The membership of the Academy of Sciences consists of 77 academy members and 22 foreign members, divided among four thematic divisions.* The supreme decision-making body of the Academy is the General Assembly, which comprises all academy members. The Academy is led by the President, two Vice Presidents, the Secretary General and a 13-member Board, which, in addition to the aforementioned, includes the Heads of Divisions and the elected non-executive members.
Under the Estonian Academy of Sciences Act, the Academy can have up to 60 members under the age of 75. Membership in the Academy is for life. If there are vacancies among the members, the Academy has to elect new members at least once every three years. For this purpose, an open call is announced and candidates can be nominated by Estonian universities, research institutions and societies, creative associations and unions, as well as members of the Academy. The General Assembly makes the selection from among the nominated candidates by secret ballot. Prior to the election, the candidates introduce themselves and present their scientific work at a public conference.
In addition to their professional excellence and the mentorship of young people, academy members carry a broader mission in the fields of science, education and culture: to advance their fields of activity, participate in guiding Estonia’s scientific, cultural and socio-economic development, and promote the value of science, culture and education within society.
Academy members in figures*
- There are 46 academy members under the age of 75, with an average age of 59. There are 31 academy members aged 75 or older.
- The youngest academy member is 43 years old and the oldest is 98.
- Of the 77 academy members, 12 are women.
- Of the 13 members of the Board, 5 are women.
*as of 1 May 2026
Core activities of the Academy
Advisory role
- One of the core tasks of the Academy is to advise the Parliament, the Government of the Republic and state agencies, as well as to participate in the preparation of legislation related to research and development. To fulfil these tasks, we have established a regular cooperation framework with the Parliament – an event series ‘Dialogue of Sapience and Authority’. The aim of these meetings is to provide scientific advice to enable politicians to make evidence-based, informed decisions when addressing various issues.
- We participate in the work of the Research and Development and Innovation Policy Council (TAIP), led by Prime Minister. In addition, we hold regular meetings with political parties to help shape the research, development and innovation strategy. Cooperation has also been initiated with Enterprise Estonia.
- The advisory role is also fulfilled by the thematic councils and committees operating under the Academy, comprising Estonia’s leading experts. The main goal of the committees is to provide scientific and technological advice in tackling issues facing the Estonian people and the state. To better apply the results of the committees’ work in practice, their task is to strengthen relations with the Parliament and the government to offer support to decision-makers.
- Additionally, academy members participate as representatives of the Academy, universities or Estonia in more than 300 committees and councils both in Estonia and abroad.
Supporting and recognising excellent science and young researchers
- We have established research professor positions under the Academy to enable scientists who are internationally recognised in their fields to dedicate themselves more to their research for a given period of time.
- We organise the selection and public presentation of the laureates of National Research Awards.
- We present the academy member Mihhail Bronštein Awards in Economics to recognise the theoretical advancements of Estonian economists and their successful applications.
- In collaboration with the Council of Estonian Annual Conference of the Humanities we organise the presentation of annual awards in the humanities to recognise groundbreaking and fundamental research of Estonian humanities scholars.
- In cooperation with the academies of sciences of the Baltic States and National Commissions for UNESCO, we award ‘Women in Science’ fellowships to help increase the visibility of female scientists, promote gender equality in the scientific world and inspire future generations of researchers.
- We organise the contest ‘Science in Three Minutes’ for young researchers, with the main goal of providing them with professional training and practical experience in public speaking and introducing their scientific work.
- We award special prizes of the President of the Academy (π-prizes) to high school and university students within the framework of national science contests to recognise talented young people and encourage them to pursue a career in science.
- We support young researchers’ participation in meetings with Nobel Prize laureates in Lindau.
- We support research conducted by young Estonian researchers, master’s and doctoral students through the Estonian Academy of Sciences Foundation.
- In cooperation with the Estonian Research Council, we present the Estonian Science Popularisation Awards.
- We award various medals to recognise contributions to advancing Estonian science and fulfilling the Academy’s objectives, as well as for outstanding achievements in science.
Events, interaction with society
- We organise scientific discussions, lectures, conferences and other events, most of which are open to the public and accessible to anyone interested, either live or via recording.
- We contribute to bringing scientific thinking closer to young people and generating interest in scientific work. Academy members have organised several joint school visits. We also organise annual summer seminars of the Student Research Society in Viitna.
- Academy members are active speakers both at events and in the media. Among other things, opinion pieces written by academy members and their co-authors are published every weekend** in the Postimees column ‘Through the Eyes of a Scientist’, which featured 180 articles between 2021 and 2025. Starting from 2025, thematic blocks linked to the event series ‘Dialogue between Intellect and Power on Toompea’ appear in the column. Prior to each dialogue, a thematic block begins in the column, with opinion pieces addressing the same framework theme from different perspectives.
** The column is not published during the summer and major holidays.
Cooperation in Estonia and internationally
- We have seven associated research, development and cultural institutions, as well as 26 scientific societies whose activities and goals align with those of the Academy.
- We are members of seven international representative organisations of scientists and support the participation of Estonian researchers in 22 international specialised professional associations.
- We organise, co-organise and participate in international scientific events, such as the Baltic Conferences on Intellectual Cooperation.
Constitutional Law Foundation
- Constitutional Law Foundation, operating under the Academy, develops constitutional law and promotes research in this field.
Academy’s institutions
- The Academy has two separate institutions:
- The Under and Tuglas Literary Institute of the Estonian Academy of Sciences is a research and development institution that conducts interdisciplinary and innovative fundamental research on Estonian-language literature and the multilingual literature of the Estonian territory from the Middle Ages to the present day, placing it within the cultural context of the Baltic Sea region, Europe and the world.
- Estonian Academy Publishers issues seven international, peer-reviewed, open-access scientific journals that are indexed in leading international databases.