The Institute of Psychology - News

After having received the regulation of the government of Estonia, and discussing with the Rector’s Office the exceptional situations in which it is very difficult to apply distance learning, we now add more detailed information to the message sent on Wednesday. These guidelines will be in force until the beginning of the spring semester.

In the newly published ranking list of universities from emerging Europe and Central Asia, the University of Tartu has reached the second place, which is also the highest among Estonian universities.

The government of Estonia decided today that as of 14 December, all educational institutions, including universities, will be closed. Therefore, the university leaders decided that no classroom studies are conducted at the University of Tartu at least until the spring semester.

On Tuesday, 1 December, the university members celebrate the 101st anniversary of Estonia's national university.

Next year, the expatriate Estonian visiting professorship of the University of Tartu will be held by Jaan Valsiner, professor of cultural psychology at Aalborg University. He is one of the world’s leading cultural psychologists, whose research focuses on the intersections and interconnections of psychology and semiotics, and who has helped to promote Estonian research in the world. Jaan Valsiner has worked as a professor of psychology at Clark University in the USA, and is currently a professor of cultural psychology at Aalborg University in Denmark.

So far, the university has favoured preferring face-to-face learning to distance learning. However, as the coronavirus infection rate is increasing, the Rector’s Office decided at its today’s meeting that it is reasonable to rapidly reorganise studies wherever possible to safeguard the health of all university members.

View the video address of Rector Toomas Asser focusing on coronavirus prevention at the university on UTTV and read revised coronavirus guidelines at the university. This week the Government of Estonia announced new coronavirus measures and based on the government’s recommendations, members of the UT Rector’s Office have laid down the following guidelines.

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.

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 Estonian start-up company GuavaHR in cooperation with the Institute of Psychology of the University of Tartu have started an R&D project to develop an employee engagement monitoring system. In the course of the project, they will create an employee engagement model and organise a wide-ranging engagement survey, which will be completed by the middle of next year.

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.

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.

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.

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]

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, 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.

On 13 May, the UT Institute of Psychology and the Estonian start-up Triumf Health started an impact study of a digital health game intended for children. The game aims to support children’s psychosocial well-being and thus prevent mental health issues. Children from 7 to 14 years of age are invited to take part in the study.

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: