Education and Science, Estonia, Legislation, Technology

The Research and Development Council decided to support the main conclusions of the report with the aim of improving the competitiveness of Estonian science, spokespeople for the government said.

The members of the Research and Development Council are in favor of consolidation of the network of Estonian universities, research institutions and institutions of professional higher education. Members of the council also consider it reasonable to increase the core funding of research by universities and enact measures to support research and education in fields that are important for the socio-economic development of Estonia, the Ministry of Education and Research said, summing up the three most important proposals that received the council's nod on Wednesday.

The government press office said that the core proposals of the report commissioned by the Research and Development Council and drawn up by Gunnar Okk have been approved by different parties. As part of the inclusion process feedback was received from 40 parties.

The Ministry of Education and Research was tasked with conducting an analysis and setting up work groups if necessary to conclude merger negotiations between the institutions to which proposals for a merger have been made.

The Government Office was made a recommendation to set up a task force in collaboration with ministries and partner organizations to implement the recommendations for the longer term contained in the council's report. The task force should set out the criteria for the possible consolidation of public-law universities, research institutions and institutions of professional higher education, and present to the government proposals concerning the long-term plan of financing of research and higher education and the organization of their financing.

Besides it is necessary to chart and analyze the arrangement of support services for public-law universities, research institutions and institutions of professional higher education, such as IT, real estate development and administration.

In addition members of the Research and Development Council were offered an overview by the Development Fund of the preparation and implementation of activities in smart specialization.

Gunnar Okk, vice president of the Nordic Investment Bank responsible for business intelligence and administration, completed the research paper, which he described as "think piece," in August 2015.