ICOHTEC 2023 conference | TalTech

The ICOHTEC2023 conference has a structural grant (the total of 10 668 EUR), which was received through the Enterprise Estonia. The project is supported by the funds of the European Regional Development Fund. 

The International Committee for the History of Technology (ICOHTEC) 50th Annual Meeting and Symposium will take place in TALLINN and TARTU, ESTONIA from 14 to 18 AUGUST 2023. The symposium will be hosted by TALTECH (Tallinn University of Technology) and the UNIVERSITY of TARTU. The main theme of the symposium will be "INTERDEPENDENCIES. FROM THE LOCAL MICROSTORIES TO GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY", but as usually a wide array of topics will be opened. 

Estonia is a perfect location for the meeting, a place of independent minds where bright ideas meet a can-do spirit. A place with rich heritage of culture, research and technology, where knowledge and education has always been highly valued. In Estonia clean and untouched nature co-exists with the world's most advanced digital society.

Please find the PHOTOS OF ICOHTEC2023 HERE: 

August 14_Opening Session in TalTech (Photo: TalTech)

August 14_Kranzberg Lecture_Welcome Reception in the Academy of Sciences (Photos by Erik Peinar)

August 16_Trip to North-East Estonia historical oil-shale industrial region (Photos by Mariann Lugus and Eliisa Metsoja)

August 17_Guided Tours and Gala Dinner at the Estonian National Museum (Photos by Mana Kaasik)

Call for papers for the upcoming symposium has ended (deadline March 1, 2023). Please see the details. 

Magdalena Zdrodowska (Poland), chair, magda.zdrodowska@uj.edu.pl
Anna Åberg (Sweden)
Irene Anastasiadou (Netherlands)
Yoel Bergman (Israel)
Yana Boeva (Germany)
Leticia Galluzzi Nunes (Brasil)
Jan Hadlaw (Canada)
Peeter Müürsepp (Estonia)
Marisol Osorio (Colombia)
Maria Rikitianskaia (United Kingdom)
 

This is the planned outline for the ICOHTEC 2023 programme. Please note that the Symposium will take place in two different locations. Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia, located in the North on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and Tartu, the historic university town and the centre for Southern Estonia. 

The 4-day symposium will be carried out in the both cities with a day-trip to the historic industrial district in the North-East Estonia in between. The latter also serves as a transfer from Tallinn to Tartu. 
The detailed timeline, including the Symposium Programme and Social Events will be expected to be finalized in June 2023.

The Kranzberg Lecture "Between Globalization Narratives and Microhistories of Technology" will be given by Mikael Hård on August 14. 

More details on the destinations further, under the chapters Destination Estonia and Venues. 

Registration to ICOHTEC2023 is officially closed. In case there might be a wish for a late registration, please contact the organizers. The link can be found HERE. 

Registration and billing is handled via the Piletikeskus (Estonian ticket broker) platform. The organizers will get direct information of the registrations.
For any registration issue please turn to ICOHTEC2023@taltech.ee 

The participation fees include the local rate of 20% VAT.

A limited number of grants will be offered to help de¬fray some of the expenses of attending the symposium. The Grants will be made available largely thanks to a generous support from the Juanelo Turriano Foundation and the Division of History of Science and Technology (DHST).

In 2023, the ICOHTEC Travel Grants will be awarded up to 350 Euro each – eligible for applying are graduates, post-graduates and young scholars whose papers have been accepted for the scientific programme of our 2023 Symposium. Special preference will be given to participants from low-income countries, who are not able to receive sufficient financial support elsewhere. These travel grants are not intended to cover the full costs of attending the Symposium, and may be used to bus/train/ferry/flight tickets, lodging and/or registration fee.

The completed applications, along with applicable attachments, should be submitted by e-mail by 30 May. The grants will be announced by end of June 2023. Please consult the ICOHTEC web page. 

ICOHTEC2023 symposium programme draft as of August 14 HERE. 

The symposium sessions/presenters are now confirmed. Please note that the last presenter of the session will be the chair, if not brought out in person. 

NB! Please note, the schedule for August 17 and 18 have been changed. 
August 17, TARTU 08:00-09:30 the ICOHTEC Executive Committee meeting!
August 18, TARTU 14:00-15:30 the ICOHTEC General Assembly 

The participants will get a printed programme booklet when registering to the symposium. 

Designed BOOK OF ABSTRACTS will be uploaded soon. 
Available only as a .pdf file. 
The list of abstracts can be found HERE. 

