EKA eripreemia laureaadid koos eripreemia žürii liikme, EKA disainiteaduskonna joonistamisstuudio juht Britta Bennoga. Foto: Sven Zacek
This Thursday, April 23, the laureates of the National Contest for Student Research Projects were announced in Tartu. As in several previous years, the Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA) also presented our own special award—this year to two high school students. A total of 284 student research projects from 72 schools were submitted to the competition, with 100 advancing to the second round. EKA, with our own award, recognizes outstanding creative research projects, as well as studies that offer spatial or design solutions to issues noticed by young people in the world, or explore the culture and heritage around us.
The EKA special awards were presented to Lisette Poomre from Pärnu Ühisgümnaasium and Astrid Liis Aedna from Viimsi Gümnasium.
Lisette Poomre’s work, “A Visual-Spatial Concept Design for the Outdoor Area of Pärnu Ühisgümnaasium” (supervisor Marika Ristmäe), proposes a potential solution for improving the outdoor space of her own school. It focuses on how the school’s external environment affects students’ well-being, academic performance, and everyday school experience. The author analyzes the current condition of the schoolyard, thoroughly presenting its history and development while identifying the needs of the community. In the practical part, Poomre offers a new conceptual solution that combines principles of landscape architecture with user expectations, aiming to make the outdoor area more functional, aesthetically pleasing, and diverse. Particular attention is given to how an improved environment supports also mental health, enhances opportunities for movement, and fosters creativity and social interaction.
According to Britta Benno, head of the Drawing Studio at EKA’s Faculty of Design and our representative on the competition jury, the strength of the work lay in its clear connection between theory and practical application: “Lisette did not limit herself to an engaging and well-executed research project, but also created an impressive and concrete spatial design, based on user feedback and in collaboration with the school community, alumni, former teachers, and a landscape architect. Her proposal for a new schoolyard takes into account both aesthetics and spatial needs, offering realistic and feasible ideas for improving the school environment.”
Astrid Liis Aedna’s work, “Designing a Mascot for Viimsi Gymnasium” (supervisors Viire Jagomägi and Marge Aedna), also grew out of a desire to create something new for her school and was recognized for its lively and engaging approach to the design process, which formed the core of the project. The author created a mascot for her school after thoroughly analyzing contemporary visual culture and applying an interdisciplinary design process, involving the school community in the creation. According to Anneli Porri, head of the Art Education curriculum and department at EKA and a member of the award jury, the author’s creative development became clearly evident during the project, and her decisions and choices demonstrate a pleasing sense of playfulness alongside design maturity.
This year marked the 25th anniversary of the National Contest for Student Research Projects. A total of 315 students participated, including 225 girls and 90 boys. Of the submissions, 55 were from the basic school level and 229 from the upper secondary level. The largest number of projects in both levels came from the social sciences (92), followed by natural sciences (75), humanities (71), and exact sciences (46). Among the submitted works, 72 were practical projects and 212 were research papers. Of these, 27 were completed as pair or group work and 257 individually. The final selection was made from 100 projects that reached the second round during the Student Science Festival 2026, held at the AHHAA Science Centre on April 22–23. You can find all category winners and a longer news article here: https://etag.ee/konkursid-ja-uritused/tunnustuskonkursid/opilaste-teadustoode-riiklik-konkurss/
This year, the EKA special award jury included Britta Benno, head of the Drawing Studio at EKA’s Faculty of Design; Anneli Porri, head of the Art Education curriculum and department; and Triin Männik, communications specialist for research and knowledge transfer at EKA’s Research and Development Office.
The recipients of the EKA special award will receive a course of their choice from the EKA Open Academy.
We thank the laureates for their engaging topics and presentations, the supervisors for inspiring and supporting Lisette and Astrid Liis, and the EKA Open Academy for providing the awards!