News

Live microbial cells can be used as a tool, which gives information on chemical or physical processes. At the University of Tartu, bacterial cells are being developed, which can be used to study the effect of antibiotics on the bacteria in the body during infection.

The University of Tartu announces a design contest to find a mascot to represent the university’s visual identity. All students, staff and alumni of the university are welcome to submit their design projects until 22 November. The winner will be selected in two rounds: in the first round, a committee comprising the representatives of students, alumni and staff will choose three best projects that will be put to a public vote in the second round. The public vote among students, alumni and staff of the University of Tartu takes place in December.

On 30 October, the University of Tartu Senate decided to award the Johan Skytte Medal to the President of the Republic of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid. The highest award for university members, the University of Tartu Grand Medal, will be given to four long-term high-calibre researchers. Also, the recipients of the University of Tartu Star of Appreciation, Medal, Badge of Distinction and the decoration “100 Semesters at the University of Tartu” have been selected.

Scientists at the University of Tartu are hard at work to make skin cancer diagnostics faster, simpler and more patient-friendly. Just imagine, instead of getting undressed and having a full-body scan, you might be able to know if your birthmarks are healthy from just a drop of blood!

A brand new European Research Area (ERA) Chair has started work at the University of Tartu. Scientists believe that research in nanotechnology brings us novel solutions in several areas such as electronics, sensors, energy sources and even biomedical technology.

Bioinnovation Days 2020 is an international hackathon devoted to finding innovative solutions in the fields of health, food and biotechnology. Team Xylitol, that consists mainly of Institute of Technology members, won the competition and will represent Estonia in the EIT Health European final.

The university invites all staff members, students, alumni and their families to city orienteering in Tartu from 19 October to 1 November. Do you know the buildings and sites connected with the university? Do you know what was in these places in the past? Grab a map and find out!

The world of bacteria is wide and diverse and they have an important role in ensuring the normal functioning of the human body. On the other hand, bacteria can also cause serious and persistent infections that are hard on the medical system and make our lives complicated. This is why scientists all over the world are looking for novel and smart solutions to fight against different infections.

Researchers of the Centre for Applied Social Sciences of the University of Tartu have conducted a survey to analyse how the university as an organisation responded to the crisis, and to what extent it is possible to use the gained experience to plan future work.

The University of Tartu researchers are developing hospital robots that could ease the workload of the medical workers during virus outbreaks and also minimize the exposure to patients. According to the leader of the project, there are several tasks in the hospital that could be automated. Mobile robot could, for example, bring patients food or medication or even direct the patients to the office.

Five new applied research projects are about to start at the University of Tartu with the aim to study and develop materials and surface treatment agents inhibiting the transmission of the virus, technological solutions for reducing virus particles in indoor air, and automated solutions reducing the workload in the healthcare sector. Materials inhibiting the spread of the virus

On 7 September at 16:15, Professor of Computer Vision at the University of Tartu Gholamreza Anbarjafari will deliver his inaugural lecture on the applications of computer vision in human-robot interaction with a focus on affective computing. The lecture entitled “Affective Computing: Human Behaviour Analysis Using Computer Vision and Machine Learning” will be held in English in the university assembly hall.

The Estonain Research Council is starting 13 new research projects in order to find solutions caused by the SARS-CoV-19 pandemic. A total of 2.14 million euros has been allocated to the new projects. The applied research and experimental development projects funded, were selected out of 29 applications. The funding is between 100 - 200 000 euros per project.

This seems to be what politicians from the Conservative People’s Party of Estonia (EKRE) have asked. As an answer, they have proposed a draft legislation aiming to prevent young people from Ukraine, Georgia, Russia or another non-EU country from coming here to study unless they pay for their studies. The draft legislation turned up at the beginning of September, without any analysis or legislative intent, without notifying the parties concerned or coordinating the draft with them.

The Estonian wood industry creates over a million tonnes of wood waste each year, which is mainly used as heating material. In addition to that, we have an abundance of low-value wood and pulpwood, which often do not have any application in the local industry. In business terms, this is a considerable amount of raw material that is lost to Estonian economy.

In a live interview on Tuesday, 1 September at 13:00, Rector of the University of Tartu Toomas Asser spoke about the organisation of studies and work at the university this autumn. The interview focused on what to keep in mind in this academic year in the circumstances of the spread of coronavirus and to what extent regular classroom studies will be replaced by e-learning. In addition, the rector once again reminded viewers how to keep oneself and others safe at work and during studies and what to do in case of illness.

Dear members of the university, To recover from the extraordinary situation that hit the world in spring, a summer holiday is vital for all of us. However, we must remember to exercise caution when returning to work to make sure our life at the university and in the country as a whole could continue as normally as possible.

Futulab, the university’s platform for mediating internships, invites enterprises and organisations of the public, private and third sectors to propose ideas or problems for project-based internship until 20 August to praktika.ut.ee/projektipraktika. Project-based internship offers the companies who submit project ideas an opportunity

Inspired by nature, roboticist Indrek Must is working on a wearable robot made of textile. Nuts, bolts, and lots of cables. That’s what most people imagine when they think of wearable robots. These external skeletons are usually created to protect and support people with disabilities. They help them stand up and walk, or just make people stronger. Many start-ups are making them, but none have really reached a wider market yet.

University gradually returns to the normal organisation of work. Below, the units have described their organisation of work starting from 18 May. The page will be updated as needed. [collapsed]