Celebrating the 105th Anniversary of the Estonian-language University of Tartu at Tartu College
The first of December is the birthday of the Estonian national university. As has become tradition, the Rector of the University of Tartu visits Toronto every five years to celebrate the anniversaries of the university. Since the 105th anniversary of the opening of the Estonian-language university is being celebrated this year, a delegation from the university was also present, which was led, in the first time in history, by the same Rector that visited here five years ago — Professor Toomas Asser. Due to the amount of activities that are taking place in Tartu at the beginning of December, the guests arrived in Canada exactly a month before the official celebrations.
A highlight of the very eventful visit was the ceremony and reception at Tartu College on November 1st. The main organizer was Peeter Einola, chairman of the Elmar Tampõld Estonian Studies Foundation and Canadian representative of the University of Tartu Foundation. A noteworthy amount of academic individuals, both fraternity and sorority members and non-members, were present, among them many graduates of the University of Tartu.
The Master of Ceremonies was Peeter Einola, who passed the microphone to the Chair of Estonian Studies at the University of Toronto, Andres Kasekamp, for opening remarks. This was followed up by the singing of Gaudeamus Igitur, which was strengthened by the voices of the Toronto Academic Mixed Choir Ööbik, conducted by Rosemarie Lindau.
Peeter Einola then introduced the ceremony’s keynote speaker, Rector Professor Toomas Asser, a Doctor of Medicine and member of the Estonian Academy of Sciences. He became the Rector on August 1st, 2018 and was voted in again for this position this past spring.
The Rector touched upon many topics in his speech, including the role of University of Tartu as a national university in the historical and cultural contexts of Estonia as well as from the perspective of international sciences. The University of Tartu has consistently risen in various rankings and become one of the leading scientific universities. The Rector spoke about collaboration with diaspora Estonians and expressed special recognition of the support of Estonian-Canadians to the University of Tartu, through various scholarship funds and establishing the program for diaspora Estonian guest professors. The latest outcome from the partnership between Canada and Estonia has been the establishment of an Estonian language and culture lector at the University of Toronto. Kadri Tüür from Estonia took on this position in September. The Rector personally thanked Peeter Einola and Andres Kasekamp, who have acted as successful links between Canada and Estonia. He praised the lively cultural life of Tartu, which has been especially vivacious this year as a European Union Capital of Culture, and invited diaspora Estonian youth to study in Tartu. He also touched upon a political topic that piques the interest of everyone, the Russian aggression towards Ukraine, emphasizing that Estonia, along with its university, exists on the border of two worlds. One side doesn’t even adhere to the rules of war — it is the collision of humanism and barbarianism.
Following this, mixed choir Ööbik took the stage to perform two pieces: “Kanneldaja”, a traditional folk song arranged by Roman Toi, and “Ta lendab mesipuu poole” by Peep Sarapik, which always moves both singers and audiences.
In order for lively discussion to ensue at the reception afterwards, Peeter Einola introduced the Rector’s delegation. He confirmed over the course of their visit, the guests had given a good overview of the high calibre of Estonian academics through their lectures and meetings at the University of Toronto. So who had come to visit? Tõnu Esko, Vice Rector of Development at the University of Tartu, who has previously worked at the Institute of Genomics and been a Professor of Human Genomics at the Estonian Genome Centre. Piret Ehin represented the field of social sciences. She is the Deputy Head of Research and Professor of Comparative Politics at the Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies. Virve-Anneli Vihman represented the humanitarian and arts fields, as the Deputy Head of Development at the Institute of Estonian and General Linguistics, and Professor of Psycholinguistics in the Estonian and Applied Linguistics department. Kristi Kerge, Head of International Cooperation at the University of Tartu, was here for the second time. Saima Tiirma Oras, Assistant to the Rector, was visiting for the first time. The Rector’s wife, radiologist Dr. Karin Asser, was also part of the delegation.
The Chair of Estonian Studies at the University of Toronto was established 38 years ago. The Estonian language has been taught at the university for almost the same length of time, which has been the only university-level Estonian language course in Canada. This has been possible due to the financial support of Tartu College but more importantly — thanks to the high calibre and dedication of teacher Marju Toomsalu, who held these lectures in addition to her main job at the Toronto Metropolitan University. Learning and teaching languages is one of Marju’s true passions and loves, said Peeter Einola as he passed on a letter of thanks from the Estonian Studies Foundation, Chair of Estonian Studies at the University of Toronto, Tartu College, and VEMU Estonian Museum Canada.
This fall, Estonian-themed education reached a completely new level. The Department of Slavic and Eastern European Languages and Cultures at University of Toronto changed the structure of their program to enable post-graduate studies on a expanded basis. In order to act on this opportunity, more than one language course was necessary. Thanks to the funding of the Republic of Estonia’s Ministry of Education and Research, Dr. Kadri Tüür took on her new position in the fall. In addition to the Estonian language, she also teaches our literature and, as of 2025, film. Tartu College is also contributing to the guest lector’s stay in Canada by offering free accommodation.
Since Kadri Tüür was at a conference in Taiwan, we were shown a video greeting that she had recorded. University student Ethan was also included, who presented a seamless self-introduction regardless of the fact that he doesn’t have a single drop of Estonian blood and he started learning the language only this September.
Following that, the Ambassador of Estonia to Ottawa, Margus Rava, brought greetings from the Estonian Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs, Liisa Pakosta, who had just been on a visit to Canada as well. Ambassador Rava passed on a letter of thanks to Professor Mihkel Tombak for bringing Creative Destruction Lab to Estonia and also congratulated the Estonian Supplementary Schools in Toronto and the Toronto Estonian Society for their respective 75th and 80th anniversaries.
A written greeting was sent in by Andres Sutt from the University of Tartu Foundation.
Lastly, Peeter Einola and Andres Kasekamp presented gifts to the members of the delegation and the University of Tartu. A piece of artwork by an Inuit artist titled “All of Our Animals Together” was chosen as the latter gift. The present emphasized the importance and necessity of collaboration, which helps strive towards shared goals. The University was also given a copy of the book “To the New World: Estonian Architects in Toronto” which is also a symbol of successful collaboration — between the Estonian Museum of Architecture and VEMU.
Drawing the ceremony to a close, Peeter Einola thanked all of the participants and presenters, mixed choir Ööbik, and Tiit Telmet, member of the Rotalia fraternity, who designed the program for the ceremony. Susi Holmberg was also thanked, whose elaborate and plentiful table of hors d’oeuvres created a celebratory mood. A truly heartfelt thanks went to the guests from Tartu, who had taken on a long trip in order to take part in the national university’s important anniversary celebrations with us, and to refresh the ties between the local academic community and Tartu’s alma mater.
The ceremony ended with the Estonian National Anthem and a group photo, which included the Rector’s delegation and graduates of the University of Tartu, after which lively socializing ensued. It was a great night during which the two spirits of Tartu met once again. Vivat, crescat, floreat alma mater!
Piret Noorhani
