IT entrepreneur and Tallinn University of Technology PhD graduate Taavi Kotka is currently leading a technology club in cooperation with the university aimed at schoolgirls. The program's goal is to foster interest in technology, robotics and the natural sciences among girls in primary and secondary school.

"We'll soon start to see the results, as these girls will begin entering university over the next five years. There's a gender imbalance in technology education — girls generally aren't interested in studying technology. Over the past five years, the university has taken real steps to address this. This fact shouldn't be denied or downplayed," Kotka said.

At the same time, he believes the university should keep pace with change a bit more quickly. "There are fields where wages and demand are constantly growing and others that have started to stagnate. I still see the university keeping some subjects alive simply because there's a lecturer available to teach them. We don't ask ourselves whether the content really meets the needs of the 21st century, especially in the form it's been taught for the past ten years. These questions should definitely be asked more often," he noted.

Kotka cited feedback from students as one example: "In a situation where AI is already handling a large part of programming, we should be placing much greater emphasis on how to ask smarter questions and use AI to solve problems. People have their own style when programming. Maybe we should focus less on how neat and polished the hand-written code looks. Is code style really a 21st-century problem?"

Kotka also pointed out a broader weakness in Estonia's education system — the limited involvement of top private-sector specialists in academic research. Since doing so requires stepping out of their comfort zones, he believes more effort should be made to motivate such experts.

"In addition to the new knowledge they could provide, they would also need to conduct basic research. There are certain formatting requirements that any scientific work must meet. I have examples from my own company where employees, between large projects, write research papers that have received significant international attention. If we could find ways to motivate top specialists from businesses to engage in research, we'd see an explosion in the number of scientific publications," Kotka said.

Improving competitiveness in business

Hando Sutter, CEO of the Estonian Employers' Confederation and a TalTech alumnus, said that from an employers' perspective, the university must produce a new generation of engineers who can help improve the competitiveness of Estonian companies. At present, there is a significant shortage of engineers across various fields in Estonia.

"When the economy starts growing again, this shortage won't diminish — it will likely increase. Companies have high expectations for the university, both in terms of producing talent and fostering scientific collaboration. We want to see a clear vision from the new rector and a strong team to implement it. I would definitely emphasize focusing on the economy and business sector," Sutter said.

Although cooperation between businesses and the university has been fairly good so far, Sutter believes it should be strengthened further to boost economic growth and competitiveness.

Sutter also feels that Tallinn University of Technology should place greater emphasis on practical application. "We have a lot to learn from Finland in this regard — how to conduct research and development in a way that can actually be implemented and generate added value. We need to ensure that TalTech's research and development leads to real-world applications. Of course, businesses also need to take a hard look at themselves. After all, this is a matter of cooperation," the Employers' Confederation chief concluded.

Greater focus on applied sciences and economic growth

Margit Sutrop, chair of the Riigikogu's higher education support group and an academic, said that Tallinn University of Technology has done well in sparking young people's interest in technology. "I have six grandchildren, five of whom are boys. Through various television programs and other media, they've developed a strong interest in studying robotics there. As a University of Tartu patriot, I must admit I'm even a little jealous," she joked.

However, she also noted that alongside the basic sciences, the university should place greater emphasis on applied sciences. "Our university could look to institutions like Aalto University in Helsinki or the Technical University of Munich as examples — places that understand the importance of developing applied sciences alongside basic research, so that the results can benefit entrepreneurship. This is essential for improving our productivity and GDP," she said.

Sutrop acknowledged that the university faces significant challenges: "Keeping pace with strong universities in the region is an ambitious goal, especially given how little financial support the Estonian state provides. Additionally, we have a shrinking number of Estonian-speaking doctoral students interested in pursuing academic careers."

"The university's major challenge is to renew its faculty by encouraging young, Estonian-speaking individuals to choose research careers, enter doctoral studies and stay on as lecturers while also engaging in research and innovation. I think the issue of generational turnover among faculty is more serious than many realize. Young people considering a research career need security and a supportive environment, especially since funding is often project-based," Sutrop said.

The new rector will take office at the start of the next academic year. This time, the rector's term will be an exceptional four years, so that in the future the election cycles for the university council and the rector do not overlap. The rector will be elected by the university's 11-member council on Friday, May 9.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!