Welcome to the European Robotics Week 2025 Focus Event

3-4 December 2025

Tallinn, Estonia

About the Focus Event

The Focus Event for the 15th edition of European Robotics Week will take place in Tallinn (Estonia) at the Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) in collaboration with Robotex.

The euRobotics event will take place on 3-4 December 2025. It will include both activities open to the general public, with the aim of bringing robotics closer to society as a whole, and institutional events with representatives from administration, industry, research centres and academia.

The centre of attention will be on the social impact of robotics and technology. In keeping with European Robotics Week’s traditional areas of interest, this year’s event will spotlight the role of robotics in education, working life and society at large.

Immediately after the Focus event at TalTech, the international robotics festival Robotex International will take place from 5-6 December 2025 at the Unibet Arena. It is one of the world’s largest educational robotics and technology festivals, bringing together young innovators, researchers and companies from all over the world.

Over two days the Focus Event will offer:

  • Workshops for schools and children – inspiring young people to take an interest in technology and science.
  • Hands-on events for the elderly – to help them better understand and use digital solutions in their daily lives.
  • High-level meetings, debates and a dinner for invited senior representatives and decision makers from a range of institutions – creating opportunities for collaboration between businesses, researchers and policy makers.
  • Meetings with Estonian industrial policy makers – to discuss the direction for promising future innovation.

The event’s broader aim is to bring robotics closer to society as a whole by raising awareness of the potential of robotics and to support collaboration between research, education and industry.

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Public Program

Please note, registration links for activities will be provided closer to the date.

Day 1 (3 December)

Location: TalTech University

10:00 - 11:30 Tallinn Old Town Tours with guides

11:30 - 13:00 Research and Education Program

Details

11:30 Opening by ERW 2025 Organizers, Robotex

11:50 TALTECH

12:10 Samer Al Kork, Professor of Robotics, American University of the Middle East

12:30 Karl Kruusamäe, Associate Professor of Robotics Engineering, University of Tartu

12:00 - 16:00 Workshops for school children at TalTech

Engineering workshops for school children will be available on both conference days from
12:00 – 16:00 at TalTech. All workshops are coordinated by HARNO under the Inseneriakadeemia initiative. More information: https://harno.ee/inseneriakadeemia

Details

Engineering workshops for school children will be available on both conference days from
12:00 – 16:00 at TalTech. All workshops are coordinated by HARNO under the Inseneriakadeemia initiative. More information: https://harno.ee/inseneriakadeemia

13:00 - 14:30 Lunch + EXPO opens

14:30 - 16:00 High School Engineering Call with Student Satellite, Formula Student and More

16:00 - 17:00 University Tour for euRobotics Members (invite only)

17:00 - 18:00 Company Tour - 1

18:30 - 19:30 Baltic Roundtable (invite only)

20:00 - 22:30 Formal Reception (invite only)

Day 2 (4 December)

Location: TalTech University

09:00 - 09:30 Welcoming Coffee

09:30 - 12:30 Institutional program

Details

09:30 Opening speech – STATE

09:45 Musical segment and intro Speaker 1

09:50 Speaker 1 – TalTech, Rector/Dean

10:10 Intro Speaker 2

10:15 Speaker 2 – NATO DIANA

10:35 Intro to Speaker 3

10:40 Speaker 3 – Leo Kärkkäinen, TIES RY

11:00 Intro to Speaker 4

11:05 Speaker 4 – TALTECH

11:25 Panel 1 – Robotex leaders

12:00 - 16:00 Workshops for school children at TalTech

Details

Engineering workshops for school children will be available on both conference days from
12:00 – 16:00 at TalTech. All workshops are coordinated by HARNO under the Inseneriakadeemia initiative. More information: https://harno.ee/inseneriakadeemia

12:30 - 13:30 Lunch + EXPO opens

13:30 - 15:00 euRobotics Topic Groups (invite only)

15:00 - 15:30 Break

15:30 - 17:00 euRobotics Topic Groups (invite only)

