Uudised

Despite the government’s decision to allow face-to-face studies also in higher education starting from 17 May, the university continues work as previously planned. Decisions about the organisation of studies continue to be made by the head of institute in cooperation with the vice dean for academic affairs. The only change is that the requirement not to exceed 25% room capacity has been lifted. The allowed percentage of room capacity is to be decided by the head of institute.

The Office of Academic Affairs in cooperation with the Student Union have chosen the new course registration start time. Based on the results of the survey conducted, registration will start at 21:00.

In 2021, the anniversary events of the Faculty of Medicine will take place on October 7th- 8th. We invite everybody to submit abstracts to the scientific conference no later than June 30th.

The study on the prevalence of coronavirus reveals that the number of infectious adults is several times smaller and the number of adults with antibodies against coronavirus has increased by a half compared to a month ago. Slightly more than half of the people with anti-virus antibodies have achieved protection through vaccination.

The shortage of nurses in the Estonian health care system has deepened over the years, and now that the health care sector is working at full capacity, the situation is particularly critical. All this puts pressure on nurse managers, who must, on one hand, maintain the motivation of the nurses and, on the other, ensure that patients receive high-quality services.

Throughout May, the university invites all employees, students, alumni and their families to orienteering in the city of Tartu. The spring orienteering course, compiled by the university museum, focuses on places related to sports and recreation. Did you know that according to architect Krause’s initial floor plans there was supposed to be a fencing hall on the ground floor of the main building? If not, come orienteering and find out other exciting sports-related facts about the university.

A master’s thesis defended at the University of Tartu revealed that in 2018 in Estonia, the burden of disease associated with smoking totalled to 23,634 years of life, that is 38.9 years per 1,000 inhabitants. Men lost more than four times more years of life than women due to smoking, and most years of life were lost outside Tallinn and Tartu.

The University of Tartu invites everyone to participate in a photo contest to get photos by talented amateur and professional photographers depicting the University of Tartu buildings, students, events, studies, and everything else related to the University of Tartu. The contest takes place from 29 March to 30 September and all participants enter a draw to win prizes.

University of Tartu researchers participate in a European-wide cooperation project aiming to reduce inequalities related to cervical cancer screening. The goal is to increase the screening ratios among vulnerable women from 26% to 45% which could save the lives of 6,000 to 7,000 women each year. In Europe, over 61,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year and almost 26,000 of them will die of it. Each such death is a tragedy, considering that cervical cancer is today a preventable and treatable disease.

From 1 to 5 March, the ENLIGHT European University network organised its official kick-off week. All students and staff of the University of Tartu, as well as the wider public, was invited. Recordings of some of the exciting international lectures and discussions about the environment, digital solutions, healthcare, equity, energy and teaching are available to watch on YouTube.

Coronavirus is spreading widely and the situation is alarming. It is everyone’s duty to avoid unnecessary contacts. As workplaces are important sources of infection in addition to schools and homes, we must reduce contacts also at the university and ask everyone whose duties allow that to work from home.

Researchers of the University of Tartu invite 370 people who have had COVID-19 to participate in a follow-up study aiming to evaluate the factors associated with the severity and consequences of the disease. The study will involve patients of the family medicine centres with the largest number of coronavirus patients in Tallinn, Saaremaa and Tartu.

The recently ended stage in the coronavirus prevalence study conducted by the University of Tartu shows an even spread of the virus in all counties throughout Estonia. At the same time, it revealed that nearly half of the adults who gave a positive coronavirus test had coronavirus antibodies and are probably not contagious.

To mark the 103rd anniversary of the Republic of Estonia, Rector Toomas Asser and Academic Secretary Tõnis Karki placed flowers at the Estonian War of Independence Memorial to Fallen Students in the university’s assembly hall.

In the coronavirus prevalence study led by the University of Tartu, researchers continue to determine the spread of the virus but now also start to estimate how many people have developed antibodies to the virus. This way, besides the spread of the virus, it is possible to get an idea of the percentage of adult population who have potentially acquired immunity.

On 11 February, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science is held in Estonia for the first time, led by the Archemy research group of the University of Tartu and the Estonian Young Academy of Sciences.

Yesterday, members of the Rector’s Office discussed the organisation of teaching and studies in February and March, and decided that in both months, teaching will be largely conducted online. However, we are trying to gradually move towards greater openness. We make decisions about teaching and studies in the spring semester for one month at a time – for each month, by the middle of the previous month. The rector’s decree with more detailed guidelines will take effect after passing the bylaw approval process.

The recently ended stage in the coronavirus prevalence study, conducted by the University of Tartu, shows that although the number of infected adults has somewhat decreased since the holidays, the general infection level remains high. A cause for concern is the large proportion of asymptomatic infected people, as well as the behavioural patterns of potential close contacts.

This week, the Digital Cleanup Week takes place at the university. Its aim is to declutter one’s personal or the unit’s digital life, and move in small but effective steps towards a greener university. The Digital CleanUp Week ends on 29 January, the nationwide Digital Cleanup Day.

Led by researchers of the University of Tartu, a pilot study has been conducted to assess whether gene donors’ awareness of their risk of cardiovascular disease changes their health behaviour for the better and thus reduces the likelihood of developing the disease. The study revealed that if family doctors use genetic data to provide risk-based counselling, regular intervention leads to the improvement of health parameters.