Ukrainian students at Narva College: How can this be possible in the 21st century?

University at the eastern gates of Europe

Narva College of the University of Tartu is situated in Narva, Estonia’s third-largest city, on the border with Russia. Due to its location, the college has a significant role in the implementation of the national integration policy.

Narva College was founded in 1999 as a regional unit of Estonia’s oldest and highest-ranking university – the University of Tartu.

Narva College is currently the only higher education institution in Estonia whose main task is to educate bilingual teachers for schools in the multicultural environment, with either Russian or Estonian as the language of instruction. The role of the college is significant, considering that 26% of the population of Estonia, 76% in Ida-Viru County, and 96% in the city of Narva are native Russian speakers.
 

Improving the multilingual education model

Narva College specialises in preparing teachers for multilingual schools. We also provide courses in youth work, entrepreneurship and, as our newest course, information technology. Our students can learn a number of languages and pursue a minor specialisation in addition to their chosen major. We strive to supply our students with knowledge and skills of public speaking, private enterprise or various pedagogical approaches.

In cooperation with European universities, we are improving our multilingual model of education. Students from the United States learn Russian here as a foreign language. In Russian-speaking countries, our college introduces the European traditions of higher education.