The University of Tartu Student Union has a new Board

16.06.2021

The UT Student Parliament elected the new board for the UT student body at their 10 June meeting. The new board will take office from 1 July 2021 for the coming two years.


Katariina Sofia Päts was elected the next president of UTSU. This summer ends Katariina’s third year in UTSU; she has been a representative both on the institute and faculty level and participated in the monitoring committee’s work. In her daily studies, she has reached the end of her first year of master’s studies in the Department of Archival Studies at the Institute of History and Archaeology.

Katariina promises the following: “In an ideal case, the work of UTSU’s president covers the entire chain of abstraction, from reaching a single student to developing the Estonian higher education landscape. On this scale, it’s complicated to promise a land filled with milk and honey, but I can promise that I will be dedicated with my entire soul to improving and giving more substance to the University of Tartu students’ experiences during these two years.”

Hanna Britt Soots was elected as the UTSU’s next vice president. Hanna Britt has been a student at the University of Tartu Institute of Mathematics and Statistics for five years and in autumn, she wants to start her doctoral studies. With these five years, the university and Tartu have grown close to her heart, and now she wants to make an even bigger contribution to improving the student body’s life. Hanna Britt has been a member of the University of Tartu Student Union for three years, she has been a self-development course facilitator at the DD Academy and worked as a teaching assistant in two different institutes at the University of Tartu. Hanna is also currently working at the Tallinn Secondary School of Science as a programming teacher.

Hanna promises the following: “I believe that a UTSU board member has to be motivated, with good time management skills and diligence. I definitely have these qualities. Even though I don’t have experience managing large teams, I believe that participating in multiple different organisations and my work as a teacher are good prerequisites for the position of a  vice president. I’m a fast learner, an analytical thinker and a good listener. I promise that I will not let you down with my work as a vice president of UTSU."

Siret Siim was elected as UTSU’s next vice president. Siret is a first-year student at the University of Tartu Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies, in the Government and Politics curriculum. In the 12th grade at Tallinn Secondary School of Science, Siret was the vice president of the student union and her main work was related to managing the student union’s work and its organisational side and motivating members. She’s also had a lot of experience with leading teams and training people through YFU Estonia, where she’s an active volunteer for the fourth year.

Siret promises the following: “My goal as a vice president is to do my best at continuing what the previous boards have already started, and from my side, start contributing to improving UTSU’s inner climate and environment, increasing awareness of and interest in UTSU, and standing for the organisation’s interests in external communications.”

For the motivation letters and election platforms of the newly elected board, see the home page of UTSU.