TalTech was born from both a dream and a necessity—namely, the ability to educate our own technical specialists and engineers. In that mission, we saw the foundation of our national identity.

That identity is rooted not only in the material—our capability to build and develop the country's technical infrastructure—but also in intellectual richness, because the engineering mindset is culture, and engineers have always belonged to the intellectual elite. 

Through successive eras, fulfilling this mission has been like an invisible thread connecting generations of students, lecturers, and researchers. Even today, though the university encompasses far more than engineering disciplines, its core remains anchored in them. I see that you carry the founding dream with pride and responsibility. 

And it doesn’t end in lecture halls and laboratories. Institutions like the Engineering Academy or the e-rehkendus initiative launched by the Rector both testify to a clear understanding: effective engineering education—and thus our nation's technical security—doesn't start when one enters the university doors. It begins much earlier, through hands-on encounters with the technological world via extracurricular STEM learning, societal attitudes toward mathematics, and the presence of role models. If we foster these, we help ensure that the lifeblood of Estonia’s technological ecosystem never dries up. 

This is why, two years ago, I founded the Young Engineer Award under the Presidential Cultural Endowment. The first two laureates, both TalTech alumni, exemplify increased visibility and impact in their fields. 

Still, the solution isn’t to encourage every young person toward engineering alone. Engineering cannot flourish in isolation. For technology to serve humanity and society, we need the critical insight of philosophers and lawyers, the perspectives of economists, and the wisdom of scientists. We need excellence across fields—from medicine to environmental science—to offer our best engineers their fullest sense of purpose. We need politicians courageous enough to open new pathways in, for example, energy policy, and businesses capable of supporting and commercialising innovative ideas. 

Therefore, engineering should not be seen as a rival of other disciplines—neither within the university nor among universities. Truly dynamic, balanced national development arises from collaboration, not competition. 

When we speak of national progress, we must not misunderstand it as downplaying international cooperation. On the contrary: technology transcends borders, and science does not flourish in a vacuum. This also means the university must prepare its students to work in a world where solutions are built through multi-national and multicultural collaborations. 

Together, we must implement the deep societal changes required for sustainability—with engineers providing the technical and practical substance. How do we produce energy efficiently? How do we use artificial intelligence responsibly? How do we build cities that are both smart and green? I look around this hall and see individuals whose knowledge and vision carry weight in these critical discussions.