Research Shows that Residents of Tartu Consider Tartu City of Science
Research Shows that Residents of Tartu Consider Tartu City of Science
Kadri Soo and Andu Rämmer, Researchers of Sociology and Social Policy of UT, completed a survey “Tartu – the City of Science. Encounters of Residents of Tartu with Science”, which established the effect of initiatives of popularisation of science on the increase of interest of residents of Tartu in science.
The research showed that for residents of Tartu the term “City of Science” is first and foremost related to the universities and science centres in Tartu (e.g. Ahhaa). The image of Tartu as the City of Science is positive; Tartu is viewed as a pleasant place to work and live and residents consider themselves as members of an innovative community.
The participants in the research were convinced that the cooperation of schools, universities and other bodies popularising science is increasing. The person who carried out the research, Andu Rämmer, stated that in the interviews people repeatedly mentioned various courses organised for residents by bodies popularising science.
Marco Kirm, the Vice Rector for Research, states that the University of Tartu as a leading research university in Estonia is certainly an important bearer of the image of Tartu as the City of Science. “People should be more aware of the science conferences and other international events that bring together world leading specialists from various fields of activities. The ensuring of comfortable and easy access to Tartu is a common challenge of the city and the university in order to achieve internationalisation.”
One of the problems in the work of bodies popularising science is deemed to be the project-basedness of funding which makes it difficult to set long-term goals. It was recommended in the research that the city government should support the public in getting more involved in discussions on research and technology.