OREANDA-NEWS. August 03, 2009. Three further professorial vacancies will be announced in autumn. The hiring of staff to these positions will be supported by the ESF DoRa Programme. The University of Tartu has announced an international call for applications for eleven professorial positions to be filled by foreign academics. Three further professorial vacancies will be announced in autumn. The hiring of staff to these positions will be supported by the ESF DoRa Programme, reported the press-centre of University of Tartu.

"If we want to participate in international research, we will also have to take a very keen interest in increasing the international dimension of our research staff," commented Kristjan Haller, UT Vice Rector for Research, on the need to hire international professors. "The faculties always welcome new people with different backgrounds - it complements, enlivens and stimulates the work that is being done here."

According to Kristjan Haller, the list of professorial positions to be filled with foreign academics is the result of considerable preparation work and thorough analysis. "We have systematically examined our research areas and selected those in which we would like to have more international research and teaching staff. We have also tried to link the vacancies to research themes which should complement one another," said Haller.

Among the professorships announced are those of European law, radiology, anatomical pathology, neuropathology, Scandinavian studies, education, physiotherapy, computer modelling of materials, the physics of nanostructures, international marketing, and sociology. The closing date for applications for these positions is 15 October. In autumn the University of Tartu will also announce three further international vacancies, which will include the professorships in biological physics, nuclear power engineering and nuclear safety.

The aim of the support scheme is to facilitate international exchange of knowledge, to improve the quality of research and studies of graduate students and to raise the competitiveness of Estonian universities in the specialties concerned by supporting the employment of international academic staff at those universities.

As part of the DoRa Programme, the Archimedes Foundation will support the hiring of 31 new international professors in Estonia, whose term of office will start in the autum semester of 2009. More than 150 million kroons will be allocated from the budget of the European Social Fund to pay the salaries of the international teaching staff coming to work in Estonia.

Of the 31 professorships supported, 25 are in areas such as power engineering, materials science, information technology, civil engineering and medicine, which are of key importance for the Estonian economy.