Dear graduates!

You are graduating from the only technical university in Estonia. To some of you, getting a degree is a dream come true. Some have been motivated by curiosity, and not the document itself. To some, graduation opens up many new ways to keep on studying even more. Many of you were motivated by the secure, stable and remunerative jobs that are offered by acquiring a specific profession. The sense of security, however, could be deceiving as the world is in rapid change – the solutions of today may be unable to carry us onwards tomorrow, and the solutions of tomorrow may already be outdated overmorrow. Therefore it is necessary not to just jog along the winds of change, but sprint in front of it as a trailblazer.

Tallinn University of Technology will provide you with the foundation to be the aforementioned trailblazer in a world where each new day already looks different from the previous one. Our motto “Mente et manu” translates
to “ mind and hand” – to have a critical and creative mind as well as entrepreneurial and practical ways of action.

Nevertheless, sooner or later we all have to keep on studying, giving the concept “graduating from a university” a whole other meaning. Your alma mater is always looking forward to seeing you back here and to support your ambitions of taking the next step in your studies, or to give out your knowledge to others.

Thank you for choosing Tallinn University of Technology.

Thank you for choosing the speciality that will help make tomorrow a better place.

Mente et manu!

TIIT LAND
The rector

Honorable graduates! The world and technologies around us are in constant change, and the profession of an engineer changes together with them. The necessary base of knowledge and skill is growing at a tremendous speed, and the slowdown is nowhere in sight.

We are standing on the doorsteps of digital and green revolutions. These are the global challenges that will change the current generation as well as the future generations. Accepting those challenges will create new possibilities for entrepreneurship here in Estonia and also for global scale, and will help us shape the future of ourselves and others.

I am sure that each and every engineer has the capability to tackle the issues presented, however it is important to find the correct angle to approach it. Systematic research will help you to do so as it is one of the most important instruments for an engineer to develop know-hows and technology. Scientific researches accelerate innovation, support sustainable development, and enable the global value chain to be taken advantage of.

School of Engineering – it is a faculty where teaching is based on the latest scientific researches. The development of the engineering profession is carried out in cooperation with IT, economics, design as well as other fields where coherence is on the rise. All of it to fulfill society’s needs and solve emerging issues.

I encourage us all to contemplate on the words that speak to each and every one of us. What are the actions that do not need to be explained? What are the most important life choices that do not need explanations?

I feel that the phrase “quality education” is something that speaks to us all. Seeking competence from the university as an establishment of learning, research and development is natural and logical. Starting studies and graduating in the School of Engineering of Tallinn University of Technology is a good decision for those who want to change the world into a better place.

Dear graduates! I congratulate you all for successfully passing another step in your life. Know that the School of Engineering and Tallinn University of Technology as a whole is proud of you. We are looking forward to seeing you back here – as a student, as a lecturer or to share your success stories. The doors of the university are not closing for you today, but are always open.

Congratulations to all of the graduates!

FJODOR SERGEJEV
Dean, School of Engineering

Dear graduates! You have finished an interesting road. During your studies, a radical digital revolution in education took place – something that most people did not see coming. Due to obvious circumstances, most of your contacts with your lecturers and fellow students were virtual. Sitting behind your computer screen, stuck in your room, instead of doing group work in the library or cafeteria became the norm. A lot of those changes came to stay. Regardless, I hope that people-to-people contacts do not fade away, and we start appreciating them more than ever.

The main value of a university of the future is to create contacts, cooperation, and sharing experiences. You can listen to the lectures of Stanford and MIT from around the world, but if you do not have anyone to reflect your knowledge, discover and try new things with, then even the best lectures will only stay video clips on a computer screen. Therefore, do not forget your fellow students and friends from the university. They are as valuable as the skills and knowledge you obtained. And most importantly, you have got to keep on studying. Continuously and throughout your life – in order to broaden the fundamental skills and knowledge you obtained during your studies in the university.

Be successful and may you always fly high!

GERT JERVAN
Dean, School of IT

Dear graduates! Study related life follows the cycle of academic years. In here the winter is a time of growth and development, and the crops are harvested in spring. This spring you will become the alumni of Tallinn University of Technology. The Alumni Association of Tallinn University of Technology is a large and powerful community in Estonian society. Be active in the Alumni Association’s activities, and try to keep alive that fellowship you lived in during your studies.

You can obtain various professions in many different ways, even without going to an institution of education. However, you can obtain education only from schools and universities. Education is something more than just knowledge and skills. Albert Einstein said that education is something you keep after forgetting what you learned from school. In today’s ever-changing world, education is your biggest helping hand. It helps you to orient in the indefinite amount of information that flows in from every window and every door, 24/7.

Dear graduates, do not forget your university, your alma mater. Its doors are always open for you. I congratulate you for graduating Tallinn University of Technology, and I wish you strength, endurance and a good mind in order to carry out your dreams and change the world into a new place.

ANDRUS SALUPERE
Dean, School of Science

Dear graduates and soon to be alumni! The time has arrived! As an alumnus of TalTech’s School of Business and Governance you will have the chance to sign up to the faculty’s alumni portal. You are joining an incredibly grandeur company of people who are advancing Estonian society and economy with their work home and abroad. In a couple of decades, you will become the ones that have to and are capable of making the most important decisions.

You have already done an enormous amount of work which will be a good foundation for the future. But also, do not let yourselves drown in everyday work – examine, read, think, and then do what is needed. Life means constant learning and initiating new things. I wish you an entrepreneurial mindset and good companions during your life-long path of learning.

ENN LISTRA
Dean, School of Business and Governance

Dear graduates of TalTech Maritime Academy! June of 2021 will be very special and memorable for you all – you have obtained a higher education, and will receive a deserved diploma.

Diploma in your hands, internship behind – you have already successfully started with the creation of your future career. Now it is time for the next steps: create a goal for tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and even for further times; create, develop and keep relations with people that will help you in your future path, and practice what you learned from the university. One has to study throughout life, but perhaps you have gotten used to it already. Those who feel like gaining extra knowledge and skill are always welcomed back here in TalTech Maritime Academy.

I am glad to know that in spite of the situation in the world since last spring, you have managed to teach yourselves how to study differently. I hope that you will find the right balance in your future endeavours, and manage to keep the balance even when external forces try to kick you out of it. Be confident, bold, and have an entrepreneurial mindset – and nobody can break you.

May the headwind blow in your sails, and may there be seven feet of water under your ship’s keel!

ROOMET LEIGER
Director of TalTech Estonian Maritime Academy