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The President of the Republic: the future of Estonian science will be determined in the international competition for students and professors

01.12.2006

Today, President Toomas Hendrik Ilves attended the ceremony celebrating the 87th anniversary of the University of Tartu where he emphasised that from now on our universities are compared with the ones in Helsinki, Stockholm, Oxford, Berlin and Harvard. “This means only one thing: competition for students and professors, modern educational and scientific environment,” said the President of the Republic.

“The future of Estonian science will be determined in this struggle. Will the best brains of Estonia compete to study in the best Estonian university or do they prefer studying elsewhere? Will young Estonian researchers return to Tartu and stay here to do their research and educate future colleagues? That is the key question. That is the struggle that the University of Tartu and other universities of Estonia or actually our entire educational system and entire country must participate in,” said the Estonian Head of State.

President Ilves thanked Rector Jaak Aaviksoo whose work on the captain’s bridge of the University of Tartu will soon be over, and who, following the example of thousands of Estonian residents, has decided to start work in Tallinn. “On one hand, I feel sorry for it. But I also know that the same way the President’s office does not cool my passion for foreign policy, nothing, even Tallinn, could take away Rector Aaviksoo’s wish to stand up for the better future of Estonian higher education and the University of Tartu”, said the President of the Republic.

Public Relations Department of the Office of the President
Kadriorg, 1 December 2006