1. The purpose of defining the strategic research and development areas of Tallinn University of Technology (hereinafter referred to as “the university”) is to bring basic research into focus and establish conditions for its use in applications and innovation.
2. Hereby the university defines the following strategic research and development areas:
2.1 Smart and energy efficient environments – research and development focused on the creation, development and application of internationally breakthrough smart and energy efficient (artificial) environments in areas important to the Estonian economy. The goal is to enhance value creation and international competitiveness of the private sector (including industry) through innovative ICT-based and energy efficient engineering solutions.
2.2 Dependable IT solutions – research and development focused on reliable and attack-resistant IT systems and services, sustainable development of critical IT infrastructure, energy-efficient IT systems and data processing methods, as well as trust and confidence of users and society in the IT services and guaranteeing privacy.
2.3 Valorisation of natural resources – research and development focused on innovative solutions for economical and sustainable use of Estonian land, natural resources and man-made resources.
2.4 Innovative businesses and future governance – research and development focused on social, technological, economic, regulatory and environmental changes and their leadership with an aim to shift towards a more sustainable organisation of society and economic structure both in Estonia and globally. This includes the activities of companies in developing, transforming and implementing products and services, organisational forms and business models for sustainable value creation.
2.5 Health technologies – research and development focused on addressing local and global health challenges facing society.
2.6 Smart maritime sector and sustainable marine environment – a multidisciplinary field that combines technological innovation, modern transport solutions, environmental big data analysis, smart IT developments and changing socio-economic trends into a uniform whole, in order to achieve the economic development of the maritime sector and the sustainability of the marine environment.
3. Alongside the selected strategic areas, the emergence of new potential strategic areas is welcome. A prerequisite for this is the required academic level and impact, competitiveness in sourcing RDI investments, societal effect and socio-economic impact.
4. The Research Administration Office shall perform the coordinating and administrative tasks related to the strategic research and development areas.
5. This legal act replaces the Academic Strategic Plan (approved by Resolution No 17 of 18.06.2019 of the Board of Tallinn University of Technology) currently in force.