Estonia ranks the highest in the Baltic States on the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Global Innovation Index in 2025, Labs of Latvia reports. Estonia ranks 16th on the global index, followed by Lithuania on 33rd place and Latvia on 41st place. The Global Innovation Index ranks the world’s 139 most innovative economies based on…
The Baltic Assembly has announced its annual awards in arts, literature, and science, LSM reports. The prize in the arts category went to Latvian conductor Kaspars Putnins for the Latvian Radio Choir’s concert programme, The Dream Stream. The literature prize was awarded to Lithuanian author and translator Tomas Venclova for his latest poetry collection, Už…
Latvia’s Ministry of Education and Science has proposed reducing the number of advanced-level centralised exams in secondary school by one, LETA reports. Under the ministry’s proposal, graduates would be required to take five instead of six mandatory exams. At the moment, high school graduates in Latvia need to take five compulsory exams: Latvian, a foreign…
A team of researchers at Estonia’s University of Tartu (TÜ), Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech), and the Institute of the Estonian Language (EKI) will teach the Estonian language and culture to large language models (LLMs), ERR reports. The project led by TÜ’s Institute of Computer Science will train open-source LLMs to speak Estonian more fluently…
Lithuania’s Deputy Minister of Economy and Innovation, Karolis Zemaitis, visited Taiwan on 3-6 September 2024, ELTA reported. During his visit, the minister met with officials at Taiwan’s Ministry of Digital Affairs and Ministry of Economic Affairs as well as with potential investors. He had meetings with representatives of several local banks and major companies in…
Estonia has officially joined the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) as the organisation’s 24th member state, Estonian World reports. Estonia applied for CERN membership in 2018. Estonia signed the first cooperation agreement with CERN in 1996 and gained associate member status in 2021. As a full member state, Estonia will have voting rights in…
Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina’s New Year message emphasised the significance of education for the nation’s future prosperity, LSM reported. Speaking from Riga Technical University, she underscored the importance of science and learning to compete globally. Silina called for investing in children, highlighting the role of education in shaping their future. She paid tribute to…
The chairmen of the foreign affairs committees of the Baltic parliaments — Marko Mihkelson from Estonia, Rihards Kols from Latvia, and Zygimantas Pavilionis from Lithuania — will pay a joint visit to Taiwan, ERR reports. They will meet with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, Legislative Yuan president You Si-kun, Prime Minister Chen Chien-jen, Foreign Minister Joseph…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has appointed Gintautas Jakstas as the country’s new Minister of Education, Science, and Sport, ELTA reports. Prior to his appointment, Jakstas was Deputy Minister of Education. The previous Education Minister, Jurgita Siugzdiniene, resigned after an expense scandal. Following the resignation, Justice Minister Ewelina Dobrowolska served as acting Minister of Education.