School of Information Technologies

The IT Academy (ITA) is a cooperation programme between the Estonian State, educational institutions, research organizations, and private companies. Its aim is to enhance the quality and capacity of vocational and higher education, as well as research and development activities in the field of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The programme was launched in 2012 in response to the ICT sector's growing demand for a skilled workforce, which placed increasing pressure on the higher education system.

The core objective of the "Engineering Academy and IT Academy in Higher Education" programme (2021-2027.4.04.23-0002), which runs from 2021 to 2030, is to align the number of students and graduates with the needs of the labour market. This initiative supports curriculum development in the ICT field, enhances teaching quality, offers support for academic staff, and works to reduce student dropout rates. Additional goals include increasing the number of prospective students, lowering first-year dropout rates, boosting the number of master's students, and encouraging more female students to enrol in ICT programmes.

At TalTech's School of Information Technologies, nearly all bachelor's and master's programmes are part of the IT Academy initiative. The programme supports various activities aimed at curriculum and infrastructure development, with a focus on the following objectives:

1. Increasing the number of prospective students
2. Developing and improving ICT curricula
3. Strengthening teaching capabilities and supporting academic staff
4. Analysing and implementing strategies to reduce dropout rates
5. Promoting ICT education among primary, secondary, and vocational students

The IT Academy programme is part of the "Education, Society, and Labour Market Connections" measure (21.4.4.2) within the Education and Youth Programme. It also receives support from the European Union’s Cohesion and Internal Security Policy Funds.

The IT Academy (ITA) is a cooperation programme designed to improve the quality and competitiveness of higher education, research, and development in the field of information and communication technology (ICT). It also focuses on promoting ICT-related academic programmes, research, and development outcomes. For more information, visit the official IT Academy programme website.

As part of the ITA, several programmes at TalTech's School of Information Technologies are supported, including the bachelor's programme in Computer Science, the master's programmes in Computer Systems and Cybersecurity, and the doctoral programme in Information and Communication Technologies. These programmes benefit from ITA's curriculum and infrastructure development efforts, as well as various educational initiatives, which provide valuable support to both faculty and students.

The ITA also plays a key role in the "ICT Programme" measure, particularly through the project "Implementation of the IT Academy Scientific Support Measure" (project no. 2014-2020.4.05.19-0001). Under Activity 1, titled "Development of ICT Human Resources for Research, Development, and Higher Education," the following research areas are being advanced:

1. Software reliability
2. Internet of Smart Things
3. Hardware and systems security and reliability
4. Artificial intelligence and machine learning
5. Data science and big data
6. Human-robot collaboration and the Internet of Things in industrial processes