Olle Järv is the Recipient of the UT Visiting Professor Scholarship

On December 1, at the annual celebration of the University of Tartu, the Visiting Professor Scholarship was awarded to Olle Järv, Associate Professor of Human Geography at the University of Helsinki's Department of Geosciences and Geography and a researcher at the Academy of Finland.

Photo: Andres Tennus

With the scholarship's support, Olle Järv will join the Department of Geography at the University of Tartu next academic year. He will engage in academic and research activities while fostering international collaboration. Järv is a distinguished scholar whose research sheds light on new and intriguing perspectives on populations and cities over time and space. His work primarily focuses on human mobility, big data analysis, and its applications for a deeper understanding of societal dynamics.

Järv plans to collaborate with researchers from the University of Tartu’s Centre for Migration and Urban Studies and the Mobility Lab. He also aims to give back to his alma mater. "After ten years of working abroad, I want to contribute to the academic and teaching development of the University of Tartu by sharing my knowledge, experience, and networks. Additionally, I hope to carry forward the academic legacy of the late Professor Rein Ahas in the Mobility Lab, where my research career began."

Järv expressed his anticipation of Tartu’s unique academic environment: "The collaborative spirit at the University of Tartu is unparalleled. I am confident that new ideas and collaborative projects will emerge here, enriching my research and expanding future opportunities."

The scholarship, established in 2018, is awarded by the University of Tartu Foundation in collaboration with the Tartu University Fund in Toronto. "The Diaspora Visiting Professor Scholarship is a remarkable example of how we build bridges between Estonia and the diaspora. Education and research play a critical role in shaping Estonia's future," emphasized Peeter Einola, Director of the University of Tartu Toronto Fund.

The scholarship aims to invite renowned scholars of Estonian descent working abroad to teach and conduct research at the University of Tartu for an academic year or semester. The scholarship, valued at €50,000 per year, supports participation in academic and research activities, public lectures, and the promotion of the scholar's field of expertise both in Estonia and internationally. The scholarship is funded by the Estonian Studies Foundation at the University of Toronto, the Estonian Students' Fund in the USA, and the Tartu University Fund in Toronto.

Previous recipients of the Diaspora Visiting Professor Scholarship include David Ilmar Lepasaar Beecher, Lecturer in Political Ideas and Cultural History at the University of Tartu (2021); Jaan Valsiner, Professor of Cultural Psychology at Aalborg University; Annela Anger-Kraavi, Senior Research Associate at the University of Cambridge's Centre for Atmospheric Science; and Mart Kuldkepp, Associate Professor of Scandinavian History and Politics at University College London.