The Board of Tallinn University of Technology has decided that the status of Kuressaare College and Virumaa College will change as of 1 August. The colleges are now academic structural units outside the academic schools.
The change will enable the colleges to work even more closely with people and businesses in their regions. This will allow them to offer more study programmes tailored to local needs, conduct research and develop solutions in cooperation with businesses and local authorities.
The change will not affect current students. They will continue studying under the same study programmes in which they enrolled. For a period of two to four years, the new and existing study programmes will run in parallel at the colleges. Future students will have an even wider range of opportunities to study in practical and forward-looking fields.
For example, from 2027, Virumaa College will launch new study programmes aimed at helping to address the region’s growing shortage of engineers and highly qualified specialists and supporting the development of new industries in Ida-Viru County. Kuressaare College will introduce a new interdisciplinary bachelor’s study programme combining digital technologies, data-driven decision-making and entrepreneurship. The programme has been developed based on the needs of local businesses and local authorities.
According to Ingrid Pappel, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs, the colleges are much more than places of study. “The colleges are hubs for regional cooperation, bringing together education, business and the public sector. In addition to teaching, the colleges create opportunities for knowledge transfer, innovation and new models of cooperation. Their role as environments for challenge-based learning is particularly important, enabling businesses, local authorities and other organisations to bring their real-life problems and development needs into the students’ learning process. This leads to solutions that create value both for learners and for the development of the region as a whole,” Pappel said.
In addition to changing the status of the colleges, the University Board decided on 19 June to clarify the roles of the Board and the Rector in decisions concerning the University’s participation in private legal entities. It also decided that, in future, the Senate will determine the composition of the Academic Ethics Committee and how its members are appointed.
The amended Statutes will enter into force on 1 August 2026.