In February, Rector of the Estonian University of Life Sciences Ülle Jaakma visited New Zealand as part of an Estonian higher education and research delegation to strengthen institutional ties and identify areas with the greatest potential for cooperation between the two countries. The aim of the visit was to turn shared research priorities into practical collaborative projects.
The delegation was led by Professor Anu Noorma from the Estonian Research Council (ETAG). It included the rectors of Estonia’s leading universities: Toomas Asser (University of Tartu), Tiit Land (TalTech), Tõnu Viik (Tallinn University), Ülle Jaakma (Estonian University of Life Sciences), and Hilkka Hiiop (Estonian Academy of Arts). The delegation also included Hanna Kanep, Secretary General of the Estonian Rectors’ Conference, as well as Maarja Adojaan, Head of the Department of International Research Cooperation at ETAG, and Merilin Reede, a science communication expert at ETAG.
The delegation was accompanied at university meetings by Estonia’s Ambassador to Australia, Jaan Reinholdt, who, together with Estonia’s Honorary Consul in New Zealand, David Raudkivi, hosted a reception in Auckland to celebrate the anniversary of the Republic of Estonia with the local diaspora.
In Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, and Christchurch, the delegation met with all eight New Zealand universities. The delegation also discussed potential avenues for cooperation at a roundtable with ministries, involving the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment; the Ministry of Education; the Ministry for Primary Industries; and a representative of Universities New Zealand.
The meetings identified several shared priority areas for collaboration, including high-performance computing, the blue economy and marine sciences, artificial intelligence applications, agriculture and the environment, space research, polar research, genomics and medicine, smart cities, low-carbon construction materials, and the bioeconomy.
For the Estonian University of Life Sciences, the key topics in the discussions were agriculture, the environment, water systems, and biosecurity – more broadly, the fields of the bioeconomy and One Health, where both countries have strong research capacity and practical experience.
“Estonia and New Zealand have much in common – we are both small, flexible, and open countries that value science-based decision-making. This shared mindset provides a strong foundation for forward-looking and substantive cooperation, particularly in agriculture, the environment, and other bioeconomy fields, where challenges are global but solutions must be smart and adapted to the local context,” said Rector Ülle Jaakma.
The visit helped outline a practical roadmap for further cooperation: identifying priority areas of mutual interest, mapping relevant researchers and infrastructure, and exploring suitable funding opportunities. A return visit by the New Zealand delegation to Estonia is expected at the end of May.
Toimetaja
