Projects

Easy2reUse project will develop an intelligent reusable mask for healthcare workers, critical working groups and citizens. The mask will be sustainable, easy-to-breath, comfortable to wear long working hours, low lifetime cost, easy to clean, meeting the universal fit and standard requirements. User experiences of the mask will be closely studied in Finland and Spain. Cleaning and maintaining in the hospital environment and other environments are the essential part to make the mask reusable, fulfilling the cleanliness requirements. The market readiness research for reusable facemasks focuses on designing manufacturing processes that emphasize material sourcing, cost efficiency, and sustainability. A comprehensive understanding of economic feasibility, usability, and manufacturing efficiency is achieved by combining quantitative and qualitative analyses throughout the prototype development and testing phases. During these tests, facemask prototypes with integrated electronics are evaluated for functionality, durability, and compliance with current regulations and standards. Additionally, documentation for EU type-examination is prepared, and an internal quality control system is established and verified. The project explores best practices and challenges in production, regulatory compliance, and market entry by drawing insights from similar industries. Comparative case studies, life cycle costing (LCC), and assessments of market and technology readiness (MRL and TRL) guide the creation of scalable production plans. A preparedness plan is also developed for stockpiling, scale-up, and adoption by healthcare workers and the public during pandemics, applicable across European countries. The manufacturing process is designed to ensure production takes place in Europe, supporting regional supply chain resilience. Market readiness and cost-effectiveness are evaluated to create a comprehensive plan for rapid production and widespread market adoption.

CERN is an international scientific centre that unites 24 member states and 10 associated states. Their mission is to conduct experiments in high and low energy particle physics and develop novel technologies and IT solutions for medicine, AI and quantum computing. Since 2023, Estonian research at CERN has been coordinated by the CERN consortium formed by the National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics (KBFI), the University of Tartu (TÜ) and Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) whose members participate in LHC CMS, WLCG, FCC, CLIC, iFast, AMBER, Cloud and CCC experiments. Cutting-edge research at CERN fosters internationalisation and advancement of Estonian science, technology and IT. CERN actively trains students, doctoral candidates, teachers and engineers, contributing to the next generation of Estonian scientists. This application presents the operational and infrastructure plan for CERN scientific infrastructure and consortium until the end of 2029.

CORESpaces project will enable a new normal in understanding, co-designing and implementing systemic changes for delivering human centric, resilient, climate neutral, revitalized and dynamically managed urban space, in partnership with citizens and stakeholders. CORESpaces rethinks spaces and public realm by developing and deploying flexibly adjusted, transferable tools demonstrated and tested in 9 cities across 9 European countries, generating open knowledge to streamline diffusion to any city building capacity and skills for climate-neutral, safe and smart urban redesign in EU urban spaces. The project will help to change spaces to become cognitive and future ready for climate neutrality.

The research infrastructure on experimental studies and applications of cellular processes aims at gathering national know-how in the field of cell and molecular biology, and aims at setting up an instrumental capability to develop competence and services in the fields of microbial and mammalian cell processes and their applications. The infrastructure will be built up jointly by the University of Tartu, Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn University, Estonian University of Life Sciences and the Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics. The vision is to become a know-how and service centre to partner health, biotechnology and environment-focused public sector organisations, medical institutions, biotechnology and pharmacological companies. The focus will be on acquiring and setting up relevant instrumental complexes, development and offering of services, popularisation and dissemination of the field in order to ensure sustainability of researchers and future activities.