News

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 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.

Address by Kadri Liis Laas, fourth-year medical student of the University of Tartu, at the concert and ceremony marking the anniversary of the Republic of Estonia on 20 February 2026.

The committee formed by the University of Tartu Student Union chose the recipients of the teaching staff of the year 2025 awards from among 100 nominees.

The society award 2025 is granted for establishing the Estonian Cancer Network, an important step towards the comprehensive development and collaborative management of cancer control in Estonia.

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.

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.

The community of Estonian neurologists, neurosurgeons and researchers has suffered a painful loss – on 30 January, the distinguished scientist, teacher of several generations of doctors, and respected physician, Professor Ain-Elmar Kaasik, passed away.

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.

Researchers from the Institute of Clinical Medicine at the University of Tartu have developed an artificial intelligence-based machine learning model that enabled the relapse risk of endometrial cancer to be assessed before surgical intervention.

On 14–15 January, the conference “Teaching for learning 2026: anxiety and excitement of teaching” took place at the University of Tartu. The focus of the two-day event was on shaping an academic culture that supports learning and pedagogical wellbeing.

At the conference “Teaching for learning 2026”, Vice Rector for Academic Affairs Aune Valk presented the teaching awards and the teaching quality award of 2025.

The University of Tartu is recruiting an equality officer to support university members in cases of unequal treatment and ensure a fair and professional handling of such cases.

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.

We wish our university community and friends a joyful holiday season and a Happy New Year!

Researchers at the University of Tartu Institute of Computer Science, Junior Research Fellow of Artificial Intelligence Joonas Ariva and Associate Professor in Artificial Intelligence Dmytro Fishman, together with radiologists from Tartu University Hospital and engineers at Better Medicine, have developed an AI-based tool that accelerates the detection of kidney cancer. Its effectiveness was validated in a study published in Nature Communications Medicine.

Research Days of the Institute of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine will take place on 29–30 January 2026