Compared to others, we are very good in three areas: 

 Ϟ Quotations – this means how much other scientists rely on our research;

 Ϟ Cooperation with companies – measured in particular by the volume of cooperation agreements;

 Ϟ Internationalization – how many foreign students and faculty members we have.

What has helped us is the fact that several generations of economists at the University of Tartu have consistently set and implemented these goals.

What does the future hold for the School of Economics and Business Administration?

At the beginning of 2020, the UT School of Economics and Business Administration will be moving to the UT Delta Centre. As the School of Economics and Business Administration has risen to the same rank in the Times Higher Education list as the Institute of Computer Science, we are hoping that the exciting and mutually stimulating cooperation and competition in the UT Delta Centre will encourage the two institutes to bring even better results. This is the case, for example, in the field of business contracts we are already at the top in Estonian in terms of the volume.

Bringing together the knowledge from different fields to cooperate in UT Delta Centre will be beneficial to the entire Tartu region and South Estonia, and hopefully, the higher rankings will be easy to achieve.

What do you think of role models? Who/what are the Economics Faculty’s role models?

We don’t have anyone to copy from because we are a very small department and we’re in a very special country. We’ve taken inspiration from Germany, the USA, the Nordic Countries and tried out everything on our own, failing and learning from the experience. We were what one could call a startup in the 1990s and developed a key to success over time – all of our school members must be competent in various fields. They do science, teach well, and are active in the community. Just like the idea author of sTARTUp Day Andres Kuusik – a real Jack of all trades.

All of our school members must be competent in various fields. They do science, teach well, and are active in the community. Just like the idea author of sTARTUp Day Andres Kuusik – a real Jack of all trades. 

Which belief or habit has improved the School of Economics and Business Administration the most?

The habit to discuss and argue, but also work together strategically. Experience has shown that we have a lot of team players when things get critical, but we also compete with each other.

On what is the School of Economics and Business Administration focusing at the moment?

We are learning how to do more teamwork both within the school and in the university, also with different parties of the society – businesses and the public sector. We’re trying to develop a new business model for our school, to turn the UT Delta Centre investment profitable for us and the community and at the same time offering an even better education for our students.

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The University of Tartu is one of the co-organisers of sTARTUp Day 2020. The questions were answered by Kadri Ukrainski, Head of the School of Economics and Business Administration, University of Tartu.