University Town's Schools See Increased International Interest, Including From Ukrainians
The number of aplications to the University of Tartu and the University of Life Sciences is up this year, a development that officials attribute to the crisis in Ukraine as well as organic interest in the schools' programs.
The University of Tartu received the most applications to the master's program in software technology - 332 of them. The medical school received 159 applications. About one-third of the applicants would qualify, ERR radio reported - the University of Tartu's chief specialist for international studies, Ülle Tensing, said that applicants sometimes do apply electronically with relatively little thought.
Finnish applications for the English-language programs at Tartu lead the pack, but there are also quite a few Ukrainian students.
"The reason there is partly political - they arelooking for a chance to continue their education outside Ukraine," said Tensing.
Another argument that draws Ukrainian students is that the school have a Foreign Ministry development cooperation program that supports students who come from Eastern Partnership countries, she said.
In the case of the agricultural university, the University of Life Sciences, veterinary medicine continues to be popular, due to a shortage of spots in Finland.