Mika Keränen: I Need Colder Seasons To Think and Work

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Inga Külmoja

If your happiness resides somewhere between the bushes of the Botanical Garden, or near the riverbanks where the self-made thinkers sit, then you are in the right place – in Tartu.

Listen to the podcast interview with Mika Keränen:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Mika Keränen at the UT Botanical Garden in Tartu

Tartu’s Botanical Garden feels almost like a home garden for Mika Keränen. Photo by Inga Külmoja.

We met for a talk at the UT Botanical Garden, a special and beloved place for Mika in Tartu. When he writes children’s books, he can easily visualise kids having adventures in these settings here. And wherever Mika travels, he always tries to visit botanical gardens. So far Tartu rules them all out, it seems. He feels almost as though he is in his home garden here. Continue reading →

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Student Interview: Voronezh Is Like Tartu, but 10 Times Bigger

Posted on September 21, 2012 by Inga Külmoja

If you don’t speak or read any Russian, you can just call her Katherine, though her friends back in Voronezh know her as Ekaterina. Katherine comes from Voronezh State University, where she studies journalism, and is on her exchange semester in Tartu now.

Katherine has tuned into the study mood (ask her how if you need a boost), praises the friendly atmosphere in Tartu, and hopes to make friends all over the world. You probably have a good chance to meet her at the UT Botanical Garden or café Werner, as she claims to have fallen in love with those places here.

What else?… Find out in the twitterview!

Ekaterina

Who is Ekaterina, and who is Katherine? Photos from the personal archive.

[blackbirdpie id=”245880649922273280″]
[blackbirdpie id=”245881439948795904″] Continue reading →

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How Good Is Estonian Science?

Posted on September 12, 2012 by Inga Külmoja

Seventeen scientists from Estonian universities belong to the top one per cent of the most cited scientists in the world. The most referenced amongst them are Risto Näätänen, professor of cognitive neuroscience at the University of Tartu and Ülo Niinemets, professor of plant physiology at the Estonian University of Life Sciences.

“Citations are really important, because what’s the use of brilliant thoughts when nobody notices them?” Jüri Allik noted. Allik, a professor of experimental psychology at UT, has been analysing the global quotability of Estonian scientists for more than ten years, and belongs to the most referenced scientists in his field as well. He said that figuratively, quotability shows whether the audience consists of only some listeners or whether it is a concerto hall full of people.

“If there are no references at all, then, bluntly spoken, the article is scrap paper”, added Richard Villems, President of the Estonian Academy of Sciences and one of Estonia’s most referenced scientists in the fields of molecular biology and genetics.

Top scientists in Estonia 2012 Continue reading →

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Four Months of Erasmus in Winter

Posted on September 7, 2012 by Catherina Langhoff

When I arrived in Tartu in February as an Erasmus student, it was cold. Really cold, -20° C I guess. There was snow, it was dark and my suitcase weighed tons, at least. So I wasn’t in my best temper that day, although I was excited as hell about the four months that lay ahead of me.

CatherinaI knew that winter in Tartu would be long and freezing, but no one prepared me for this. Still in April I thought that the snow would never disappear, that I was trapped in a never-ending winter.

But there were good and beautiful things about it as well: climbing on frozen waterfalls, walking on the frozen Peipsi Lake, snow fights at night in the parking lot behind Raatuse, sledging on a giant plastic sheet together with 50 other people on Vastlapäev, kayaking in Soomaa National Park during the so-called fifth season (and, of course, while snow was falling), the frozen Baltic Sea…Unfortunately we never got the chance to use one of the ice roads. Continue reading →

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Student Interview: A Book Brought Me to Estonia

Posted on August 28, 2012 by Inga Külmoja

Maeva, Erasmus student from FranceMaeva from France arrived in Tartu for her Erasmus year about a month ago. She will master Scandinavian studies and Swedish language at the University of Tartu. While Estonia might not seem to be the most logical place to polish one’s Swedish, Maeva is confident about her choice.

Her journey to Estonia started two years ago when Maeva happened to read a French translation of the Purge (in Finnish: Puhdistus), an award-winning novel by a Finnish-Estonian writer Sofi Oksanen.

How can a gloomy book like this inspire someone to come to Estonia? What are Maeva’s favorite words in Estonian? What surprised her, and what she finds disturbing here? Read the twitterview below and find out.

 

[blackbirdpie id=”238971280584486912″] Continue reading →

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Remote Peak Named after Tartu Conquered Again

Posted on August 24, 2012 by Inga Külmoja

A team of ten mountaineers from Tartu and Tallinn have reconquered the 6,258-metre peak named after the University of Tartu in the Central Pamirs in Tajikistan.

The group led by Andres Hiiemäe reached the peak on 31 July around 12.30 am. It appeared that the peak had seen no visitors since the first-ever ascent 30 years ago when the university celebrated its 350th anniversary in 1982.

Continue reading →

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Estonian Wooded Meadow Shares the World Record for Species Richness with Rain Forests

Posted on August 22, 2012 by Villu Päärt

Which spot in the world has the greatest number of species? It depends on the size of the picture you’re viewing.

Laelatu wooded meadow in Estonia

Laelatu wooded meadow in Estonia is the record holder for species richness in areas of 10×10 and 20×20 cm. Image credit: Olev Mihkelmaa / Wikimedia Commons.

Professor Meelis Partel of the macroecology workgroup at the University of Tartu, in conjunction with colleagues from New Zealand, USA and Germany, has published a list of world diversity records for vascular plants in the Journal of Vegetation Science – the first ever. They observed various ranges of area, from one square millimeter to one hectare.

When it comes to territories of 50 square meters or more, world records can be found in the South American rain forests of Costa Rica and Columbia. The greatest scale – one hectare – is topped by a tropical rain forest in Ecuador where 942 different species of plants coexist. Continue reading →

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