Kaja-Triin Laisaar to continue as Head of Institute of Family Medicine and Public Health

The council of the Institute of Family Medicine and Public Health re-elected Research Fellow in Epidemiology Kaja-Triin Laisaar as Head of Institute at its meeting on 10 December.

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Looking back over the past three years, Laisaar is pleased to see that the institute has grown considerably. “The family, as we call ourselves at the Institute of Family Medicine and Public Health, now has already 76 members. It is great that for some time now, doctoral students have also been full members of the family as junior research fellows and are involved in everything we do.”

According to Laisaar, the number of research and development projects at the institute has increased year on year. “If at the beginning of my tenure there were people who said, ‘Your institute is lucky – the corona virus itself initiates projects for you!’, it is now clear that we have very good researchers whose scope is expanding. These projects, many of which are the result of cooperation between different units, institutions and international organisations, have also created a thriving breeding ground for young researchers. Among others, a couple of graduates from our own master’s programmes in Public Health and Nursing Science join the family every year in one form or another. I dare say we have nothing to worry about when it comes to next generations,” said Laisaar.

During Laisaar’s tenure, the Guideline Unit evolved into a centre for evidence-based practice with a broader scope, and the Centre for Sustainable Development was transferred under the management of the Institute of Family Medicine and Public Health.

The next big step for the institute is to prepare a strategic plan. “We started to put together a strategic plan in the second half of 2023 to once again identify and state who we are, what we do and where we are headed,” Laisaar said. “At some point, we will thus be able to assess how well we have stayed on our chosen course. Our strategic plan is not ready yet, but since the preparation of the university’s new strategic plan has started, we will be able to reflect the new ideas and proposals collected from all over the university also in our strategic plan.”

Laisaar said that a more in-depth analysis and discussion of the summary of the recent University of Tartu work well-being feedback survey is still pending. “At the same time, I personally feel that our institute has a lively and friendly working atmosphere. In the case of any issues, we are able to discuss them openly and solve them together.”

Kaja-Triin Laisaar’s term of office will start on 29 January 2025 and end on 28 January 2028.