University of Tartu to Open Office at Estonian House in Helsinki
On Friday, September 17th, the Estonian House in Helsinki will open its doors for the first time. The House will, amongst other offices and representations, also accommodate an office of the University of Tartu.
According to Alar Karis, UT Rector, Finnish universities have for decades been invaluable partners to the University of Tartu. "Many Finnish academics are employed at the University of Tartu and indeed the biggest share of our international students comes from Finland. By establishing an office in Helsinki, we will benefit the students and academics of both countries by strengthening our academic contacts with Finnish partners even more. Significant added value will also be generated by the presence of the University of Tartu in Helsinki's Estonian House and by the close cooperation this will allow us to establish with a number of Finnish institutions who have strong Estonian ties and occupy a central position in the field of promoting Estonian culture and education in Finnish society," said Alar Karis.
The UT Office in Helsinki will be located at 22, Sörnäisten rantatie, on the third floor. A position of official representative of the University in Tartu in Finland will also be created this autumn, initially to be filled by Grete Ahtola, head of the Estonian Institute in Finland. The official representative will be employed on a part-time basis until September 1, 2011, when a full-time representative will be hired.
The UT Office in Helsinki will develop contacts with Finnish higher education and research institutions and government agencies. It will strengthen cooperation with the university’s existing partners and ensure the visibility of the university in the field of higher education in Finland and in the Baltic Sea region in general. The office will be a place where visitors can browse the university's promotional and research publications, buy or order university souvenirs and enjoy various exhibitions covering different aspects of the university's activities. It will also serve as a venue for the university's annual information days.
The Estonian House in Helsinki – Viro-keskus, as it is called in Finnish – is a new three-storey building in the Suvilahti district close to the city centre. In addition to the UT Office, the new building will be home to several other organisations having close ties to Estonia: the Tuglas Society, the Association of Estonian Societies in Finland, the Enterprise Estonia Foundation and the Estonian Institute in Finland.
The opening ceremony of the Estonian House will take place on 17th of September at 4 p.m. and be attended by the Minister of Culture of Estonia, the Minister of Culture of Finland, the Mayor of Tallinn, the Mayor of Helsinki, Estonia’s ambassador to Finland and representatives of the organisations located in Estonian House.
More information:
www.eestimaja.fi
Additional information:
Grete Ahtola, head of the Estonian Institute in Finland, telephone +358 50 4385331, info [ät] eestimaja.fi
Anneli Miljan
University of Tartu Press Representative
telephone +372 737 5683
mobile phone +372 515 0184
e-mail anneli.miljan [ät] ut.ee
www.ut.ee