Centre of Excellence for Gene and Environmental Technologies

The Centre of Excellence for Gene and Environmental Technologies (CGET) achieved the status of the Estonian National Centre of Excellence conferred by the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research in December 2001. CGET is an institution for research and technological development carrying out fundamental research in molecular and cell biology and developing technological applications in the fields of gene and environmental technologies. The centre is organized on the basis of the existing laboratories of the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology of the University of Tartu, Tartu University’s Centre for Technological Excellence (departments of Gene and Environmental Technologies; at present Tartu University’s Institute of Technology) and the Institute of Zoology and Hydrobiology of Tartu University. The CGET embraces 10 research groups, the youngest of them - Bioinformatics - was created at the beginning of 2003. The research groups involved in the centre publish about 50 peer-reviewed scientific articles annually. At the beginning of 2004 the centre recruits a research staff of 67, the number of graduate students is 115. The ongoing restructuring of the Estonian economy includes a rapid increase in the number of workplaces in biotech industry. Therefore, the main task of the CGET, besides advanced research in selected areas, is to prepare enough young graduates (at M.Sc. and Ph.D. levels) with special skills and training needed for gene technology companies. Virtually all projects of the centre are carried out in collaboration with numerous labs and research groups in Europe, USA and elsewhere. Inside Estonia, many collaborative research links exist between the CGET and the Estonian Biocentre, Tartu University's Medical Faculty, Tallinn Technical University, National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics.