Former defense and education minister Aaviksoo elected TUT rector
IRL's Vice-Chairman Jaak Aaviksoo was today elected as the new rector of Tallinn University of Technology (TUT).
Aaviksoo told ERR in March that he has been in active politics for a long time and he's ready for new challenge. He will now leave IRL (Pro Patria and Res Publica Union), as the academic position is supposed to be non-political.
Aaviksoo was supported by 8 members of 11-member committee, out of which 5 were representing the university, 5 were nominated by the government, and one was from the Academy of Sciences.
“First and foremost, our focus should be on increasing the reputation of TUT, improving the quality of teaching, and, of course, catching up with the University of Tartu in terms of research work,” Aaviksoo said.
The other candidates were Jakob Kübarsepp, Andrus Salupere and Mart Ustav.
Aaviksoo is the former rector of University of Tartu. He was Estonia's Defense Minister from 2007-2011, and Minister of Education and Research from 2011-2014. He received 1,405 votes at the last nation election on March 1 this year, and was elected to Parliament.
Established in 1918, Tallinn University of Technology is the only technical university in Estonia and one of the nation’s leading academic institutions, along with the University of Tartu.
Editor: S. Tambur