News

European Doctoral Day is held on 13 May to inspire students to pursue doctoral education, increase employers’ awareness of the value of doctoral degrees, and showcase the diverse career opportunities.

One of the world’s leading international conferences dedicated to research integrity and trust in science — the World Conference on Research Integrity (WCRI) — will take place in Tallinn, Estonia, in 2028. The successful bid was led by the Centre for Ethics at the University of Tartu, in cooperation with the professional conference organiser Publicon OÜ.

At the end of April, the Centre for Ethics of the University of Tartu organised an international staff training week for employees of universities within the Enlight network. The programme focused on the development of values in education, research, and society.

Academic freedom refers to the ability of students, teaching staff, and researchers to express their views freely and ensures the independence of universities. In Estonia, academic freedom remains high, but according to a recent report, it is declining worldwide.

Diversity Day is celebrated in Estonia and across Europe on 13 May, the second Wednesday in May, and the whole month is marked as Diversity Month. The aim is to value the uniqueness of every individual and emphasise the importance of an inclusive, respectful and fair working environment.

From 20 April, all University of Tartu staff and students will receive an email invitation to participate in a study that aims to provide an overview of attitudes, knowledge and experiences related to sexual harassment, workplace bullying and discrimination at the university.

The seminar takes place from 8 to 10 June 2026 in Tartu, and welcomes PhD projects about cities or rural spaces, as well as those that use spatial categories metaphorically or analytically (e.g. center-periphery dynamics in media, discourse, or cultural production).

From 24 April, Eveliis Padar will start work at the university as an equality officer to support university members in cases of unequal treatment and to help handle them in a fair and professional manner.

Speaker application is open until April 1 for TEDxUniversity of Tartu.

On Friday, 27 March at 14:15, an English-language colloquium will take place at the University of Tartu Philosophicum (Jakobi 2–336), addressing common features of the migration experience and discussing their ethical and societal implications.

On 27 March at 14:15, Michele Cerutti will defend her doctoral thesis “On Truth from a Semiotic Point of View” for obtaining the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (in Semiotics and Culture Studies).

On 21 April at 18, all students and staff of higher education institutions in Tartu are invited to join a group cycle ride, “Rattaga saab!” (“Cycling works!”), starting from Town Hall Square.

Deadline for submissions: 15 November 2025

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.

Juri Lotmani stipendiumi 2026. aastal pälvis semiootikas ja kultuuriteoorias Tartu Ülikooli semiootika doktorant Hongjin Song artiklisarja eest, mis käsitleb kuulujuttude kultuurisemiootikat.

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 9 March, an international workshop entitled „Animal Ethics at the Boundaries of the Human: Moral Status and Normative Authority“ will take place at the University of Tartu (Jakobi 2–336, Tartu). The workshop will focus on current issues in animal ethics and will be conducted in English.