The Estonia Page > CultureEverchanging Science And A Small CountryContents: Research in a small country is closely related to the general level of knowledge. Since Estonia is not rich in natural resources, its economic future mostly depends upon the knowledge of its people. Knowledge and research are inseparably linked, which is why a small country cannot delegate research to large countries and buy everything from abroad. However, the eternal questions about science, such as: "Why conduct research? How much research can a country afford? To what extent should the research be controlled?"— should also be answered in Estonia. This is not easy, bearing in mind recent history and the complications of the transition process towards a democratic society. In this article, Estonian views concerning science and the changes during the last seven or eight years are examined. The new legislative system gives the basis for more flexible funding, forms the framework for the structures of research, and also sets the general rules for evaluation. ^ back to topA Brief HistoryFormal scientific activities in Estonia began with the establishment of Tartu University by Gustav Adolf, King of Sweden, in 1632. After hectic changes in the 18th century, Tartu University gained an international reputation in the 19th century. Astronomer Wilhelm von Struwe, biologist Karl Ernst von Baer, chemist Wilhelm Ostwald and others who worked in Tartu University, are well-known for fundamental contributions in their fields. Like everywhere in Europe during the 19th century, learned societies, the forerunners of the present Academy of Sciences, were formed. In Estonia, these included the Learned Estonian Society (1838), the Literary Society of Estonia (1872) and the Estonian Naturalists' Society (1853). The earliest scientific periodical published in Estonia was the "Astronomische Beyträge" (1806-1807). By the 19th century, the importance of knowledge and schooling was widely accepted in Estonia. In 1919, after Estonia became independent, professors at the University of Tartu started teaching in Estonian. Scientific terminology in Estonian and education of the Estonian people in their native language was developed. Parallel to these achievements, scientific research prospered in several fields. In the 1920s and 1930s research in astronomy, medicine, geobotany and oil shale chemistry and technology gained worldwide recognition. Astronomers in Tartu, led by Ernst Öpik, developed a complex evolution theory of the Galaxy, containing several pioneering ideas. The Estonian school of neuropathologists and neurosurgeons, led by Ludwig Puusepp was recognised for their achievements. The botanist Teodor Lippmaa made significant advances in the field of phytocoenosis and ecology. Considerable progress in the study of oil shale was made by Paul Kogerman. Systematic studies in linguistics (Johannes Voldemar Veski, Johannes Aavik) and humanities in general had an enormous impact on Estonian culture. An eight-volume Estonian Encyclopedia was published in the 1930s. In 1936, Tallinn Technical University was established and became the centre of higher technical education and technical sciences in Estonia. In 1938, the Estonian Academy of Sciences was founded as a body of prominent Estonian scientists, scientific societies and institutions, conducting fundamental and Estonian-oriented research. By 1939, prior to the outbreak of World War II, Estonia had set up basic research institutions needed for national development. All that was changed abruptly by the Soviet occupation and World War II. Under Soviet rule, Estonian science organisations were centralised and heavily guided by Marxist ideology. Attention to national culture and heritage was minimal, some branches of science, such as marine research, were under special control, whereas the social sciences were given no freedom at all. Despite the heavy pressure, science in Estonia, especially physical and natural sciences, continued to develop. The achievements of scientists in linguistics, semiotics, archaeology, psychology, and ethnology, for example, are remarkable since they developed their fields despite the ideological pressure. ^ back to topRestructuringConsidering this historical background, the main aim of restructuring Estonian science is to form a balanced system of research, serving both the community and science in general. It is clear that the community would benefit from results in areas like the environment and natural resources, health and social welfare, economic performance, food production and distribution, energy supply and utilisation, etc. On the other hand, basic research creating new scientific knowledge, is needed. Certainly, a large part of knowledge must also be "imported" through modern information media. This is possible only when a country has a high level of knowledge, developing skills to participate in international research. Clearly, basic research is a part of culture. There certainly are contradictions between the aims of society and curiosity-driven research that must be solved. At present, there is no White Paper on Research in Estonia but the following general ideas have been emphasised at various meetings. The necessities of the country are the continued existence of the nation and the state, and progress within the European framework. The opportunities of a small country are, however, limited due to a limited state budget and the present weakness of industry. A positive side is the potential of our science and people. The objectives and goals should follow necessities but constraints on opportunities dictate the limits. As in science, only one objective value system - the quality of knowledge - exists; a small country should set certain priorities. In addition, a clear strategy must be formulated. The priorities are partly fixed (see below), and the strategy is explained in various documents. The main aims in research are centered around the following principles:
The restructuring process, which started as early as 1988, after the declaration of sovereignty of Estonia, is described by H.Martinson [1] for the period 1988 - 1995. Four key problems were of primary importance:
