News

Microsoft has announced a global service outage affecting several Microsoft 365 programs, including Outlook and Teams. Due to the disruption, users may experience issues with sending and receiving emails, using calendar functions, joining Teams meetings, and participating in chats. At present, it is not known when normal service will be fully restored.

The recipients of this year’s national science communication awards were announced at the annual science communication conference. University of Tartu researchers received recognition in 4 categories.

Call for papers for the 6th conference of the Baltic Alliance for Asian Studies (BAAS), “Reimagining Asia: Histories, Cultures and Futures”, organised by the Institute of Asian and Transcultural Studies at Vilnius University.

Nine University of Tartu employees and students have been selected to take part in all events of the Tartu Maraton series in 2027 and share their journey with the university community.

On 17 November at 18:00, the University of Tartu assembly hall will host the pianists’ gala “Romantic piano music” as part of the “Harmonia Universitatis” concert series.

On 30 October, the University of Tartu senate decided to award the Johan Skytte medal to President Alar Karis. The highest award for university members, the University of Tartu Grand Medal, is given to Ruth Oltjer, Liina Lindström and Maris Laan. 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.

On Thursday, 29 October, the University of Tartu will conduct a crisis exercise simulating a cyber incident affecting the normal work, study and communication arrangements of the university’s staff and students. As part of the exercise, there will be interruptions to MS Teams and Outlook services during the working day.

The University of Tartu Centre for Ethics marked its 25th anniversary on 1-2 October with a ceremonial anniversary event, a book launch, and an international conference that brought the centre’s collaborators, distinguished philosophers, and ethics scholars from around the world to Tartu.

In October, the European Cyber Security Month, we encourage members of the University of Tartu to develop secure digital habits and increase their awareness of cyber threats.

In October, a step challenge takes place at the University of Tartu. We invite members of the university community to be more active, log their steps using the StepUp app, and take part in a friendly competition. The six most active participants will receive prize packages, and additional prizes will be drawn among everyone who records at least 200,000 steps during the month.

There can never be too much dancing and laughter. We look forward to celebrating the 107th anniversary of the beginning of Estonian-language higher education on 1 December 2026!

Hamza Naseer, a doctoral student and junior researcher in philosophy at the Institute of Philosophy and Semiotics, won third place in the English-language round of the University of Tartu Three-Minute Thesis Competition. His presentation, “Seeing the Unseen”, explored the role of memory in perception and cognition.

On 14 October, the mental health promoter Peaasi.ee awarded the University of Tartu the third-level label in its recognition scheme of mental health-friendly organisations.

On 21 October, the doctoral researchers’ three-minute thesis competition took place at the conference hall of the University of Tartu Library.

Registration is now open for the University of Tartu’s three-minute thesis competition for doctoral researchers, which will take place on 21 October at the University of Tartu Library. The deadline for registration is 12 October.

On 23 October, the 394th anniversary of Academia Gustaviana was celebrated. The occasion was marked by a commemorative ceremony honouring the university’s founders, a lecture by Jüri Luik, and a free concert “Passion and madness” at the university’s assembly hall.

On 14 October, the University of Tartu Asia Centre will celebrate ten years of activity with a symposium.

Asia Centre at EACS 2026 conference

At the protest, participants highlighted that obtaining a higher education is increasingly becoming a privilege.

According to the figures, the university’s total greenhouse gas emissions have fallen by more than 2.7 times. Considering the number of staff and students, emissions per person have decreased by as much as 3.4 times.