02.02.23 NEWS ... Over the past two years, simply sitting an end of school exam was enough for children finishing their basic education in Estonian schools to be able to graduate. However, starting this spring the Ministry of Education is reintroducing the previous system, whereby basic school students are required to achieve test scores of 50 percent or more to graduate. School psychologists, along with some teachers believe, this will also bring about unnecessary additional stress for schoolchildren.

02.02.23 NEWS ... According to the results of a recent study, Tallinn's green areas are home to several hundred foxes, deer and hares as well as up to 50 moose. What makes the Estonian capital unique in Europe is that Tallinn is also home to beavers, and even lynx and bears passing through can be found in the city.

31.01.23 NEWS ... Political parties hoping to be elected to the Riigikogu have made raising defense spending, strengthening the Estonian Defence League (EDL), and introducing mandatory defense education in schools key pledges in their manifestos.

27.01.23 NEWS ... This year, Tallinn is the European Green Capital and in close collaboration with the Tehnopol Science and Business Park the city launches the "Test in Tallinn" project, which creates an attractive business environment, where various green technologies can be tested, with the goal of helping both domestic and international companies.

27.01.23 NEWS ... Members of the councils of Estonia's public universities issued a joint statement this week stressing the need and expectation for decision-makers to come up with a long-term plan for ensuring the sustainability of Estonian-language higher education.

26.01.23 NEWS ... Oil shale ash is increasingly finding use in construction materials manufacturing and agriculture. Eesti Energia subsidiary Enefit Power more than doubled its ash sales last year to over 100,000 tons.

26.01.23 NEWS ... A new map created by the Estonian Environment Agency shows how many sunny hours different parts of Estonia get in a year. Sunny days are more common in the western half of Estonia, the agency's weather department chief Miina Krabbi said.

23.01.23 NEWS ... Passenger ferry MS Estonia did not sink as a result of colliding with another vessel, with holes and deformation of the hull probably the result of the wreck scraping on the seabed, the interim report of the MS Estonia investigation reveals. The investigation also found that as the ship's bow section construction was not up to scratch, the ferry was not seaworthy.

23.01.23 NEWS ... The 2021 National Institute for Health Development (TAI) youth sexuality and sexual health study found that young people, on average, become sexually active at the age of 15 in Estonia, while the relative importance of minors who have experienced sexual intercourse has fallen. Changes have been most extensive among basic school students.

19.01.23 NEWS ... The government, following the proposal of the public administration minister, has added two islands to the list of small islands with permanent residents – Mohni and Viirelaid. A small island with a land area of at least 100 square kilometers makes the list if it had at least five monthly residents throughout the previous calendar year according to the population register.

18.01.23 NEWS ... If you know anything about Estonian history, chances are you will have heard about the Baltic Germans who used to have major influence here. Where did they come from? How long did they stay? Why did they leave and what did they leave behind? Watch the video to find out!

17.01.23 NEWS ... The long-tailed duck is the bird of the year and their numbers are rapidly declining, threatening extinction.

17.01.23 NEWS ... ERR News broadcasts the Annual Conference of WEB Estonia, this year titled "Security of Supply and Affordable Energy Prices" live from the Black Box of the Creative Hub.

12.01.23 NEWS ... Three high schools will open in Tallinn at the start of the new school year, but while construction is on track, it is proving harder to find new teachers.

11.01.23 NEWS ... On Wednesday, the University of Tartu published a notice in the Estonian media announcing the start of the process to elect a new rector. The university's current rector Toomas Asser has yet to confirm whether he will stand for re-election.

11.01.23 NEWS ... The University of Tartu has issued an advertisement in press Wednesday, announcing the start of the competitive process to elect a new rector, replacing Toomas Asser, whose term ends later this year.

10.01.23 NEWS ... A €30 million project supported by the European Commission and the Estonian state is set to be used to establish a center for personalized medicine research and development at the University of Tartu. According to Sander Pajusalu, head of the University of Tartu's Genetics and Personalized Medicine Clinic, it is too early to say when treatment plans based on personal genetic data may become the norm.