Please take a closer look at the venues of ICOHTEC 50th ANNUAL MEETING IN ESTONIA. The exact timetables and instructions how to get to the locations will be updated in connection to finalizing the programme. 
Please note the section "Travel between Tallinn and Tartu on your own" in the end of this article. 

DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS (.pdf) FOR ICOHTEC2023 PARTICIPANTS TO FIND YOUR WAY:
IN TALLINN (photos of venues, instructions for transportation)
TalTech campus map (A3, .pdf)
IN TARTU (information coming up soon, all destinatons well in walking distance)

           TALLINN (Monday-Tuesday, August 14-15)

• August 14-15, the first two days of the SYMPOSIUM will take place at the scenic TALTECH campus in Mustamäe, ca 8 km from the Tallinn city centre. TalTech is the only campus-type university in the Baltic countries and one of the most compact university campuses in Europe. The campus is a testbed for smart city developments and a home to over 50 high-tech companies. Self-driving cars, IoT solutions and other tangible technology transfer projects as smart elevators or smart road pavement are created here.
   
• Evening of August 14, the KRANZBERG LECTURE and the WELCOME RECEPTION will be hosted at the historical ESTONIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES main building at Kohtu St 8 on the Dome Hill in the UNESCO-listed medieval OLD TOWN OF TALLINN. 
   
• Evening of August 15, a JAZZ NIGHT will take place in Tallinn city centre jazz club Philly Joe's. The participation fee includes a light dinner and two drinks, for more, the bar is open. Music by the young Estonian jazz musicians. 
  
  NORTH-EAST ESTONIA (Wednesday, August 16)
  Estimated time of departure from Tallinn at 09:00 and reaching Tartu at 18:00 (19:00). 
• August 16, a day-trip to the HISTORICAL INDUSTRIAL AND OIL SHALE MINING REGION IN THE NORTH-EAST OF ESTONIA. The day-trip also serves as a transfer from Tallinn to Tartu, includes site visits and lunch. The day-trip is not included in the symposium participation fee. 
  Guided site visits to: 
  Kiviõli Keemiatööstus (KKT) is a company that has been operating for more than 100 years, and its main activities are oil shale mining and production of oil shale oil, heat and electricity. 
  Viru Keemia Grupp (VKG) is a private Estonian large-scale industrial enterprise. We focus on oil shale mining, shale oil, combined heat and power production and production and marketing of fine chemical products.
  We also see, how the historical and problematic oil shale mining landscape has been turned into a motivating sports and tourism region of Ida-Virumaa. 
  
  TARTU (Thursday-Friday, August 17-18)
   
• August 17-18, the 3rd and the 4th day of the SYMPOSIUM will be hosted by the Chair of Philosophy and Science, Department of Philosophy, Institute of Philosophy and Semiotics of the UNIVERSITY OF TARTU. The symposium will take place in the PHILOSOPHICUM of the University of Tartu at Jakobi St 2 in Tartu, just round the corner from the main building of the University. 
   
• Evening of August 17  will take place The GALA DINNER of the ICOHTEC 50th ANNUAL MEETING, in the award-winning ESTONIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM. The event will start with a guided tour in the museum and is followed by a festive dinner. Bus transfer to and from the location will be provided by the organizers. 
   
• Evening of August 18 are GUIDED TOURS at Tartu (incl. in the participation fee, but need pre-registration):
  University of Tartu Museum  at 17:30-18:30  

  The University of Tartu Museum in Tartu Cathedral was built from the 13th to 16th century. Today, the building has a European Heritage Label.  Our mission is to help people understand the value and role of the university and science. Exhibition “The University of Our Lives” tells the university’s story through four centuries. It is an exhibition about eternal youth and finding breakthroughs. We aimed to design a journey where the visitors feel immersed.  The cathedral’s Chamber of Mysteries has been open on the sixth floor of the University of Tartu Museum. Curious visitors can discover the seven mysteries of the cathedral in the Chamber of Mysteries. The exhibition has exciting discoveries for both children and adults.

  Stargazing at the Observatory  at 22:00
  Estonia’s first observatory, one of two Estonian cultural objects on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is a unique building, where science has changed humanity’s understanding of the Earth and the universe. The exhibition halls tell about astronomy, geodesy and seismology. Visitors are greeted by historic telescopes of various sizes, the most special of which is the world-famous Fraunhofer lens telescope. The Old Observatory is in the heart of the city of Tartu – on the eastern slope of Toomemägi. 

         Register for the guided tours in Tartu HERE

IF TRAVELLING BETWEEN TALLINN AND TARTU ON YOUR OWN!

Those ICOHTEC 2023 participants, who do not want to join the organized trip on August 16, can travel from Tallinn to Tartu on their own by BUS or TRAIN. The direct connection is good, travelling time ca 2-2,5 hours, one-way ticket costs ca 10-15 EUR. 

