10TH GERMAN-ESTONIAN ACADEMIC WEEK “ACADEMICA” TO ANALYSE LAST-DECADE DEVELOPMENTS IN ESTONIA AND GERMANY
The opening ceremony of the Week will take place on Monday, September 25 at 10:15 a.m. in UT Assembly Hall. The event will be introduced by UT Rector Professor Aaviksoo and will feature welcoming addresses by Mr. Kristjan Haller, Deputy Secretary General responsible for the field of higher education and research in the Estonian Ministry for Education and Research, His Excellency Mr. Julius Bobinger, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, Dr. Jochen Friedrich Kirchhoff, Estonia’s Honorary Consul in Düsseldorf and Mr. Markus Stanat, representative of the foundation Fritz Thyssen Stiftung.
Academica’s traditional public lecture will be held during the opening event in the Assembly Hall by Mr. Wilfried Grolig, Director General for Culture and Education at the German Foreign Office and the former Estonian PM Mr. Mart Laar. The topic of the lecture this year is “Last Decade in Estonia and Germany: How far have we come?“ Simultaneous intepretation into German and Estonian will be available during the entire opening ceremony.
The ceremony will also include the presentation of a voluminous collection “Academica I-X“ containing the transcripts of the public lectures of all 10 Academica Weeks as well as an overview of the history of the Week illustrated by a considerable body of photographic material. The collection also contains welcoming addresses by the German Chancellor Mrs. Angela Merkel, the Estonian PM Mr. Andrus Ansip, representatives of the German Embassy, donors supporting the Week, and others.
On the same day, during 1-5 p.m. the German Embassy will organise an information event, presenting the country’s culture and economy as well as the opportunities available for studying and applying for study grants in Germany. The 10th Academic Week will continue with a series of lectures and seminars held by renowned German academics at UT Faculties. On the night of Tuesday, September 26 a meeting of Estonian and German students will take place at the Domus Dorpatensis building (7, Ülikooli St.) to discuss the changes that have occurred during the last decade in the opportunities for study and in student life in Germany and Estonia.
The German-Estonian Science Week “Academica” has been organised at the University of Tartu starting 1995. The aim of the Week is to create closer contacts between German and Estonian scientists, provide opportunities to researchers for contacting their speciality counterparts and attend lectures offered by reputed German academics.
The 10th Academica is supported by the Employers’ Association of the federal state North Rhine—Westphalia (Land Nordrhein-Westfalen) and the German Embassy in Tallinn.
A detailed programme of the Week is available at the website www.academica.ut.ee
Additional information: Ms Lea Kivi, UT International Relations Office, tel. +372 737 6114, +372 511 5557.
Liina Jürgen
Senior Specialist for Public Relations,
UT Public Relations and Information Unit