The Estonian University of Life Sciences (

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

: ''Eesti Maaülikool'', EMÜ) is a

public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

located in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. Its roots trace back to 1802 when the Chair of Agriculture was founded in the

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a public research university located in the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is also the largest and oldest university in the country.

. EMÜ is the fourth largest public university in Estonia. EMÜ is, by its own claim, the only university in Estonia whose priorities in academic and research activities provide the

sustainable development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

of natural resources necessary for the existence of Man as well as the preservation of heritage and

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

. EMÜ is a centre of research and development in such fields as

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

animal science Animal science is described as "studying the biology of animals that are under the control of humankind". It can also be described as the production and management of farm animals. Historically, the degree was called animal husbandry and the ...

veterinary science Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in non-human animals. The scope of veterinary medicine is wide, covering all animal species, both ...

, rural life and economy,

food science Food science (or bromatology) is the basic science and applied science of food; its scope starts at overlap with agricultural science and nutritional science and leads through the scientific aspects of food safety and food processing, informing ...

and environmentally friendly technologies. The university is a member of the BOVA university network. The university is ranked among the top 100 universities in the world in the fields of agriculture and forestry.

Institutes

As of 1 January 2022, teaching and research are carried out in three institutes:Directors of new institutes have been elected
''Estonian University of Life Sciences''. Retrieved 11 September 2023. * Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences * Institute of Forestry and Engineering * Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences Prior to reform (in 2005–2022), the university's academic structure included: * Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences * Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences * Institute of Forestry and Rural Engineering * Institute of Technology * Institute of Economics and Social Sciences.

History

The roots of EMÜ are in the agricultural and forestry education and research carried out at the

. At the opening celebration of the university in 1632, Johan Skytte, the Swedish chancellor and practical founder of the university, said that wished that "even the peasants of this country could get their share of the watering springs of educational wealth." This statement is taken to be the beginning of

agricultural education Agricultural education is the systematic and organized teaching, instruction and training (theoretical as well as hands-on, real-world fieldwork-based) available to students, farmers or individuals interested in the science, business and technol ...

in Estonia. After the reopening of Tartu University in 1802, a Chair of Agriculture was founded under Prof. Johann Wilhelm Krause. Initially

agronomy Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...

was taught in the Faculty of

Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, later in the Faculty of

Physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

and

Mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

. This school was well-known in Europe and Russia. When Tartu opened as an Estonian university in 1919, a Faculty of Agriculture, consisting of the Departments of Agronomy and Forestry, was founded. Experimental stations and trial plots, where students could undertake research work, also belonged to the faculty. A Faculty of Veterinary Science was founded based on the older Tartu Veterinary Institute. These two faculties formed the core of an independent university in 1951, the Estonian Agricultural Academy. The Estonian Agricultural Academy was directly subordinate to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Ministry of Agriculture and prepared specialists in different fields of agriculture from agronomists and animal breeders to experts in the electrification of large farms. Work continued in this way until the end of the 1980s. After the regaining of Estonian independence in 1991, the academy was renamed Estonian Agricultural University, and the institution restructured, also according to the radical changes in Estonian agriculture and forestry (such as the abolishment of

kolkhoz A kolkhoz ( rus, колхо́з, a=ru-kolkhoz.ogg, p=kɐlˈxos) was a form of collective farm in the Soviet Union. Kolkhozes existed along with state farms or sovkhoz. These were the two components of the socialized farm sector that began to eme ...

es and

sovkhoz A sovkhoz ( rus, совхо́з, p=sɐfˈxos, a=ru-sovkhoz.ogg, syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated from , ''sovetskoye khozyaystvo''; ) was a form of state-owned farm or agricultural enterprise in the Soviet Union. It is usually contrasted w ...

es). New specialties like Environmental Protection,

Landscape Architecture Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor areas, landmarks, and structures to achieve environmental, social-behavioural, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic design and general engineering of various structures for constructio ...

, Production and Marketing of Agricultural Products, Landscape Protection and Preservation, Applied

Hydrobiology Hydrobiology is the science of life and life processes in water. Much of modern hydrobiology can be viewed as a sub-discipline of ecology but the sphere of hydrobiology includes taxonomy, economic and industrial biology, morphology, and physiolo ...

, Environmental

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

and Natural Resources Management were adopted. Up to the end of 2004, the university had six faculties (Agronomy, Agricultural Engineering, Economics & Social Sciences, Forestry, Rural Engineering, and Veterinary Sciences) and eight institutes (Estonian Agribiocentre, Estonian Plant Biotechnology Research Institute EVIKA, Forest Research Institute, Institute of Animal Science, Institute of Environmental Protection, Institute of Experimental Biology, Institute of Zoology and Botany and Polli Institute of Horticulture). However, the EAU was always in limbo, not least under the influence of Europeanization after Estonia joined the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

in 2004. Thus, in the same year, the change to Estonian University of Life Sciences and refocusing was carried out, aimed at guaranteeing the institution's survival in the coming times.

Rectors

*Richard Antons (1951–1954) *Minna Klement (1954–1969) *

Arnold Rüütel Arnold Rüütel (, 10 May 1928 – 31 December 2024) was an Estonian politician. He was the third President of Estonia from 8 October 2001 to 9 October 2006. Rüütel was the second president of the country after the end of the 1944–1991 Sovie ...

(1969–1977) *Nikolai Koslov (1977–1988) *Olev Saveli (1988–1993) * Mait Klaassen (1993–1998) *Henn Elmet (1998–2002) *

Alar Karis Alar Karis (; born 26 March 1958) is an Estonian molecular geneticist, developmental biologist, civil servant and politician who, since 11 October 2021, has served as the sixth president of Estonia. Prior to presidency Karis was born in Tar ...

(2003–2007) * Mait Klaassen (2008–2022) * Ülle Jaakma (2023–) Two of the rectors, Rüütel and Karis, have later served as

President of Estonia The president of the Republic of Estonia () is the head of state of the Estonia, Republic of Estonia. The current president is Alar Karis, elected by Parliament on 31 August 2021, replacing Kersti Kaljulaid. Estonia is one of the few parliam ...

References

Notes

History of Eesti Maaülikool

External links

Official websiteBova-University NetworkIntroduction video to Estonian University of Life Sciences
YouTube, 2022 {{authority control 1951 establishments in the Soviet Union Agricultural universities and colleges Estonian University of Life Sciences Forestry in Estonia Universities and colleges established in 1951 Universities and colleges in Estonia Universities and institutes established in the Soviet Union