Center of Excellence in Interdisciplinary Life Course Studies (IET) 2015-2023
The Center of Excellence in Interdisciplinary Life Course Studies (IET) operated under the School of Governance, Law and Society at Tallinn University from 2015 to 2023. IET’s goal was to contribute to research within the focus area of open society and governance, including doctoral studies, by integrating diverse scientific fields, involving international cutting-edge research expertise, and supporting the initiation and implementation of high-level interdisciplinary research projects. These projects focused on life course studies in collaboration with sociologists, demographers, and political scientists. IET’s research collaborations focused on the development of life courses across different generations and social groups (by gender, nativity, ethnicity, health status, social status, education), considering institutional and social contexts as well as path dependencies in societal development. The center's work addressed different life stages (youth, middle age, old age) and life domains (family life, education, career, etc.).
Throughout its active years, IET organized numerous seminars, workshops, and courses. One of IET’s key activities was developing research infrastructures related to life course events. The Estonian Family and Fertility Study 2020 serves as a social science data infrastructure providing internationally comparable data for analyzing population and social development and for creating evidence-based policy solutions.
Selected Projects Involving IET:
- Transdisciplinary solutions to cross sectoral disadvantage in youth (YOUNG-IN), 2018-2023
- Reducing gender wage gap (REGE), 2019-2021
- Platform Labour in Urban Spaces: Fairness, Welfare, Development (PLUS), 2019-2021
- Technological inequality – understanding the relations between recent technological innovations and social inequalities (TECHNEQUALITY), 2019-2021
- Closing gaps in social citizenship. New tools to foster social resilience in Europe (EUROSHIP), 2019-2021
- Life course perspectives in studying youth transitions to adulthood: bridging qualitative and quantitative approaches (YouthLife), 2021-2023
- Data Collection Framework Contract for SHARE Wave 9 Survey in Estonia (SHARE-EUCOV), 2021-2024
In 2024-2026, IET’s work will continue under the Tallinn University Center of Excellence for Life Course, Well-being, and Open Society Studies (TEHA).