Frequently Asked Questions

There are four faculties at the University of Tartu (Science and Technology, Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, and Medicine). Each faculty comprises institutes (for example, the Institute of Social Studies), with a total of 32 institutes across the university.

Almost all institutes (except one) have student councils, each consisting of 1–6 student representatives. These representatives take part in the work of the institute’s council and serve as the eyes and ears of the students in their institute. ISC (institute-level student council) representatives are also members of the institute’s council, forming one fifth (20%) of it, and have the right to propose changes. Contacts of institute student representatives.

In addition to the institutes, each faculty also has a student council – for instance, the student council of the Faculty of Social Sciences is called SVÜK. These faculty student councils (FSC) form the Student Parliament. The Parliament is the highest decision-making body of the student body; it elects the Student Union Board, approves the budget of the student council, and adopts political positions. Each faculty student council consists of 5 members (Chair, Academic Quality Specialist, UTSU Spirit, ISC Master, and Communications Specialist), making up a total of 20 members in the Student Parliament. FSC’s are also members of the faculty council (similar to ISC’s, they typically form 20% of it) and coordinate the work of the ISC’s. To support this role, FSC’s prepare an annual action plan, coordinate activities, and regularly advise the institute student councils. Contacts of the faculty student councils.

All activities of the Student Union are audited by the Monitoring Committee (MC/JVK), which consists of 4 members. The task of the members of the Monitoring Committee is, according to the internal agreements of the MC, to audit and support the work of the relevant UTSU team (for example, FSC or Board) throughout the academic year, to remind them of important tasks and deadlines when necessary, and to provide feedback on objectives. In addition, any member of UTSU may turn to the MC if they feel the need to address an internal issue within UTSU that they are unable to resolve independently. Contact details for the members of the Monitoring Committee.

In addition, UTSU is a member of the Federation of Estonian Student Unions. The Federation of Estonian Student Unions (EÜL) is an umbrella organisation for students, aiming to advocate for students’ rights, needs, and interests at the national level, and to support student unions in their work. EÜL is involved in the development of policies concerning students, making proposals and raising awareness among the Riigikogu (Estonian Parliament), the Government of the Republic, ministries, higher education institutions, and social partners. The highest decision-making body of EÜL is the General Assembly, which includes representatives from all 14 member student unions (including UTSU!). The General Assembly decides on the union’s general course of action and policies, approves the action plan, adopts the budget, and elects the board. UT representatives at the EÜL General Assembly.

Depending on their role, all the representatives of each Faculty's Student Council (FSC) belong to at least one UTSU work group. All UTSU representatives can join public work groups.

All representatives are invited to participate in the work groups. Work groups are formed as needed and can be initiated by any representative. The purpose of work groups is to implement UTSU’s goals and/or projects by acting together. UTSU’s vice-chairmen are responsible for the operation of the quality of education and the UTSU spirit work groups. The purpose of the quality of education work group is to discuss cross-disciplinary and specific problems related to learning and education in order to draw attention to areas of concern. The purpose of the UTSU spirit work group is to organise events, gatherings, etc. for representatives and the student body. Depending on the focus topics of the academic year, meetings are also held in communication, foreign students, doctoral students, ISC masters, FSC chairpersons, higher education funding, etc. work groups, the operation of which is the responsibility of UTSU’s board and office.

First, it depends on the issue. On this page, you will find a good overview of who to contact for different concerns.

As a general rule, as a student representative at the institute level, you should first turn to faculty representatives with your concern. If necessary, they will involve the Board of the Student Union in resolving the issue.