E-governance in E-stonia
Citizens of Estonia have access to about 600 e-services, and 2,000 e-services are available to businesses. Using a specially-developed ID card that acts as an online passport, most of the country’s citizens can remotely sign contracts, pay for public transport and parking space, make appointments at the doctor’s, file tax returns, apply for state benefits and even vote via the Internet.
On the whole, the ID card plays a key role in using most e-services in Estonia. It allows to ascertain one’s identity and certify documents with a digital signature. The legal force of the digital signature is ensured by local legislation that recognizes it as legally binding; in order to reduce security risks, the system uses complex encryption techniques. In any case, a lost card can easily be cancelled.
Today, Estonia is one the global leaders in the transparency and accessibility of e-services, and is named amongst the world’s top e-governments. With that said, the country is ready to share its experience. The system’s main thinktank and consulting agency is the e-Governance Academy, founded in order to develop and transfer the best knowledge and practices related to e-governance, e-democracy, and the promotion of an open information society. This is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization that operates within the framework of a program by the UN, the Open Society Institute, and the Estonian Government since 2002.
ITMO’s Department of State Information Systems Management is one e-Governance Academy’s many partners; as part of the collaboration, the university’s students can go on exchange programs and short-term internships at the Tallinn University of Technology, which offers a Master’s program on e-governance - e-Governance Technologies and Services.
Recently, ITMO Master’s student Yaroslava Tensina participated in one such internship in Tallinn. In these two weeks, she completed an intensive course alongside the program’s students, as well as acquainted herself with the operations of the e-Governance Academy.
“Today, Estonia has a leadership position in what has to do with e-governance; it was the first country to hold an electronic population census and electronic parliamentary elections; what is more, it was in Estonia that electronic citizenship for foreigners was first introduced. I’ve been long interested in Estonian practices and the country in general, so when I learned about the internship, I took the chance without a second thought, shares Yaroslava. The e-Governance Academy has many partners all over the world. They provide consultancy services, helping other countries to introduce the best practices that have already proved their effectiveness in Estonia. During my internship, I had the chance to visit the academy and study its operation up close.”
To go on the internship, Yaroslaca had to gather the necessary documents including a CV and a certificate proving her English language skills, as well as recommendations from her department. You can read more about applying to ITMO’s academic mobility programs here.
On studying in Estonia
Upon arrival, Yaroslava was granted the status of a visiting student, which allowed her to attend classes offered to students of the e-Governance Technologies and Services program. On the whole, the internship was organized as introductory practical training: she could visit any lectures and workshops that were part of the program, as well as join teams on projects.
“I did my best to attend as many classes as possible, as I only had two weeks to acquaint myself with the program,” – comments Yaroslava – “It was the Software project management subject that I remembered the most; it was so popular that the students had to pass a special selection to attend it. Still, as I was a visiting student, I was given an opportunity to attend these classes.”
She adds that Estonia’s educational system has several peculiarities. To begin with, all of the classes, be they lectures or workshops, are practice-oriented. If in Russia, we focus more on the theory, in Estonia it’s more about practice and working on particular tasks, which often implies teamwork.
What’s more, the program dedicated to e-governance is interdisciplinary in its nature. Amongst its participants you can meet students whose majors are in law, IT, or management. Still, despite their different levels of training and backgrounds, the classes are organized in such a way that every student can apply their competencies. For example, during project work they split the students into interdisciplinary teams: some members are responsible for the technical part, others - for organizing teamwork, managing the work processes, etc - this way, every student has the opportunity to apply the skills and knowledge they have.
“For instance, we have a subject called Visual usability environment. The project that we worked on as part of the course implied choosing a website of some particular governmental agency and developing a alternative prototype that would be more user-friendly. To do this, we were given special tools, different software that we could use to create it. It was really great, as most of our subjects were aimed at practical results and working with programs that we could make use of in future,” says Yaroslava Tensina.
Future prospects
Yaroslava is currently working on two research projects. The first is aimed at developing a method to assess the efficiency of e-participation portals in Russia. In layman’s terms, e-participation offers the citizens an opportunity to participate in government processes using information technologies and dedicated websites. A good example of that are electronic petitions or “Our St. Petersburg” portal which the citizens use to inform officials about problems like malfunctioning lighting or unsanctioned advertising in their neighborhood. The second projects examines the factors that determine the efficiency of “smart cities”.
According to Yaroslava, despite the internship’s limited duration, this experience allowed her to learn more about international practices with international practices and pursue their field of focus in a more meaningful manner.
“Most importantly, participating in such an internship is a good way to get out of your comfort zone; it allows you to look at some things from a different angle, learn new things that you never even noticed. What’s more, I got to compare the approaches that are applied here and abroad, more so in a country that holds a leadership position in the field of e-governance. Finally, a short-term internship is a great option for students who don’t have the opportunity to go on a full exchange semester but still want to get some international experience. And it is great that people at the Tallinn University of Technology know about ITMO; many of its members have already established ties with specialists from our university,” she says.
Yaroslava is considering a PhD program at the Tallinn University of Technology as one of the possible ways for continuing her education.
