Discover Delta

The University of Tartu Delta Centre brings together a vibrant community of students, researchers and innovators in the fields of computer science, robotics, technology, mathematics, statistics, economics, management and business. The Delta Centre combines learning, excellence in research and the challenges of business and society, creating innovative solutions for economic and social progress.

We develop a variety of collaborative formats, organise and partner with inspirational events.

With its unique architecture and organisational structure, Delta represents a step-change in cross-disciplinary studies and research, as well as in how the university interacts with business and society.

The Delta Centre was designed by architectural bureau Arhitekt 11 and the 24,000 m² building was built by construction companies Rand and Tuulberg and Ehitustrust. With its state-of-the-art architecture and location in the heart of Tartu, Delta is an important landmark in Tartu cityscape.

The construction of the University of Tartu Delta Centre was funded by the European Regional Development Fund, the Republic of Estonia and the University of Tartu.

The Delta Centre hosts the following university departments:

• Institute of Computer Science
• Institute of Mathematics and Statistics
• School of Economics and Business Administration
• Institute of Technology
• Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation

The aim of the Business building is to bring science-based entrepreneurship related to teaching and research in the immediate vicinity of the university. The Delta business building accommodates:

• Cybernetica
• Swedbank
• Statistics Estonia
• STACC
• SEB Pank Innovation Centre
• European Space Agency Business Incubation Centre Estonia
• Tartu Science Park

Delta Centre Brand Book and logo / CVI

If you want to use the Delta Center logo and graphics, please follow the Brand Book (CVI). NB! for all versions of the logo, the name Delta and the University of Tartu logo are related and at a specific distance, which may not be changed. The logo of the Delta Centre must also be given space at the edges, the minimum size of which is given in the Brand Book. The font style of the Delta Center is RUBIK, please use it on all materials.

• The Delta Center Brand Book and logos can be found HERE 

History behind the name Delta

The name Delta was selected in a competition in October 2016. The competition received a record 174 name proposals from 125 different authors. A jury consisting of various specialists from the University of Tartu made a choice from the proposals, the unanimous proposal of the naming committee was approved by the Rectorate of the University.

The author of the name is Erki Tamm, Chief Specialist of the Real Estate Development Department. Among the 174 variants, the names of Iconicum, Innovaatikum, Logicum and Sigma were also offered. But also Pesa, Nurgik, SAMM and ARMAS (the last two refer to the initials of the units moving into the house). According to the jury, the name Delta was suitable, among other details, because it is well connected to the architectural solution of the new building as a triangular shape. Delta also refers to the symbolism and energy that characterizes the centre. In addition, Delta symbolizes tripartite cooperation and refers to the estuary or location on the banks of the Emajõgi River. The name Delta is easy to use, memorable and sounds similar in different languages.

The architectural solution of Delta

Delta’s unique architecture and organizational structure facilitate the interdisciplinary teaching and research of the University of Tartu and cooperation with entrepreneurs and society in a new way.

The Delta Centre has been designed by the architectural firm Arhitekt 11, architects Illimar Truverk, Sander Aas, Sander Paljak, Kristjan Lind and Joanna Kordemets, and the architectural solution of the building was originally called ICONICUM. A total of six entries took part in the architectural competition.

The buildings with a net area Delta 27,679 m 2 have been built by the construction companies Rand and Tuulberg and Ehitustrust.

The establishment of the Delta Cenre of the University of Tartu was financed by the European Regional Development Fund, the Republic of Estonia and the University of Tartu.

Rooms and laboratories of Delta Centre:

