lepik of the UT Faculty of Science and Technology. Several UT researchers received the 20 000 euro award for best research work.