Reis Tartu

Tartu old town.

On Thursday (20th of Oct) afternoon after the successful meetings in Tallinn Riikka and I found ourselves to Tallinn bussijaam, and got a bus to Tartu. The journey from the well known Estonian capital to somewhere else had begun. It was my first trip to Tartu and I was kind of excited because I'd heard that it was beautiful. The bus trip took us into the very middle of Estonian countryside which wasn't so far away from the busy Tallinn. Weather was grey and after previous night's lack of sleep I drifted away after some intensive 30 minutes Estonian language practise with Riiikka's Estonian phrase book.

Tartu's bussijaam was located somewhere near the centre and we went to do some intensive shopping while waiting for Sirje, Omnia's coordinator, our "tour guide" in Tartu. We continued our journey to our destination; Tartu Kutsehariduskeskus by car. We were kind of amazed when we got there; the hotel was brand new, built 2010, and the rooms were very beautifully decorated and clean. After a hectic day in Tallinn and 2,5 hour bus travel we just took a quick tour around the university area and had a nice dinner and went to sleep.

One of the coordinators showing their
newest technology
in spa services; an energy capsule...

The next day was filled with a tour around the Kutsehariduskeskus and a meeting with the local coordinators.

• School enrolls around 3,500 students in 120 groups and another 2,000 in adult education. 
• Tartu Kutsehariduskeskus provides vocational education on several areas and also for those who haven't finished their basic education or are unemployed. The student support systems are quite well organized and the school has a dormitory for the students. 

Students preparing food in
one of school's many  kitchens...

Tartu's facilities were great and we were pleased to hear that they'll participate on the project next year. Can't wait to send our students there! The co-operation is due to next spring when they sign the MOU. We will have mobilities at least with the catering students, although the hairdressers would have awesome facilities in Tartu as well!

Tartu itself is small and charming town and it's easy to navigate which is obviously easy for the students. After the friendly meeting and tasty pastries we headed to the town for lunch and did some souvenir shopping. 


All in all it was nice to meet all the coordinators in Tartu and we believe that the cooperation will be successful and our students will have a great experience there, at least we did!


Veera Lanttola
Project Assistant
Vantaa Vocational College Varia