Tiit Land: Estonia needs strategic plan for higher education

TALLINN - The rector of the Tallinn University of Technology, Tiit Land, who was elected as the chairman of the board of Universities Estonia for a two-year term, considers reminding decision-makers that higher education needs a long-term strategic vision and funding plan, not just short-term discussions and dealing with details, as one of his most important tasks.

According to Land, decision-makers sometimes tend to forget why the viability of higher education needs to be ensured with a long-term view.

"There has been a lot of talk in the public debate, for example, about whether and how own contribution should be restored in higher education or an administration fee should be imposed on students. Before we get bogged down in details, we need to agree as society on for what and what kind of higher education Estonia will need in the future. Addressing the improvement of the higher education system only through detail is more likely to sow distrust in our higher education system," he said.

Land noted that young people in Estonia are free to decide whether or not they want to study and live here and thus contribute to our economy and society.

"Today, our higher education institutions are competing with the best universities in the world for students, and it is good if our young people also go abroad to study. However, the continued development of Estonia also requires that these young people want to return to Estonia later," Land said.

To address the shortage of engineers, teachers, and healthcare professionals, as well as to ensure new generations of scientists, it is essential that Estonia continues to offer higher education that measures up to high international standards, and providing high-quality higher education in Estonia is one of the most crucial links in the country's development chain, he said.

Under the leadership of the outgoing chairman, Toomas Asser, rector of the University of Tartu, Universities Estonia has worked towards achieving a broad agreement to eliminate the funding gap in higher education for the period 2023-2026. Handing over the baton, Asser said that over the past two years, negotiations have been held with all parliamentary parties and a plan has been agreed upon in the government for the gradual bridging of the funding shortfall.

"I, too, emphasize that we need a long-term funding plan for higher education already now. Its absence hampers the ability of all parties to make decisions and choices about the future and again raises the question of the conditions under which universities can enter into negotiations with the state in the spring of next year for the conclusion of new administrative agreements," Asser said.

The country's talent policy is also part of the long-term plan for higher education, and the government is taking a very important step towards developing a comprehensive talent policy. 

The board of Universities Estonia elects a new chairman every two years. Asser was the chairman of the board for the past two years, and prior to it, the board was chaired by the rector of the Estonian Academy of Arts, Mart Kalm.  

Universities Estonia, a non-profit association founded in 2000, brings together the Estonian Academy of Arts, the Estonian Academy of Music and Theater, the Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tallinn University, Tallinn University of Technology, and the University of Tartu.