News

The graduation ceremonies of the University of Tartu are held from 15 to 20 June. All ceremonies are held in an online environment, meaning that all who wish can participate. Online graduation ceremonies can be watched live in UTTV at the announced time. Links to recordings will be added to the table below after each ceremony. Read how students can receive their diplomas.

This year, the graduation ceremonies' organizers at UT had come up with creative solutions. Due to the coronavirus, the ceremonies had to be organized online. As the day of receiving the diploma is important for every university graduate, the organizers did their best to make it memorable. The School of Economics and Business Administration lecturers greeted their graduates in a very special way, giving an idea of how they coped with the crisis. Watch the video!

This year, traditional graduation ceremonies bringing together hundreds of people are not held at the University of Tartu, but ceremonies take place online. The university also makes a gift to the graduates: they now have their own tree and a bench in Tartu city centre. Also, the university main building and the sculpture on the Town Hall Square will be decorated.

For the first time, the top 10 teams to compete in the Kaleidoskoop finals were selected based on video pitches. The teams were given a free hand in producing and editing their three-minute video, and as a result, a remarkable number of interesting and engaging videos were submitted. Since As the presentation of an idea in the form of a video pitch is a necessary skill in both studies and at work, Maret Ahonen, the Leader of Starter programme and Startup Lab at the University of Tartu, gives some useful tips for a convincing video pitch.

Green mindset is the common feature of the teams S-Kub and Sorter, winners of the 14th Kaleidoskoop business ideas competition. Both have a bigger goal of saving the planet and promoting environmentally friendly behaviour.

The Delta Study and Research building will be reopened to everyone on May 18, but all the requirements set by the Health Board must be strictly followed, including avoiding close contacts. The building is open from 08:00–20:00.

Admissions to the University of Tartu take place based on the schedule announced in winter. According to current plans, admission requirements will remain largely unchanged. The application period to Estonian-taught master’s programmes runs until 1 July. From 18 June to 1 July, applications are accepted to bachelor’s, professional higher education and integrated curricula, and from 1 May to 15 June, to doctoral programmes.

Teaching and studies at the university continue in online environments until the end of semester. To minimise the movement of students, we ask that all exams and pass/fail assessments be conducted online. If online classes are not enough for students to pass the course, face-to-face sessions are planned. In planning face-to-face learning, the following should be kept in mind:

On Tuesday, 5 May at 13:00, the Vice Rector for Academic Affairs Aune Valk talked in a live webcast about when and how the university could resume regular teaching and studies, and what lies ahead of us before the end of the academic year. Among other issues, she discussed everything related to graduations; for example, graduation ceremonies, exams and theses. Watch the video with English subtitles:

The University of Tartu Startup Lab is inviting all student teams to participate in the pre-selection round of the students’ business ideas competition Kaleidoskoop on 14 May. To participate, the teams have to send a three-minute video pitch of their business idea. Ten best teams will be selected to the finals.

The current emergency situation has brought both major changes and inspiration to the University of Tartu Startup Lab’s Starter Tartu business idea development programme. Teams formed in the University of Tartu Delta Centre in February continue to develop ideas virtually, also offering solutions to alleviate the corona crisis.

Six tenants of UT residence hall confirmed to have coronavirus. In connection with this we publish the address of the Rector of the University of Tartu in both text and video. Today we have received alarming news both for the University of Tartu and the entire Estonia. Students of the University of Tartu, who are tenants of the residence hall in Raatuse street, have been infected with coronavirus.

The University of Tartu will not hold graduation ceremonies this summer because these events usually attract crowds of people and close contact is impossible to avoid. Graduates receive their diplomas in their institute/unit in the second half of June. Detailed information on the time and place will be sent to all graduates and posted on the university’s website. If necessary, you can authorise another person to collect your diploma, or have the diploma sent to you by mail.

Dear students and members of the teaching staff, On 15 April, several media channels wrote about the court case between a UT alumnus and a member of the teaching staff over an insulting comment in the confidential course feedback questionnaire. Understandably, this has shaken the trust in the feedback system and pointed to problems we want to avoid in the future. On the other hand, it is clear that the university cannot develop without substantial feedback.

All courses in which online teaching can be organised will continue in this format until the end of the semester. If coronavirus recedes, we hope we can resume classroom teaching for small groups, similarly to schools, in the second half of May. This concerns practical classes and, if necessary, exams – i.e. activities that are difficult or impossible to perform over the computer.

The University of Tartu Startup Lab teams CommuniCare and A Story won several awards at Ajujaht, the biggest business ideas competition in Estonia. The best social entrepreneurship award (5000 euros) was given to CommuniCare, a team of the University of Tartu students from the School of Economics and Business Administration. In addition, CommuniCare won a special award from the city of Tartu (5000 euros) and from Saue municipality (4000 euros). In total, they won 14,000 euros for further business development.

In a Teams Live Event on 31 March at 14, Vice Rector for Academic Affairs Aune Valk spoke about teaching and studies during the emergency situation and answered the questions posted by UT staff members and students.

From 2 April to 4 May, all doctoral students of the UT are invited to share their opinion on their studies to help the university plan changes in doctoral studies. The University of Tartu is planning major changes in doctoral studies in the coming years. The vision for the development of doctoral studies has been prepared. The requirements for doctoral theses are being updated. Besides, the university has supplemented the doctoral students’ income by the performance stipend.

Mentor Feedback Carousel, which should take place today (26.03.2020) at the University of Tartu Delta Center, is already running in a virtual environment due to COVID 19. Although we greatly value face-to-face meetings the new reality has made us all push boundaries and go virtual.

For the first time at School of Economics and Business Administration the defence of doctoral thesis takes place virtualy. Today on March 26th at 14 Tõnis Tänav will defend his doctoral thesis "Dynamics of Firm Innovation Strategies: Relationship with Public Sector Support". Supervisor: professor Kadri Ukrainski (PhD), University of Tartu