OREANDA-NEWS. December 31, 2013. The Russian information agency Interfax has, for the first time, published university rankings with all of the largest universities in Estonia represented among the TOP 200 of CIS, Georgia and the Baltic states. The University of Tartu, as the best of Estonian universities, is positioned at the end of top ten.

The University of Tartu is sharing the 9th and 10th positions in the “pan-regional” rankings of Interfax, the position of the University of Tallinn is in the range from 40 to 50, the position of the Tallinn University of Technology in the range from 51 to 60, and the position of the Estonian University of Life Sciences in the range from 151 to 200. The first place in the rankings is held by the Lomonosov Moscow State University.

Cooperation with top Russian universities has been important for the University of Tartu throughout the years. “There is tight cooperation between the scientists and we are happy to welcome good students to study here,” said Reesi Lepa, Head of International Cooperation at the University of Tartu. “We are glad to acknowledge that the academic circle and employers of Russia hold the teaching and research work at the University of Tartu in high regard. This is, above all, an honor and praise to our researchers and teachers,” Lepa added.

The rankings are put together taking into account the performance of universities in three areas: teaching (50% of the total mark), research (30%) and international activities (20%).

Interfax, which has been operating since the beginning of the 1990s, is the largest information agency in CIS and mainly concentrates on mediating politics and economy news. In addition to the “pan-regional” rankings published for the first time this year, Interfax also compiles annual rankings of Russian universities (www.univer-rating.ru).