On 20 April, the 292-member electoral council elected Professor of Neurosurgery Toomas Asser as rector of the University of Tartu with 168 votes. The electoral council comprised members of the University of Tartu council, the senate, faculty councils and the student union, as well as professors.
There is a lot of interest for studying information technology specialties in Estonian universities, but there is a lack of teachers, which is likely caused by the low salary levels.
Since June 2019, Estonia has been a prospect member state of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL). A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has now been signed between EMBL and the University of Tartu, a leading centre of research and training. The MoU aims to strengthen cooperation between EMBL and the life science research community in Estonia, building on the very successful links in the context of the prospect membership.