"I am very pleased that construction has gone according to plan and remained on schedule thus far," said Heiki Pagel, director of the University of Tartu's Real Estate Department. "In order to acknowledge the builders for reaching the maximum height of the building, we are inviting future tenants and all of the builders to a topping out ceremony on Thursday."

The Delta Centre, whose construction is underway at the site of the former Oeconomicum building, located on the eastern bank of the Emajõgi River in Tartu's Ülejõe District, will consist of a study and research building and an entrepreneurship building. The former is scheduled to be handed over to the university by the end of this year; the entrepreneurship building should follow in January.

The university's Institute of Computer Science, Institute of Mathematics and Statistics,the School of Economics and Business Administration, the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation as well as some laboratories of the Institute of Technology are to be relocated to the study and research building at the beginning of 2020.

Delta Centre's entrepreneurship building is a five-story commercial building that will include approximately 3,500 square meters of rental space. The goal of the building is to bring research-based entrepreneurship, which is linked with study and research, as close to the university as possible, thus opening up possibilities for diverse cooperation.

The building is to become home to the Software Technology and Applications Competence Center (STACC), Cybernetica AS, AS SEB Pank, Statistics Estonia, Swedbank AS, the Business Incubation Centre (BIC) of the European Space Agency (ESA), and Tartu Science Park.

University of Tartu Vice-Rector for Development Erik Puura said that an environment will be created at Delta Centre where researchers, teaching staff, students, entrepreneurs and supporters of the creation and development of companies will meet.

"The presence of research-intensive companies by the university's side will make new ideas move fast," he added.

The entire Delta Centre was designed by architects Illimar Truverk, Sander Aas, Sander Paljak, Kristjan Lind and Joanna Kordemets of Arhitekt11 OÜ. Construction of the entrepreneurship building is being financed by the University of Tartu.

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