SEB, Graanul Invest and Swedbank support youth opportunities via Youth Academy

Three large enterprises – AS SEB Bank, AS Graanul Invest and AS Swedbank – invest €145,000 in the future of Estonia, offering long-term support to promoting the opportunities of basic school and upper secondary school students through the Youth Academy of the University of Tartu. With the help of the enterprises a new e-learning environment is created, experimental education in research laboratories is provided to more students, learning materials are updated and digitised, workshops are provided and the best students are awarded.

“Over its 54 years of operation, the Youth Academy has never before received such a large private investment. I am sincerely pleased that entrepreneurs feel the need to contribute to the education of Estonian schoolchildren and, indirectly, to finding and developing talented young people. I believe all innovations that we introduce in our activities in the next five years will bring the Youth Academy education to an entirely new level and motivate students even more actively to participate in studies,” said Riin Tamm, Director of the Youth Academy of the University of Tartu.

Each enterprise supports a specific activity or direction.

With the support of SEB Bank, the Youth Academy opened an e-learning environment, where they will offer courses in mathematics, chemistry, biology, physics, social sciences and arts. These courses have been awarded the E-course Quality Mark. In addition, online competitions like Kobras, Pulsar, Spekter and Kiil will be held there. The bank also offers video courses on finances, entrepreneurship, investment and innovation to the young learners.

Graanul Invest contributes to the long-term development of advanced science and wood chemistry study to raise the young people’s awareness of the opportunities in this field. The investment supports the Basic School Biology Olympiad, the Science Olympiad and the Youth Academy’s Investigation Lab, which conducts integrated study in this field. The support allows to develop collections of experimental problems in the field of wood technology, and enables young people to meet experts. Graanul Invest will also grant a scholarship to students who win medals at international competitions. 

Swedbank supports the popularisation of natural and exact sciences, promoting the Youth Academy’s physics, chemistry and biology workshops. These are experiment-based courses that can be taught at schools or youth centres, using portable equipment. Supported by the bank, the course content is updated with the latest topics. For example, a renewable energy programme and a nuclear physics lab kit will be developed. Also workshops will get new equipment: for example, the biology workshop will receive new microscopes.

“The contribution of SEB, Graanul Invest and Swedbank is an investment in the future and it will bear fruit in years to come, when the current pupils go to the university and choose their specialisation. I hope the three will also inspire other companies to help build a better future,” Tamm said.