• Library (1015). The library of mathematics and informatics was established in March 2003, based on the libraries of the School of Mathematics and Informatics and the Estonian Mathematical Society. Now, it is located in the Delta Studies Building, in the section facing Narva St., and the collection has been supplemented with the economic library. As a result, the library includes books on mathematics, informatics, statistics, economics, and mechanics. The oldest book, originating from 1614, is “Mirifici Logarithmorum” by John Napier. The books of the library can be used by everyone on the premises. For students, it provides a quiet corner for intellectual work. The library lending service can be used by UT students and employees subject to presenting an ID card or a UT Library card.
• Computer Museum (1039). The Computer Museum of the University of Tarty was established in 2001 by Meelis Roos, after he started collecting vintage computer equipment. The most notable exhibits of the Computer Museum include parts of Ural-1, the first computer in Estonia (1959), the Juku school computer (1980s), the Tartu computer (ISKRA-1080, 1980s), the computer used by Mart Laar in 1992, the first server of riik.ee, a story of laptop development in the 1980s, and several Apple computers. For now, visits to the Computer Museum are subject to advance booking, but there is a plan to open the museum to the public on selected days of the week.
• Demo room of the University of Tartu (1030). This is where we entertain guests of the university and showcase the exiting developments at UT. This is a place to get an idea of the research done at UT as well as educational projects and solutions for businesses. The demo room also features an attractive video installation presenting the university. All departments of UT are welcome to use the demo room to entertain their guests and to present the university. The demo room can accommodate up to 25 visitors at a time. The demo room is managed by the UT Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
• Startup Lab (1030A). The Startup Lab is part of the UT School of Economics. It offers practical business training and pre-incubation services. The Startup Lab is open to students from all fields, helping them to find practical applications for their knowledge and to test viability of their business ideas. It is also the coordination hub for business ideas in the STARTER development programme in Tartu, Pärnu and Narva. The top teams of the STARTER programme will have an opportunity to present their ideas at the international sTARTUp Day business festival. It has proven to be an excellent starting point for many teams that have now become fully operational businesses.
• Neuromarketing Lab (2011/2012). The Neuromarketing Lab of the School of Economics analyses, on a daily basis, the marketing materials of dozens of companies, including websites, packages, and TV or print ads. This is an area where research and its practical output are closely linked. It is now safe to say that we have the best eye-tracking lab in the Baltics – we are able to accurately monitor the movement of people’s eyes on the screen of a computer or a smart device, as well as in physical and virtual environments. In addition, we have the ability to measure people’s emotions and activation levels and combine them with eye-tracking data, creating an excellent opportunity to test and optimise a wide range of stimuli and environments.
• IoT Lab (2018, 2019). The IoT Lab focuses on promoting the concept, problems and opportunities of the Internet of Things, including Smart City or Smart Home solutions (such as the SmartEnCity project), where key issues are efficient handling of large volumes of data and equipment, environmental sustainability and efficient use of resources. The lab consists of two parts – home and office. In addition to general promotion of the field, the IoT Lab’s goal is also to increase visibility of the mobile and cloud computing research group and offer an IoT network test environment to students and researchers. The equipment of the lab includes IoT development kits (Arduino, Raspberry Pi, etc.), various smart home devices, smartphones and IP-cameras for students and researchers of UT to use in their projects and dissertations. The establishment of the lab was supported by Telia, and the cooperation is continuing.
• School Robotics Lab (2020). The School Robotics Lab provides prospective and current IT teachers and school students with an introduction to robotics. The classroom is suitable for smaller groups and is perfect for work in pairs or groups. For this purpose, the classroom is equipped with mobile tables on wheels, which can be combined in different ways. The classroom also has a robotics game table for solving various tasks. Robotics can be presented to students from kindergarten to secondary school. Smaller children can start with different floor robots (Bee Bot, Bluebot, Ozobot), then continue with LEGO robots (WeDo, Boost, EV3, Spike) and robots (mBot, Raspberry pi, Arduino) that can be programmed in programming languages such as Python and C in addition to visual programming languages.
• Computer class for didactics of informatics (2021). This room was created primarily for students studying to become teachers of computer science, but also for active teachers and school students. It is a spacious computer class for dealing with various topics of teaching computer science (incl. programming) and demonstrating the use of different technological tools (incl. tablets) in education.
• Computer class for network technology (2003). The computer class for network technology and cyber security (2003) includes special Cisco hardware and additional cabling for practical training in network technology. Each workstation is provided with four network cables, additional power supply sockets for peripherals, and students can use the monitors in the class as extra displays for their laptops. The computer class is separated from the UT computer network to prevent experiments with network technology and data security from interfering with the Internet use of the rest of the building.
