Browse the magazine of the Estonian Centre of Excellence in ICT Research, EXCITE

“Through these stories, the leading researchers of EXCITE seek to communicate with all the members of society who are affected by the future and research of ICT – entrepreneurs, (research) policy makers, as well as researchers from other areas and “smart subscribers” both on the state and individual level,” Ivo Fridolin, coordinator of the centre of excellence and professor at TalTech, said.

“But it could also be a pleasant read for mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers who read these stories alone or with their children and grandchildren – the citizens of our future digital world.” In trying to take a broader view of the world, it must be acknowledged that ICT has for a while already been an “objective inevitability” rather than something “in and of itself”.

In these stories, leading researchers write about their joy and enthusiasm with exciting research topics and challenges, shedding light on the behind-the-scenes of the digital world, and the ups and downs of collaboration between researchers in research groups and between researchers and companies. But they also discuss concerns related to the security, privacy and mental health of the (e-)society and its members, and the future of leading research. Fridolin hopes that these stories will leave readers amazed by how many different aspects of ICT excellent research this publication contains. Perhaps the reader can also perceive the socio-economic dilemma of limited resources and the inevitability of ensuring the existence and sustainability of leading research in the innovation-based future society.

The researchers telling their stories are: Ivo Fridolin (TalTech), Jaak Vilo (University of Tartu), Yannic Le Moullec (TalTech), Raul Vicente Zafra (University of Tartu), Peeter Laud (Cybernetica AS), Vitaly Skachek (University of Tartu), Dominique Unruh (University of Tartu), Jaan Raik (TalTech), Maarja Kruusmaa (TalTech), Alvo Aabloo (University of Tartu), Marlon Dumas (University of Tartu), Ülle Kotta (TalTech), Niccoló Veltri (TalTech), Tarmo Uustalu (TalTech), Satish Narayana Srirama (University of Tartu).

What is the EXCITE Centre of Excellence?

The Estonian Centre of Excellence in ICT Research, EXCITE, has been established with the aim of playing an important role in the global ICT research landscape that seeks to find solutions to both current and future challenges.

EXCITE has been active since 2016 and unites 16 Estonian research groups in order to research and develop methods for developing secure and reliable IT systems and services. EXCITE operates on the matrix principle, where common research topics are joined between research groups that previously operated separately and doctoral students and postdoctoral students are supervised together. The partner institutions are Tallinn University of Technology, University of Tartu and Cybernetica AS. EXCITE is a project funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

Find out more about the EXCITE Center of Excellence: www.excite.it.ee