BUSES are leaving from Tallinn Bus Station. If buying ticket online (which we suggest, the common link to online booking for all the bus companies: BUY A BUS TICKET) choose starting point Tallinn Bus station and ending point Tartu Coach Station. Buses are leaving at least every hour.

TRAINS are leaving from Balti Jaam (the name of the central train station in Tallinn). If buying ticket online (which we suggest, the link to the train service provider Elron: BUY A TRAIN TICKET) then choose starting point Tallinn, ending point Tartu. Please check to choose the correct date and time. When buying, choose to send tickets to your e-mail. You don't need to print the tickets out, just show them via your mobile e-mail app (if it's not possible then print them out). There are 12 direct trains a day on this route. 

NB! Please notice that there is also a direct bus connection between Tallinn Airport and Tartu city centre. To buy the ticket to/from the airport, one has to choose the relevant stop/destination. E.g. one can optimise on the travel time from Tartu to the Tallinn Airport in the end of the conference. BUY A BUS TICKET FROM TARTU TO THE TALLINN AIRPORT HERE, Mark "Tartu Bus Station" as a departing station and "Tallinn Airport" as a destination. Travel time 2 hours. 

Dear participant of the ICOHTEC2023, please VISIT ESTONIA , the official destination website of Estonia, to plan your trip for the symposium and your whole stay in this marvellous country in the North-Eastern part of Europe this August. Many of you are planning to extend their stay, and have contacted the LOC for suggestions. 

PROLONG YOUR STAY AFTER THE CONFERENCE: The LOC suggestion is to stay in the Southern- Estonia and visit the Lake Peipus area and SETOMAA (the culturally unique and historical South-East corner or Estonia) during the weekend after the conference. You should definitely take part in the PEIPSI FOOD STREET, the longest pop-up cafeteria(s) of 175 km serving the traditional regional food along the shores of Lake Peipus or Peipsi (in Estonian), to take place on August 18-19. Take a car and drive 40 km from Tartu. 

The symposium will take place in the capital city TALLINN with its UNESCO-listed medieval Old Town and vibrant modern coastal area on the Gulf of Finland, the Northern Tallinn and the historical university town and a cradle for academic education and research, but also the European Capital of Culture 2024 TARTU. The delagates will also visit the historic industrial region that still serves as the main centre for power production in a unique combination with a region of diverce opportunities of adventure, IDA-VIRUMAA  (North-East Estonia). 

Planning the trip, it is advised to read the consular, visa and travel information on the Estonian MFA website. Most of the foreign visitors will probably enter Estonia via TALLINN AIRPORT or the PORT OF TALLINN. On these sites one can check the international connections, but also get all the details needed in connection to travelling to Estonia, including the requirements connected to COVID-19, etc.  

Founded in 1632, the UNIVERSITY OF TARTU (UT) is the oldest and largest higher education institution in Estonia and has been the centre of Estonian academic life for almost four centuries. UT is ranked in the top 1.2% of the world's universities making it one of the leading universities in Northern Europe. 
UT is an international research university, where a diverse linguistic and cultural space is valued. Here, 13 000 students and 3000 staff members study and work in a diverse range of fields connected by the power of curiosity.
In this flagship of Estonian science, research is carried out in four broad areas: natural and exact sciences (realia et naturalia), medical sciences (medicina), social sciences (socialia) and humanities (humaniora). The strategic partners of UT are the networks of recognised research universities, and the cooperation is based on top-level competence and mutual research contacts.
 

Founded in 1918, TALLINN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY (TALTECH) is the sole technological university in Estonia. TalTech is a research-based university offering Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctorate degrees in technology, applied science, IT, business and maritime studies. 
Creators of digital innovations, TalTech is leading Estonia and the world towards a sustainable digital future with confidence. As a leader in science, technology, and innovation, the school maintains constant interaction with universities around the world, bringing together scientists, students, and entrepreneurs. It is also the most international university in Estonia. Of the nearly 10,000 enrolled students, approximately 11% come from more than 100 different countries across the globe.
The university-wide initiative TalTechDigital implements new digital solutions for studying, research and the entire university campus.The Smart City Centre of Excellence established in 2020 brings the top expertise in smart urban space solutions to Taltech and makes the University’s compact and beautiful campus in the near future one of the smartest campuses in the world.

ESTONIAN UNION OF HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE 

The organizers have negotiated special prices for the ICOHTEC2023 participants in the following hotels. Booking and payment for accommodation is on the participants. Please follow the guidelines of each official accommodation partner for the event. Please note that there are a limited number of discounted rooms available! Participants can freely choose other accommodation options. 