A brief review of how these key problems have been solved is also given by Jüri Engelbrecht [2]. Two evaluations, the first of research in general and the second of institutions, have strongly influenced all the activities in this sphere. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and Swedish Research Councils carried out the evaluation of science in Estonia in 1991 for the period 1986-1991. The Evaluation Report listed many strong fields but indicated also necessary changes [3]. Among the recommendations were:
The next evaluation took place in 1994 and was carried out by local commissions. The aim of this evaluation was to propose a more effective system of research establishments. The main steps in the restructuring process were:
The restructioning process has had its ups and downs. In 1993-1994, a negative attitude towards the existence of scientific institutions outside the educational system, resulting from the actions of the right-wing inexperienced politicians in power, created a nervous atmosphere in research. Since then, balanced views have taken over. However, all the changes in research and development have been carried out within the limitations of the State Budget. Now it has been decided by the governing coalition that the amount allocated to research from the State Budget will be 2% (not including innovative applied research). Still, this amount is only about 0.5% of GDP. The Ministry of Education has formed the strategy with target figures up to year 2000. According to this, the state support for development should be increased to 0.3% (now less than 0.1%) and together with the private sector and EV support, the general funding for R&D should form 1.2% of GDP. However, the State Budget for 1998 shows that these figures for development will not be met. ^ back to topThe Current SituationStructure. Presently there are six public universities in Estonia: University of Tartu (TU), Tallinn Technical University (TTU), Tallinn Pedagogical University (TPU), Estonian Agricultural University (EACU), Estonian Academy of Music and the Estonian Art Academy. The first four are strong research centres. A considerable part of high-quality research is carried out in the research institutes which formerly were part of the Estonian Academy of Sciences. For economic, educational and also political reasons it was decided by the Government that such Max-Planck Society-type establishments are not optimal for Estonia and many of these institutes, after passing through the status of state research institutes, are now under the umbrella of the universities as research centres. The main idea is to link them more closely to the educational process. The links to the Academy are on the basis of association agreements. There is also an opportunity to form independent public research centres (PRC). From the list of the state research institutes (SRI), approved by the RDC in 1995, the following changes in affiliation have been made or are in progress:
There are also other smaller research centres under various ministries. The Estonian Academy of Sciences is responsible for the general level of research and development in Estonia. Its tasks are listed in a special law (see legislative system). Presently the Academy has 60 members, and 11 foreign members and is divided into 4 classes: Astronomy and Physics; Information and Technical Sciences; Biology, Geology and Chemistry; Humanities and Social Sciences. The Academy is a unifying body of high-level researchers throughout Estonia. Following the tendencies in the European Union, the RDC has set up priorities in four technological fields: material science, gene technology, information technology, and environmental technology. For that purpose the Centres of Strategic Competence have been founded at Tallinn Technical University and Tartu University with PHARE support. These centres bring together different scientific competence and will thus be complementary. The goals involve high level research, connecting research with teaching, connecting research and industry, providing know-how transfer to industry and other spheres of life, etc. In 1997, a new research laboratory was built at Tartu University for tumor research funded by the Citrina Foundation (UK). This is an excellent sign of how a private foundation supports high-quality research oriented to solving pressing problems of society. ^ back to topCo-operationScience is an international activity and that is considered to be vital for such a small country as Estonia. The Estonian role in EU projects like TEMPUS, PHARE, COPERNICUS, FRAMEWORK IV, etc. has been prominent. For example, the recent data from EU (courtesy of R.Villems) show the following:
Earlier, in ISF grant applications (open to the FSU and Baltic states), Estonia was again the most successful country per capita. The co-operation and exchange of researchers is supported by several grant agencies. The Academic Exchange Fund is working at the Estonian Academy of Sciences (State Budget) and agreements of exchange have been signed with 17 sister academies on a reciprocal basis. The Open Estonian Fund (ISF budget) also supports the mobility of researchers. From other countries, CIMO (Finland), NorFa (Nordic countries), and DAAD (Germany) are just some examples of agencies whose activities have especially influenced the training of young researchers. Joint research between the three Baltic states, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, has been initiated by the Academies of the three countries. From 1990 on, there have been regular annual conferences of the three Academies and during the last two years, the Nordic Academies have joined in. It was pointed out in a joint communique in 1996 that the Baltic and Nordic countries constitute geographically, as well as by their economic and cultural links, a distinctly coherent region of Europe where efforts in science and research are tightly bound by common interests. Presently, three joint programmes have been launched:
It is clear that the whole Baltic Sea Region is a huge area surrounding the single internal sea of Europe. Co-operation in the spirit of Visby Summit in 1996 is extremely important. In addition, Estonia is actively involved in ALLEA and ICSU activities. In the modern world, access to Internet plays an increasingly important role in the exchange of information. Estonia is a leading country in Internet connections for associated EU countries and even ahead of several Western European countries (courtesy of T.H.Ilves). ^ back to topPublishingBesides the normal need to publish more and more in leading international journals, there are also several peer-reviewed journals published in Estonia which are of international character. The Estonian Academy of Sciences, jointly with universities, publishes Proceedings in the following series: Physics-Mathematics, Engineering, Geology, Chemistry, and Biology-Ecology. A new journal on Humanities and Social Sciences, TRAMES, has been published since 1997, replacing the former "Acta et commentationes Universitatis Tartuensis" (from 1893) and Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences (from 1956). In addition, the journals "Linguistica Uralica" and "Oil Shale" are published. All these journals have international advisory boards and accept papers from around the world. A new series of editions, "Acta historica Tallinnensia" and "Journal of Estonian Archaeology" have been planned to publish from 1997 on. "Folia Cryptogamica Estonica" is published by the Estonian Naturalists’ Society. There are several joint journals published by the Baltic States including "Baltic Review", "Baltic Astronomy" and publications of the Baltic Institute of Folklore. "Journal of Baltic Studies" is published by the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies - AABS (New Jersey, U.S.A.). It goes without saying that the scientific journals are published in English, although Estonian summaries are usually included in order to develop terminology in Estonian. However, the popular-science magazines "Estonian Nature" and "Horizon" are published in Estonian. Research. Even a brief presentation on research and its fruits should be based on a weighted and objective analysis. Further, some facets of research are based on earlier summaries of representative bodies and recent publications. First, the priorities set up by the RDC in material science, gene technology, information technology, and environmental technology actually mean that based on earlier successful research, there is a high probability of new results. Indeed, these fields were highly rated by the international evaluation in 1992 [3]. Second, the Fellows of the Estonian Academy of Sciences achieved distinguished results in 1996 in the following fields of research [5]: cosmology, solid state physics, marine physics, atmosphere physics, mechanics, information technology and hardware, energy technology, geology, chromatography, biology, plant breeding, medicine, biomedical engineering, linguistics, and psychology. Third, the State Science Award Committee has given the Science Awards 1998 to the following scholars: The Great Science Award:
The Annual Science Awards:
Last but not least, the current results of Estonian scholars are reflected in numerous recent publications and reports. Some examples demonstrate the activity of various groups. A new hypothesis about the large-scale regular structure of the Universe has been proposed by J.Einasto and his co-workers (Tartu Observatory). Real-time systems have been distinguished and realised by L.Mõtus and co-workers (Tallinn Technical University) based on novel concepts of discrete time. A deep comparative sociological, political and communicative analysis of the changes in Estonian society during the transition period has been given by M.Lauristin et al. (Tartu University) [6]. M.Saarma (presently Helsinki University) has explained the role of neurotrophic factors in neuronal growth. A fundamental description of Estonian geological structure has been given by A.Raukas et al. (Institute of Geology) [7]. Research in population genetics, biomedical engineering, phonetics, etc. is also promising. The applications are still shadowed by the absence of a state support system for development (like that of our neighbours in Finland) and the ongoing transition period in local industry. Nevertheless, there are signs of growing activity. Several high-technology products like integral circuits, sonars, lasers, devices for nondestructive testing, information security systems, etc. [5] have reached the international market and have been well accepted, as the Hanover Fair 1996 has demonstrated. Such potential must bring more fruits in the future. ^ back to topConcluding RemarksThis brief overview reflects the present situation of research and development in Estonia. The general trend in the country is towards a knowledge-based society where science is not only a tool but an essential part of culture. Many countries have the same aim but methods are different because of different historical, economical, geographical, cultural, and political reasons. A new legislative basis for research and development now exists in Estonia and there are no major obstacles to restructuring what is needed nor to continuing what has been proved useful. To maintain a high level of basic science, attention should be concentrated more on national innovation and high-quality science education [8]. Like many other countries, the problem of contacts between science and society are evident in Estonia [9]. In solving these problems, the ethics of science plays a leading role. This is not a specific prescriptive code but rather internal feelings and attitudes towards individuals and towards the community as a whole. Indeed, scientists are trained to think in objective terms, speculations are not allowed, subjectivity is forbidden, etc. In a situation where cash-in-cash-out principles predominate and interests are often in conflict, the moral values related to searching for and implementing knowledge are very important. From 1998 on, project-based research funding will provide an opportunity to put more emphasis on quality requirements as well as on society’s needs. Science is an expensive activity of a society. However, it will cost much more if society does not support science. Despite all the difficulties in the past and also at present, the role of science in Estonia is increasing and its potential is considerable. ^ back to topReferences
Jüri Engelbrecht ^ back to topUseful Links
^ back to topThe Estonia Page > CultureThis fact sheet was published by the Estonian Institute in July, 1998 and is intended to be used for reference purposes. It may be freely used in preparing articles, speeches, broadcasts, etc. No acknowledgement is necessary. |