• Computer graphics class (2006). The computers in the computer graphics class have been equipped with the necessary tools for creating computer graphics, games and virtual reality applications. This computer class is unique in the building in that all computers have graphics cards, which are essential for developing applications in this field. There are also headphones available to students, as sound plays an important role in computer games and virtual reality. The Computer Graphics and Virtual Reality Laboratory holds its study sessions in this class, organising competitions for development of computer games, exhibitions of student creations, etc.
• Computer Graphics and Virtual Reality Lab (2007). The goal of the CGVR Lab is to promote and advance the fields of computer graphics, game development and virtual reality. For this, we offer interested students an opportunity to take our subject courses and develop their applications in the lab. The lab room 2007 features work desks equipped with sufficiently powerful computers, virtual reality equipment, graphics tables, a 3D printer, and other essentials. Presentations for interested guests can also be held in this lab.
• Smart Machine Vision Lab (2022). The Smart Machine Vision Lab develops interactive study solutions in virtual and augmented reality and performs various user experience tests. It also creates machine learning solutions for various industrial projects, including security in the finance and insurance sector and efficient data processing.
• Centre for Educational Robotics (2023). The Centre for Educational Robotics is involved in nature, science and technology education initiatives throughout Estonia. The centre uses Lego Education products in its programmes, projects, workshops, webinars and training events. The aim is to broaden children’s horizons as early as possible and to present various career opportunities. School visits, various programmes, training events, workshops in the centre itself, as well as in schools and kindergartens, provide opportunities for children to see the exciting aspects of robotics along with the nuts and bolts.
• Robot field (2024). This is a space for testing completed robots. Here you can often see various student robot projects as well as robots for more scientific purposes. As robots need to be tested continuously during their development, this requires a large space to monitor the robots as they move both on the ground and in the air, and to check that their operation is in line with the desired solution.
• Digital laboratory (2025). The digital laboratory offers an opportunity to do real work with your hands. It is essentially a workshop for both metal and wood work. Robotics is closely related to mechatronics – various mechanical solutions.
• Robotics class (2027). The robotics class of the Institute of Technology is designed for working with hardware and for teaching hardware-related subjects. It is equipped with all the necessary tools and components needed to perform electronic work. In this class, all Delta students can make their first steps working with robots by passing the subject “Robotics”, and for those with deeper interest in robotics, the class is open in their free time to work on all kinds of hobby, study and commissioned projects.
• Centre for Personal Medicine and Health Informatics (2042). Modern medicine is becoming increasingly personalised, with unique genetic data being considered to make accurate treatment decisions. The sets of genetic data used in personal medicine are extremely large and can be processed only with computers. This creates a demand for smart solutions and IT infrastructure capable of storing, processing and interpreting genetic data. This is a workplace for developers and analysts of the Institute of Computer Science as they come up with new solutions and make them usable for doctors. Digital data are stored by the High Performance Computing Centre.
• Server room of the UT High-Performance Computing Centre on the 2nd floor. Since 2008, the High-Performance Computing Centre provides researchers and students with necessary computing resources for solving problems that require extensive computing. The main clients of the centre include research groups of the university from fields such as bioinformatics, personal medicine, data science, language technology, chemistry, and materials science. The computing resources are also available to businesses and other partners. The High-Performance Computing Centre is part of the Estonian Scientific Computing Infrastructure (ESCI) that also includes TalTech, National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics (NICPB), and the Education and Youth Board (Harno).
• Sandbox (3092). Sandbox is a digital product management innovation program for Master’s students; it is developed by the Institute of Computer Science with the aim of developing design thinking and (digital) product management at the University of Tartu. Located on the third floor of the Delta Centre, the Sandbox provides a space for students, researchers, teaching staff and cooperation partners involved in the Sandbox programme and other programmes of the ICS promoted in cooperation with businesses and other partners. Lectures, seminars and other exciting events take place here, during which students can solve real-life problems by developing, validating and presenting innovative approaches.
• Autonomous Driving Lab. The UT Laboratory of Self-Driving Vehicles was established in 2019, in cooperation with Bolt. The laboratory uses a Lexus RX450h for its research projects. Many technology companies are currently developing self-driving vehicles; our focus is on developing the technology of self-driving vehicles, based on open software and available map applications. The car and its hardware were adapted for us by AutonomouStuff, and everything runs on Autoware.AI software.

The Delta Centre also houses the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (EIK, on the 4th floor), which is a support centre for UT researchers to cooperate with companies:

• UT partnership program – we maintain good relations with companies and find opportunities for them to order the necessary services from UT. We mediate the interests of entrepreneurs.
• Protection of Intellectual Property – Knowledge with commercial potential created in the course of research is formulated into patents or otherwise protected solutions with our help – the University of Tartu currently has 64 patents and patent applications.
• UT spin-off programme – We help researchers and students create and successfully market their businesses. The focus is on the development of products and services based on UT intellectual property.

Delta Centre is a Meeting Point for Future Ideas!