This Regulation is established pursuant to subsection 7 (1) and clause 9 (15) of the Statutes of Tallinn University of Technology. [entry into force 01.08.2026]
§ 1. Scope of the Regulation
(1) The Visiting Academic Staff Statute (hereinafter “the Statute”) governs the recruitment and employment of visiting academic staff (hereinafter “visiting staff”) in accordance with subsections 34 (1) and (5) of the Higher Education Act.
(2) The Statute does not apply to academic staff positions or employment relationships governed by the Regulation on Academic Career Management.
§ 2. Visiting staff
(1) Researchers, creative professionals and distinguished practitioners in their fields may be invited to teach or conduct research as visiting academic staff for a period of up to five years.
(2) A visiting staff member shall hold the title of Visiting Professor, Visiting Lecturer or Visiting Researcher, depending on the visiting staff member’s academic or professional qualifications.
(3) A person can be employed as a visiting staff member even if the person does not meet all the qualification requirements applicable to academic staff.
(4) A visiting staff member is a member of the university and is included on the staff list of the relevant academic structural unit.
(5) The rights and obligations of a visiting staff member shall be set out in the contract concluded with the visiting staff member.
§ 3. Recruitment of visiting staff
(1) The recruitment of a visiting staff member shall be organised by the head of the department or a person appointed by the head of the department.
(2) When recruiting a visiting staff member:
1) the need for recruitment shall be assessed;
2) the purpose of the appointment and the expected outcomes shall be defined;
3) the candidate’s education, academic degree or other qualifications, and whether the candidate meets the requirements for the relevant academic position, shall be assessed;
4) the candidate’s past performance shall be assessed against the minimum requirements for the academic position corresponding to his/her qualifications.
(3) The decision to recruit a visiting staff member shall be made as follows:
1) in the case of visiting lecturer, by the head of the department in coordination with the relevant programme directors;
2) in the case of a visiting researcher, jointly by the head of the research group or subunit and the head of the department;
3) in the case of the visiting professor, by the Academic Committee of the Senate on the proposal of the head of the department.
(4) The head of the department shall make a proposal to recruit a visiting professor to the Academic Committee of the Senate in coordination with the dean. The proposal must include the information specified in subsection 3 (2).
(5) The head of the department shall conclude an authorisation agreement with the visiting staff member for the duration of the appointment.
§ 4. Entry into force of the Regulation
(1) The Visiting Teaching Staff Statute, approved by Council Resolution No 43 of 20 June 2017, is repealed.
(2) The Regulation shall enter into force on 1 December 2023
§ 5. Implementing provisions
The directors of Kuressaare College and Virumaa College shall exercise the powers and perform the duties of a head of department within the structural units they manage, to the extent provided for in this Regulation. A college director is not required to obtain the dean’s approval for a proposal to recruit a Visiting Professor before submitting it to the Academic Committee of the Senate. [entry into force 01.08.2026]