UTSU Noodle House

At the end of 2024, public debate in Estonia centred around the future of higher education funding – should higher education become fee-based? Should exceptions be made, and if so, what kind?

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As a result of these discussions, UTSU’s student parliament took up the issue and updated UTSU’s official positions on the matter. The stance approved by the student parliament on 14 November 2024, stated that the University of Tartu Student Union supports the preservation of free higher education, as high-quality and accessible education is the cornerstone of Estonia’s culture, society, and security (more detailed positions can be found on UTSU’s website). We recognised that students already face challenges covering everyday costs, like lunch, without having to work, and introducing tuition fees would risk turning higher education into a luxury only the wealthy could afford.

Motivated by the issue of higher education funding and the desire to give something back to students, we organised “UTSU Noodle House” during the Tartu Student Days festival in spring 2025. The aim was to provide students with one hot meal they would not have to worry about. Thus, the idea was born to offer students free instant noodles – a beloved and familiar favourite. The event proved to be hugely popular with nearly 300 students fed in just four hours.

Due to popular demand, we repeated the successful “UTSU Noodle house” in autumn 2025 and even more students found their way to Tõllakuur. The event was so well attended that the noodles ran out before the end. While everyone was enjoying their noodles, we chatted with students about what UTSU’s been up to and encouraged them to stand as candidates in the student union elections in spring.