In 2020, the Baltic Research Program under European Economic Area is supporting four higher education institutions cooperation projects with 423 165 euros. TTK UAS received funding for two projects, acting as coordinator in one and being partner the University of Tartu in the other.
The cooperation project of TTK University of Applied Sciences will create an electronic workbook on the cross-border assignments (CBA) of Estonian and Icelandic companies. The Institute of Clothing and Textile of TTK UAS is participating as a partner in the project of the University of Tartu which aims to create study materials for textile students and compare the use and industry of sheep wool in Estonia and Norway.
According to Helen Kiis, leading lecturer on economics of TTK UAS, the electronic workbook will bring real-life problems and cases of the companies to the study process. This help students to get better understanding of the economic processes and real companies and the teaching and the learning processes should become more practical. “We are collaborating with companies on national and international level. The students of TTK UAS will be given a chance for short study mobilities to the University of Akureyri in Iceland to cooperate with the students, teachers and companies of the country. Modern labour market does not recognize borders and so the students will be given a competitive edge on the labour market already during their study period which helps them create more appealing careers for themselves,” says Helen Kiis.
Diana Tuulik, lecturer of the Institute of Clothing and Textile, explains that the collaboration with the University of Tartu will result in catalogues describing the properties of Estonian and Norwegian lamb wool. “These materials are meant for textile students, companies and sheep farmers. They include a description of not only the textiles that are produced of lamb wool and tested for their technical qualities, but also the production processes. Hopefully the work will help to increase the appreciation for local textile raw materials and subsequent product development.
Sabina Sägi, senior specialist at Archimedes Foundation, explained that he application round was open in the middle of the corona pandemic, and even though we received less applications than usual. “We can be proud and happy that Estonian higher education institutions think one step ahead and the quality of applications were very strong. The high average grade – 88 points out of 100 – confirms the good quality of the supported projects,” said Säbi.
Partners from the European Economic Area are Oslo Metropolitan University, The Arctic University of Norway, the University of Akureyri, the University of South-Eastern Norway, Telespinn AS and from Estonia TTK Univeristy of Applied Sciences and company called Muru Minimill.
EEA/Norway Cooperation Programme in Higher Education is a subcategory of the Baltic Research Programme which itself belongs to the EEA Grants and Norway Grants programme. More information can be found on the foundation’s website. The next call for proposals will be opened at least two months before the application deadline in spring 2021.
