university
Mona Sõukand
MA (Journalism and Communication)
Information Technology Office
Service Division
AI Knowledge Manager
+37253598036
Uppsala 10–243

Cooperation and projects

University of Tartu researchers, teaching staff, support staff and students participate in a wide range of AI-related initiatives aimed at developing reliable solutions, supporting businesses in adopting new technologies, and promoting the ethical and meaningful use of AI in society.

The Estonian Centre of Excellence in AI is one of the key collaboration platforms in the field of AI in Estonia. It is led by the University of Tartu Institute of Computer Science and focuses on both core AI technologies and applications in areas such as healthcare, education, e-governance, cybersecurity, and business processes. The centre is headed by Professor of Artificial Intelligence Meelis Kull.

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The Estonian Scientific Computing Infrastructure is a nationwide e-infrastructure that brings together computing resources, data storage, network solutions, software and support services. It also includes server facilities with the necessary energy supply and cooling systems.

ETAIS provides technical support, cloud services, high-performance computing solutions, hosting and management of web applications related to research, and resources for data repositories. It also enables access to the fastest supercomputer in the Nordic countries, LUMI (Large Unified Modern Infrastructure), located in Finland.

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AI Leap is an educational innovation programme that supports purposeful learning and helps the education system adapt to the age of artificial intelligence.

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AI & Robotics Estonia primarily helps small and medium-sized enterprises in the Estonian industrial sector adopt AI and robotics solutions. The University of Tartu contributes to AIRE through research and development collaboration, training, demo projects and knowledge transfer to businesses. Through AIRE, companies can test new solutions at the university and explore ways of applying AI in practice.

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The AI Ethics Collaboration Network brings together stakeholders working in the fields of AI and ethics in Estonia. It was initiated by the University of Tartu Centre for Ethics and aims to foster collaboration, support the responsible use of AI, and help assess related ethical risks. The University of Tartu contributes to the network through the expertise of both the Centre for Ethics and the Institute of Computer Science.

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The Center for Digital Text Scholarship, operating within the Centre for Digital Humanities, is funded by the European Commission through a project running from 2025 to 2030. It focuses on computational text analysis, with the aim of studying textual similarity, intertextuality, information flow between texts and related issues. In addition, DigiTS enhances learning opportunities in digital humanities at the University of Tartu and supports the use of AI. It organises a monthly seminar series AI‑teh to introduce applications of AI in the humanities and social sciences.

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The University of Tartu natural language processing research group develops language technology solutions for Estonian and other languages, including machine translation, speech synthesis and natural language processing models. In this field, the university’s role is particularly important, as developing high-quality AI-based applications for languages with fewer speakers is both scientifically and socially essential.

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The Natural & Artificial Intelligence Lab is a research laboratory within the University of Tartu Institute of Computer Science. It combines AI, deep learning, neuroscience, physics and psychology. The work carried out in NAIL contributes to a better understanding of both the human brain and the development of more intelligent and explainable AI systems.

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The University of Tartu Autonomous Driving Lab supports the development of autonomous driving and intelligent transport solutions in Estonia. It provides an environment for testing self-driving vehicles and conducts research and development in autonomous systems, machine learning and robotics.

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The DeepTech Startup Network is a national collaboration initiative through which the state is investing over €12 million into the development of deep tech entrepreneurship. The objective is to build strong, research-based companies, create high-tech jobs, and use early public investment to attract more private capital in later stages.

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In addition to research and development activities, the University of Tartu helps broaden public understanding of AI. For example, the university organises seminars on data science and AI, bringing together researchers, entrepreneurs, public-sector representatives and students. This way, it helps translate knowledge about AI from research laboratories into practical applications and supports the readiness of Estonian society and the economy to adopt new technologies.

Objective

The University of Tartu has launched the project “A wise companion in your pocket” (“Tark mees taskus”, TMT), testing AI-based applications that support learning. The initiative is funded by the Estonian Education and Youth Board under the measure “Higher education quality and internationalisation” (“Kõrghariduse kvaliteet ja rahvusvahelistumine”, KVARA).

The project’s objective is to test various AI-powered learning support solutions in practical teaching and analyse how they perform from the perspectives of both students and teaching staff.

The project is being carried out in two stages. In the first stage, applications will be selected for testing, and the most effective ways of implementing them technically will be explored, including integration with Moodle. Teaching staff members from across the university will be recruited to participate in the pilot. In the second stage, the selected applications will be used in teaching on various courses at the University of Tartu and other Estonian universities (Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn University and the Estonian Academy of Arts). The project will also assess the perceptions and attitudes of students and teaching staff towards the use of AI in teaching, their need to use AI, and whether and how their views change as a result of their experience.

In addition to cooperation with other Estonian universities, the project team maintains regular contact with the University of Göttingen, where a similar learning support development project is currently under way.

Contact

Helen Hint, coordinator of the project “A wise companion in your pocket”

Objective

The project aims to develop an AI-based assistant to support the planning of teaching and help coordinate activities related to the organisation of studies. The assistant will gather the information needed for the planning of teaching from teaching staff members, programme directors, heads of specialisation and, where necessary, other stakeholders. The information may include preferred scheduling times, the volume and format of lessons, the logistical availability of teaching staff members, etc. The solution will reduce the amount of manual work involved in a process that currently relies on email correspondence, spreadsheets and repeated reminders.

The project’s objective is to bring together all information required for the planning of teaching in one place, improve data quality, ensure timely submission of information, and enable academic affairs specialists to focus more on substantive work and decision-making.

Project initiator
University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy

Objective

The project will create a user support chatbot for the University of Tartu’s document management system (DHIS), helping users quickly find answers to questions related to the system. The chatbot will provide responses based on existing guidance materials. As part of the project, these guidance materials will be reviewed and updated where necessary.

Compared with the current user support arrangement, the chatbot’s main advantage is its ability to provide users with answers around the clock. If a question falls outside the scope of DHIS user support, the chatbot will be able to guide the user to an appropriate solution or direct them to the relevant unit. The project’s objective is to improve access to information, reduce the workload of user support staff, and enable faster and more convenient problem resolution.

Project initiator
Administrative Office