Estonian Information Technology College

The Estonian Information Technology College is a private non-profit institution of professional higher education in Estonia, located in Tallinn. EITC provides Estonian applied higher education diploma-level education in information technology in four main programmes, carries out shorter-term vocational training programmes as well as various R&D-oriented activities.Founding and HistoryThe governing body of the IT College, the Estonian Information Technology Foundation, was established in March 2000 by the Republic of Estonia (represented by the Ministry of Education and Research), the University of Tartu, the Tallinn University of Technology, AS Eesti Telekom, and the Estonian Association of Information Technology and Telecommunications. One of the main forces behind the formation of EITC was the rapidly growing need for IT professionals which could not be met by universities and attracted people with uneven educational and professional background. During the first years, all students had to pay for the tuition (a small number of stipends were available for best students) - however, starting from 2007, 100 places are funded by the state, in a similar manner to state universities. In addition, up to 150 self-financing students are admitted every year.The College was inaugurated by the Prime Minister Mart Laar in September 2000 and received the Estonian Award of Educational Achievement for that year. The location was in the downtown Tallinn until 2008 when the College moved into a new building in Mustamäe, at the vicinity of Tallinn University of Technology and Tehnopol.