UT International Summer University focuses on EU and Russia
The UT’s International Summer University programme “European and Russian Relations: Social Dimension” and the joint programme “European Integration: the EU from West to East” organised together with Utrecht University have come to Tartu. The previous lectures of the programmes were held in Tallinn and Utrecht and next week, the studies will continue in Pärnu. The programme in the home city of the UT will focus on the geopolitical issues between the EU and its Eastern neighbour.
The programmes on European integration and Russia will offer the participants knowledge in the area of European-Russian relations with a focus on social issues and human rights. They also tackle the developments in the Baltic States and the Baltic Sea region within the past decades. Much attention is paid to energy policy and the events in Ukraine. The last week of the course in Pärnu is organised together with the 3rd Martens Summer School with lectures held by jurists from different European countries, including Russia. The course is, among other things, focused on the issue of the provision of human rights in Russia.
The leading lecturers of the programmes are acknowledged lecturers of the University of Tartu with international background in their field: Professor Andres Kasekamp, Visiting Professor Andrey Makarychev and Professor Lauri Mälksoo.
Among International Summer University programmes focused on social issues, last week was the end of the course “After the Empire” organised together with the University of Latvia. The course introduced the developments in the Eastern European states after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The academic programme was supplemented by several visits to Estonian enterprises and a cultural programme.
The traditional Estonian language and culture courses have brought together the biggest number of participants: 87 people across the world. The attendance of one fifth of them is supported by scholarships of the Estonian Institute and the Archimedes Foundation within the framework of cooperation agreements between countries.
This year, a camp introducing traditional Estonian handicraft was organised for the first time. The course was led by the Department of Estonian Native Crafts of the UT’s Viljandi Culture Academy and brought an international group of 60 people interested in crafts to Olustvere.
The Summer University courses have brought together participants from different countries and regions around the world. In addition to our neighbouring countries, there are many participants from the United States. Thanks to the development cooperation scholarship programme of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, students from Ukraine could also attend the courses.
In addition to the abovementioned programmes, the university also organises summer schools in the fields of information technology, law, etc.