NB! Symposium Days I and II in TALLINN, August 14-15. Venue TalTech campus, Ehitajate Rd. 5. 
Instructions for how to get to the city on your arrival to Tallinn. 

TALLINN CITY CENTRE
NORDIC HOTEL FORUM (Viru väljak 3, 10111 Tallinn) 
4+**** business hotel, located in the city centre. Ideal location for the transfer to Tallinn Airport (direct Tram line 4, stop: Hobujaama) and Port of Tallinn (direct Tram lines 1 and 2, or on foot).
Ca 9 km, 30 min by public transportation to TalTech campus, the symposium venue. 
•    Single room at the price of 119 eur/night 
•    Double/twin room at the price of 129 eur/night
Includes an outstanding buffet breakfast and usage of the spa centre. Negotiated period of stay 12-18.08.2023.
To book a room at Nordic Hotel Forum, use password ICOHTEC2023 and write to forum@nordichotels.eu 

TALLINN CITY CENTRE
HESTIA GROUP OF HOTELS 
The deal includes HESTIA HOTEL KENTMANNI (city centre, Kentmanni St 13) and HESTIA HOTEL EUROPA (Paadi St 5, port of Tallinn)
Please book on the Hestia group website using the password ICOHTEC2023 and get a discount (-25%) from the current price for the negotiated period of stay 13-20.08.2023.  

TALLINN, TALTECH CAMPUS
ACADEMIC HOSTEL (Akadeemia tee 11/1, 12616 Tallinn) 
Bed and breakfast, located in the TalTech campus, 5 min walking distance to the conference venue
•    Twin room at the price of 38 eur/night (room price is the same for single use or when sharing the room).
Order a breakfast set for an additional 5 eur per person!
Negotiated period of stay- open. To book a room at Academic Hostel, use password ICOHTEC2023 and write to info@academichostel.com 

On August 16, a day-trip to the historical industrial region Ida-Virumaa, incl. transfer from Tallinn to Tartu.
Alternatively participants travel from Tallinn to Tartu by BUS or TRAIN on their own (journey takes ca 2-2,5 hours). 
 

NB! Symposium Days III and IV in TARTU, August 17-18. Venue UT Philosophicum, Jakobi St. 2. 
Instructions for how to get to the city on your arrival to Tartu. 

TARTU CITY CENTRE
All hotels are located of max 5 minutes walking distance from the symposium venue.
HOTEL SOHO 
•    Single room at the price of 85 eur/night 
•    Double/twin room at the price of 95 eur/night
Includes a buffet breakfast. Negotiated period of stay 15-20.08.2023.
To book a room at Hotel SOHO, use password ICOHTEC2023 and write to info@hotellsoho.ee 

HOTEL BARCLAY 
•    Single room at the price of 58 eur/night 
•    Double/twin room at the price of 70 eur/night
Includes a breakfast. Negotiated period of stay 15-20.08.2023.
To book a room at Hotel BARCLAY, use password ICOHTEC2023 and write to marju@barclay.ee

HOTEL LYDIA 
•    Single room at the price of 95 eur/night 
•    Double/twin room at the price of 115 eur/night
Includes an outstanding buffet breakfast and usage of the spa centre. Negotiated period of stay 15-20.08.2023.
To book a room at Hotel LYDIA, use password ICOHTEC2023 and write to sales@lydia.ee 

HOTEL DORPAT is located near the Tartu Bus Station, ca 1 km from the symposium venue
•    Single room at the price of 59 eur/night 
•    Double/twin room at the price of 70 eur/night
Includes a buffet breakfast and free parking. Negotiated period of stay 15-20.08.2023.
To book a room at Hotel DORPAT, use password ICOHTEC2023 and write to info@dorpat.ee  

ICOHTEC2023 Local Organizing Committee

Peeter Müürsepp peeter.muursepp@taltech.ee 
Erki Tammiksaar erki.tammiksaar@emu.ee
Tanel Kerikmäe tanel.kerikmae@taltech.ee
Tõnis Liibek tonis.liibek@taltech.ee 
Endla Lõhkivi endla.lohkivi@ut.ee
Jaanika Anderson jaanika.anderson@ut.ee 
Lea Leppik lea.leppik@ut.ee
Triin Paaver triin.paaver@ut.ee
Jaana Eigi-Watkin jaana.eigi@gmail.com 
Mariann Lugus mariann.lugus@taltech.ee 

All non-academic organizational issues:
TalTech conference centre ICOHTEC2023@taltech.ee