10.01.23 NEWS ... The largest research grant in Estonia's history has been awarded to the University of Tartu to develop the digitization of the bio-industry and the creation of personalized medicine services. The European Commission and the Estonian government each provided €30 million for the development of two new cutting edge international centers of excellence.

09.01.23 2023 ELECTIONS ... Isamaa's plan for the protection of the Estonian language, announced on Monday, calls for a 15-fold increase in the fine for those who fail to meet language proficiency criteria, to nearly €10,000. In addition, the party wants to impose a language requirement on candidates for municipal office and restrict foreign language instruction in higher education.

05.01.23 NEWS ... The new national curricula sent for approval last week do not involve any changes to the general principles of inclusive education. There are, however, some technical changes, which will affect students with special educational needs, says Jürgen Rakaselg, director of inclusive education at the Ministry of Education.

04.01.23 NEWS ... According to an analysis of the Hiiu maritime area commissioned by the Ministry of Finance, wind farms cannot be built off the coast of Hiiumaa, due to their potential impact on local birds. However, according to the report, it would be possible to build a wind farm between Hiiumaa and Saaremaa, with the company "Roheline Elekter" having already applied for a construction permit to do so.

04.01.23 NEWS ... A drive to de-emphasize the status of Russian as a foreign language in Estonian schools is proving difficult due to a shortage of teachers, ETV news show "Aktuaalne kaamera" (AK) reported Tuesday. The issue particularly affects smaller schools.

28.12.22 NEWS ... The twenty-year-old vocational education system, based on professional standards, is falling behind the times, in today's rapidly changing world, ERR reports, prompting the Ministry of Education and Research to prepare a plan to reform that system.

28.12.22 NEWS ... In recent decades, the fashion industry's carbon footprint has surpassed that of aviation and sea transportation. Professor of Liberal Arts at the University of Tartu Reet Aus argues that in order to lessen the fashion industry's impact on the environment, fashion designers should consider how their garments might be recycled way in advance.

22.12.22 NEWS ... Minister of Education and Research Tõnis Lukas (Isamaa) believes children's extracurricular education should also be carried out in Estonian as part of the newly passed education reform.

17.12.22 NEWS ... Minister of Education and Research Tõnis Lukas has approved the activity plan for switching to Estonian education complete with deadlines and funding until 2030.

15.12.22 NEWS ... The nearly 25 percent increase in teachers' minimum wage to take effect from the new year is putting pressure on local governments expected to raise kindergarten teachers' minimum wage to the same extent. Led by the City of Võru, this concern has been taken all the way to the government, even as a heated debate unfolds in the Southeastern Estonian city over the possibility of having to raise monthly kindergarten fees.

12.12.22 NEWS ... The Riigikogu on Monday approved the law laying out the transition to Estonian language teaching in schools and kindergartens.

09.12.22 NEWS ... The Baltic Sea is registered to have over 200 invasive or non-indigenous species a third of whom form viable populations. While only a few are real nuisances, such as the round goby, there are nevertheless serious problems, a recent study found.

09.12.22 NEWS ... According to a recent study, the mental health of children and young people in Estonia is in a precarious state. Karmen Maikalu, head of the Estonian Association of School Psychologists (EKPÜ), believes, the fact that only half of schools have in-house psychologists is not helping to improve the situation.

08.12.22 NEWS ... The Estonian Maritime Museum has applied for over half a million euros from the Ministry of Culture to conserve the hulk of a medieval ship unearthed during construction work on Lootsi tänav. The sum needs to be approved by the coalition council.

07.12.22 NEWS ... Earlier this week, Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) launched its Circular Economy Core Laboratory, a virtual collaboration platform aimed at bringing university contacts and competencies together with researchers, organizations, companies and startups in the search for sustainable solutions to the energy and commodity crisis.

05.12.22 NEWS ... Estonian-founded financial tech company Wise and the University of Tartu Foundation on Monday announced the launch of a new scholarship for women studying IT at the University of Tartu (TÜ).

