Defence Academy Was Opened in Tartu

Today, the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments (ECDI) opened a new four-story educational building for the Estonian Defence Academy in the Raadi complex, which, for the first time, allows officer training to be conducted at a permanent location.

"With the completion of the Defence Academy's educational building, officer cadets now have a permanent home. Ten years ago, sergeants were taught in Meegomäe, then a new building was constructed in the Taara complex, which soon housed our allies, and officers temporarily continued their studies in the Taara container complex. It is a pleasure to acknowledge that the constant moving has ended, and the officers now have their own permanent educational building," said Peeter Karja, Southern Portfolio Manager of ECDI.

The four-story educational building includes accommodation spaces, classrooms, an atrium, and storage areas, and can accommodate approximately 570 people.

"The need for a new educational building was driven by the centralization of educational activities of officers and non-commissioned officers of Estonian Defence Forces. This decision has a very practical and substantively positive value — it ensures that the training of our officers and non-commissioned officers is based on the same principles, integrated, and that their cooperation both in peace and wartime is smooth and with mutual understanding. Concentrating the education into Tartu fully supports it," said Nele Rand, Head of the Educational Department at the Estonian Defence Academy. "Moreover, the new educational building alleviates the acute problem of space shortages for military leadership training, allowing conducting various additional training in the new facilities. Not the least, the building is modern and supports the implementation of contemporary educational approaches in the best possible way. Therefore, I am convinced that both our servicemen and students will enjoy the new building," added Rand.

Andres Salusaar, a board member of Embach Construction OÜ, which built the facility along, noted, "We are pleased to be a reliable partner for ECDI in designing and constructing the three largest projects in the Raadi military complex: the Defence Academy's administrative and educational buildings and Military Academy's War and Disaster Medicine Center. Thanks to good cooperation with a professional client, the buildings were completed on schedule despite challenging construction timelines," he added.