TalTech Wants to Terminate Ministry Cooperation Agreement Over Difference of Views

Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) has proposed terminating its contract with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications (MKM) for the development of online courses for occupational health and safety specialists. TalTech Business Administration Director Merili Reidolf sent a proposal to the ministry on Wednesday to terminate the agreement.

Reidolf stated that the university cannot, within the available timeframe and workload, create a compact online course that would provide MKM with a sufficiently thorough and practical learning experience. Throughout the project, it was not entirely clear to both parties what kind of online courses MKM expected, despite an agreement to develop the modules collaboratively and continuously coordinate on content and structure.

"On the one hand, the emphasis is on brevity, while on the other, there is an expectation that topics will be covered thoroughly and from multiple perspectives," Reidolf explained. The project also demonstrated that a program of this scale and complexity cannot be effectively designed in a highly compact online learning format on the Digital State Academy platform.

According to Reidolf, MKM stressed that the online courses must be capable of being completed independently and provide a comprehensive overview of occupational health and safety even without in-person instruction. TalTech believes that, within the framework of the existing curriculum and the agreed workload, it is not possible to create an online course that fully meets the ministry's expectations and for whose quality TalTech, as the provider, could assume responsibility.

Eva Põldis, head of working environment at MKM, said the ministry considers the development and implementation of the training program important because these specialists are responsible for workplace safety and employee health. The contract is worth €169,000 excluding VAT, but MKM has not made any payments at this stage. Negotiations with TalTech are ongoing.

If the contract is terminated, TalTech seeks compensation for work completed to date, including the first phase which has been delivered and accepted, and costs related to the second phase and module development. Reidolf said a detailed invoice will be submitted based on actual work performed and costs incurred. The contract between MKM and TalTech was signed in October of last year.