UniTartu Summer School, Ülikooli 18, Tartu (2026)

15/12/2025

December in Tartu ❄️✨

December wraps Tartu in festive charm and quiet magic. Snow-covered streets, soft lights and a gentle winter rhythm invite the city to slow down and enjoy the season.

This is a time for appreciating small moments and sharing warmth with those around us. While Tartu glows with holiday spirit, we’re also already looking ahead to summer, when students from around the world will return to these same streets to learn, explore and connect through the UniTartu Summer School.

Looking back with gratitude, this year marked our fourth UniTartu Summer School, made all the more special by the many international participants who joined us.

✨Thank you to everyone who helped create such meaningful experiences and lasting memories.✨

Until next summer, we wish you a joyful, peaceful and bright holiday season.🤩

📸 Photo: Visit Estonia / Ketlin Lääts

08/12/2025

Exciting news! ✨

The call for UniTartu Summer School 2026 course proposals has officially ended, and preparations for the 2026 programme are now underway.

In the coming weeks, we will review all submitted proposals and work closely with academic teams to shape next summer’s selection of courses.

Last summer left a strong impression on many of our participants. One of them shared:
“I had a lot of fun, learnt a lot and met great people. The UniTartu Summer School was the highlight of my summer.”

Looking for a memorable experience? Stay tuned!
If you would like to be among the first to know when the full programme is released, you are welcome to join our monthly newsletter.

The link is in the comments.

📸 Photo credits to Undercliff Creative

24/11/2025

A calm river journey, fresh air and good company on the Emajõgi River ✨

Our UniTartu Summer School participants enjoyed a peaceful boat trip 🛳️with Pegasus along the Emajõgi River, discovering Tartu from an entirely new perspective. The cruise offered a relaxing way to take in the city’s landscape and spend time together on the water.

What made the trip memorable?
🔹Beautiful views of Tartu and its surroundings
🔹A comfortable cruise departing from beside the Dorpat Hotel
🔹A café on board serving drinks and ice cream

One participant summarised the experience:
"The scenery is perfect, the cruise time is reasonable, and food is provided on board. I met many friends, and it was a great sightseeing experience."

📸 Photo credits to Undercliff Creative

19/11/2025

A historical visit to the University of Tartu Art Museum 🏛️

As part of this summer’s 🌞 cultural programme, our participants explored the University of Tartu Art Museum. It is the Estonia’s oldest art museum, located in the heart of the university’s historic main building.

For many participants, it became a highlight of the programme:
“The museum tour revealed the history of Tartu through the artefacts we saw.”

The visit took the group through several fascinating spaces and stories:
🔹The White Hall, once part of the medieval cathedral choir
🔹Estonia’s only ancient art exhibition, with full-scale Greek sculpture casts
🔹Immanuel Kant’s original death mask, one of only two worldwide
🔹The Mummy Chamber, home to authentic Egyptian mummies
🔹The old attic and student lock-up, revealing past student traditions

It was a rare opportunity to see how layers of local history, ancient civilisations and university heritage meet under one roof.

📸 Photo credits: Undercliff Creative

14/11/2025

City walk with our International Student Ambassadors ✨

Our summer school participants had the chance to get to know Tartu through a guided 1.5-hour walk led by International Student Ambassador Aikaterini from Greece. The tour introduced some of the central landmarks that make Tartu such a welcoming university city.

The route included:
🔹Town Hall Square
🔹the Angel’s Bridge
🔹Pirogov Square
🔹Theatre House of the Tartu Toy Museum
🔹Toomemägi – the historic hilltop where Tartu first developed, today home to the Cathedral ruins and the Old Observatory

This relaxed walk offered a first glimpse into daily life in Tartu and highlighted how compact and easy to navigate the city centre is. Most places are only a short walk apart.

We are grateful to our International Student Ambassadors for leading the tours and for their continuous support to the UniTartu Summer School community.

Photo credits to Undercliff Creative

29/10/2025

Trip to South Estonia was a day full of discovery, laughter, and new experiences🌿

This was one of the most loved activities of this year’s UniTartu Summer School – rated 4.9/5 by our participants!

The day offered everything we could wish for:
🔹 Hiking through Estonia’s beautiful forests and sandstone cliffs
🔹 Picking wild mushrooms and blueberries
🔹 A refreshing swim after a full day outdoors
🔹 Shared meals, stories, and plenty of laughter along the way

Here’s what our participants said:
🗣️ “A wonderful experience – so many characteristic places in a single day!”
🗣️ “Beautiful nature, great organisation, and food always provided.”

Thank you to everyone who joined and made this trip so special!

📸 Photo credits to Undercliff Creative

15/10/2025

A look back at the Computational Immunology Summer School in Tartu 👀

For ten summer days, students from around the world came together at the University of Tartu to explore how our immune system recognises and responds to countless pathogens.

From wet-lab experiments to data-driven discoveries, the course combined science, coding, and collaboration in the best possible way.

💡 Highlights:
🔹Understanding T-cell repertoire diversity and AIRR analysis
🔹Working with real datasets and interactive notebooks
🔹Training with tools like MiXCR, GLIPH2 and ALICE
🔹Friendly, supportive atmosphere and plenty of new connections

Here’s what participants said:
“A great opportunity to visit Estonia, meet amazing people, and learn so much about immunology.”

🎥Video by International Student Ambassadors

13/10/2025

UniTartu Summer School at EAIE European Association for International Education 2025 🎓✨

This September we were proud to host a session at the EAIE Conference in Gothenburg, Sweden – Europe’s largest higher education event.

Together with Drs Jeroen Torenbeek (Summer Schools in Europe) and Sophia Schmieder (Freie Universität Berlin), our colleague Anna Branets spoke at a session titled
“How to Manage a Successful Summer School: Insights from Established and Emerging Programmes.”

We were pleased to share our experience with colleagues leading summer schools worldwide! 🌍💙

09/10/2025

✨Highlights of UniTartu Summer School 2025✨

From 28 July to 8 August 2025, participants from 25 nationalities came to Tartu for two weeks of intensive study and a lively cultural programme. Feedback was outstanding.

At a glance:
🔹90% satisfaction with academic content: unique courses, hands on learning and study visits
🔹94% rating for the learning environment: modern labs, classrooms and computer centres
🔹90% rating for the cultural programme: city tour, museums, board game night, Emajõgi boat trip, Karlova scavenger hunt
🔹South Estonia trip was the favourite activity with 98% satisfaction
🔹 96% of participants said they would recommend the UniTartu Summer School to others

📍Read the full article from here: https://ut.ee/en/news/highlights-unitartu-summer-school-2025

📧 Sign up for our newsletter and be the first to hear about the 2026 UniTartu Summer School: https://utinternational.sendsmaily.net/landing-pages/4029778b-6e61-48eb-90c8-825feff35194/html/

📸 Photo: Undercliff Creative

08/10/2025

Inside the Self-driving Cars course at UniTartu 💡
Ten days of innovation, teamwork, and coding challenges at the University of Tartu’s Delta Centre.

Participants shared how they:
🔹Built and tested autonomy modules in Python
🔹Worked in the cutting-edge Autonomous Driving Lab
🔹Simulated driving in a digital twin of Tartu
🔹Experienced a real demo ride in a self-driving Lexus 🚘

They described the course as “intense but inspiring” and “the perfect mix of theory and hands-on practice.”

🎥 Video by International Student Ambassadors

06/10/2025

A look back at our Board Game Night 🎲🧩

One of the most loved evenings of this year’s UniTartu Summer School was the Board Game Night. It was a relaxed, laughter-filled event that brought everyone together after busy study days.

Participants enjoyed classic and modern games, shared pizzas, and took part in a lively kahoot quiz. It turned out to be the perfect mix of fun and connection.

✨Average rating: 4.6 / 5 ✨

Here’s what our students said:
• “Gaming with new friends was fantastic – the kahoot was a funny idea!”
• “It was very well organised and a lot of fun.”
• “Less regimented and more social – a perfect way to unwind.”

Evenings like this remind us that learning and friendship go hand in hand. 💙

📸 Photo credits to Undercliff Creative

29/09/2025

Summer School in Self-driving Cars
📍 Tartu, 28 July – 8 August

Led by Tambet Matiisen, head of the University of Tartu Autonomous Driving Lab, the course introduced MSc and PhD students to the foundations of autonomous driving.

Students:
🔹Implemented key modules of an autonomy stack in Python
🔹Tested their solutions in a digital twin of Tartu
🔹Concluded with a demo ride in a self-driving Lexus

Course feedback was excellent, with an overall rating of 4.75/5 and a 100% recommendation score. Participants especially valued the balance of theory and practice and the chance to test software in real vehicles.

📸 Photo credits to Undercliff Creative

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