The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities

The University of Tartu has decided to accept the Guild’s invitation to membership. Originally founded as Scandinavia’s second university by the Swedish King Gustaph Adolphus in 1632, the University is today Estonia’s national university. It has recorded outstanding success in attracting national and international research funding, including in the Horizon 2020 programme, and through the Sixth Framework Programme of the EU. World-leading research conducted in the University includes the Estonian Genome Center, a biobank of unique richness and representativeness of Estonia’s population. The University is also linked with a number of successful start-ups, with the global online and money exchange service TransferWise founded by Kristo Käärmann, a graduate in Computer Science. In outlining his vision for Tartu’s membership, Rektor Volli Kalm said that ’the founding of this new network of European universities is an excellent, and indeed timely, initiative’, noting that he looked forward to working with the Guild’s other members to realise our common vision, and to pursue our common goals, alongside other like-minded networks and organisations in Brussels. In response, Prof. Ole Petter Ottersen, Chair of the Guild, said that ‘The University of Tartu will add an important dimension to the Guild’s work through its rich history, through the world-leading research conducted there, and through its international outlook.’