02.12.22 NEWS ... The expatriate Estonian visiting professorship at the University of Tartu will be held next year by Annela Anger-Kraavi of the University of Cambridge and Mart Kuldkepp of University College London (UCL), Estonia's flagship university announced Thursday.

02.12.22 NEWS ... The ceremonial opening of a computer coding school based in Ida-Viru County took place Wednesday, ETV news show "Aktuaalne kaamera" (AK) reports.

01.12.22 NEWS ... Writer Viivi Luik was awarded the University of Tartu's Contribution to Estonian National Identity prize on Thursday (December 1), the 103rd anniversary of the founding of the institution.

01.12.22 NEWS ... More than 60 Estonian entrepreneurs signed a joint statement issued Thursday encouraging the Estonian government, political parties and the media to make the green transition a priority in the coming years, stressing that there is no contradiction between the green transition and development.

01.12.22 NEWS ... More than 70 schools took party in a recent drive for book donations, and saw some welcome additions to their libraries as a result, ETV news show "Aktuaalne kaamera" (AK) reported Wednesday.

01.12.22 NEWS ... Air quality in Estonia has significantly improved over the last decade, the Ministry of the Environment says, adding that while this is a welcome development, fine particle and nitrogen dioxide pollution continues to be a health issue.

30.11.22 NEWS ... The Estonian Safety Investigation Bureau (ESIB) will ask the government for additional funding within a week. The current phase of the investigation involves the creation of a digital twin of the MS Estonia ferry to model the hull damage caused by a collision with the seafloor.

29.11.22 NEWS ... In the studio of artist duo Varvara Guljajeva and Mar Canet Sola in Tallinn, an artificial intelligence named Alfred will create 100-line-images of people's dreams. ERR's Novaator went to see the robotic interactive installation "Dream Painter."

28.11.22 NEWS ... European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR) concluded on the busiest shopping day of the year, Black Friday. What could help address over-consumption and excessive waste generation?

28.11.22 NEWS ... With over one billion tons of oil shale industry byproducts, Ida-Viru County in Estonia is one of the world's most waste-heavy places. Ash hills are now considered by scientists and industry alike as a source of valuable raw materials: the first attempt is to derive climate-positive calcium carbonate without emitting any additional CO2.

25.11.22 NEWS ... Christiana Lyn Scheib, head of the ancient DNA lab at the University of Tartu, devised a method to address unresolved issues in the evolution of the human immune system. The European Research Council has awarded this project a start-up grant of €1.5 million.

24.11.22 NEWS ... Recent years have seen efforts to dial back educational inequality in Estonia and elsewhere in the world. Tallinn University scientists looked into why educational stratification is still a problem, suggesting that higher education access also depends on the size of home libraries.

23.11.22 NEWS ... While all kindergarten facilities in the Estonian capital of Tallinn should meet modern standards by the year 2030, many of them are still awaiting renovations, and many more to be torn down. The current pace of construction, however, is falling behind the city's plans.

23.11.22 NEWS ... In Tartu, Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) researchers are partnering with the local government and the private sector to develop a pilot community energy cooperative that will serve as a model for the rest of Estonia. The researchers believe that energy cooperatives could acquire greater traction through existing housing associations, where profits would be used to cover communal expenses. Also, energy collaboration is likely to become more widespread in the near future in order to manage electric vehicle charging stations cooperatively.

22.11.22 OPINION ... According to the most recent PIAAC survey, Estonian professionals do not collaborate enough, which often impedes the creation of synergies.Aune Valk, vice-rector of academic affairs at the University of Tartu and national project manager for the last PIAAC survey, writes that either a lack of teamwork skills or an unduly individualistic work environment in Estonia is to blame.

22.11.22 NEWS ... Heads of the Estonian Health Board plan to move its offices out of the agency's Paldiski maantee building to make room for laboratories.

22.11.22 NEWS ... Local governments in Harju County that have seen a wave of court actions want the right to decide whether to send children to municipal nurseries or private daycare. The solution could be to lower kindergartens' quality requirements.