17:00 - 19:30 Company Tour - 2

20:00 - 22:30 euRobotics informal dinner (invite only)

Days 3 and 4 (5-6 December)

Location: Unibet Arena

Robotex International Festival

Morning - Visit to Robotex Festival

Afternoon - Visit to Robotex Festival and Robotex Entrepreneurship award

Speakers

December 4th

Dr. Samer Khodor Al Kork
December 4th

Karl Kruusamäe
December 4th

Prof. Leo Kärkkäinen
December 4th

Marleen Rootamm
December 4th

Dr. Tauno Otto
December 4th

Fjodor Sergejev

December 4th

Dr. Samer Khodor Al Kork

Dr. Samer Khodor Al Kork is a Professor of Electrical Engineering and Director of the Robotics Research Center at the American University of the Middle East (AUM), focusing on robotics, human–machine interfaces, and intelligent systems. With over two decades of academic and research leadership, he has established strong collaborations with leading international institutions to enhance robotics education and applied research. His work promotes interdisciplinary innovation and positions AUM as a center of excellence for robotics and AI in the region.

December 4th

Karl Kruusamäe

Karl Kruusamäe is an Associate Professor of Robotics Engineering at the University of Tartu, Estonia. He earned his PhD in 2012 from the University of Tartu and has enhanced his expertise through international research positions at AIST (Japan) and the University of Texas at Austin (USA). Dr. Kruusamäe specializes in human-centered robotics, with particular focus on human-robot collaboration, multi-robot coordination, and open-source hardware development. His research focuses on how intelligent systems can collaborate with humans in adaptive, meaningful, and socially aware ways. Combining technological expertise with pedagogical design, his work advances both human–robot interaction research and educational innovation, aiming to make AI systems not only intelligent but also deeply aligned with human and societal needs.

December 4th

Prof. Leo Kärkkäinen

Prof. Leo Kärkkäinen works for embedded AI in University of Eastern Finland, Department of Technical Physics. He has a long 2- year career in industrial research awarded Bell-labs fellow in 2017. Leo has a PhD in theoretical physics, 47 granted patents and more then 90 publications.

December 4th

Marleen Rootamm

Marleen Rootamm leads Phase 1 programme of NATO DIANA’s accelerator, driving defence and dual-use innovation. She brings expertise in building innovation ecosystems, with recent years focused on security and resilience. Her work bridges cutting-edge technology and practical solutions for both defence and civilian applications.

December 4th

Dr. Tauno Otto

Dr. Tauno Otto is a Vice-Dean for Development at the School of Engineering, Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech). He leads Estonia’s national research roadmap initiative Smart Industry Centre (SmartIC) and is active at the European level in the ManuFuture High Level Group, the EuroXR Executive Committee, and the Made in Europe Partnership Board. His research focuses on manufacturing technologies, smart and digital factories, robotics, digital twins, and the integration of AI into industrial systems.

December 4th

Fjodor Sergejev

Fjodor Sergejev Dean of the School of Engineering and Tenured Associate Professor of Metals Processing at the Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech), Estonia.

The research and development interests are related to materials engineering (fracture mechanics, fatigue properties, metal-matrix composites and ceramics, HEA), including the additive manufacturing technologies. Involved in cooperation of EuroTeQ consortium, NordTek, Baltic CERN workgroup, Engineering Academy and many others.

Exhibitors and Sponsors

sponsorship opportunities
Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) is the only flagship in engineering and IT science and education in Estonia, providing higher education at all levels in engineering and technology, information technology, economics, science, and maritime. TalTech’s mission is to be a promoter of science, technology, and innovation and a leading provider of engineering and economic education in Estonia. TalTech is the host partner of European Robotics Week 2025 Focus Event.
Stoneridge Electronics is the leading system solution provider for the transport sector and a trusted partner to fleets, importers, and workshops. As a manufacturer of innovative systems and services, their priority is improving safety, productivity and reliability.
The University of Tartu is the leading research university in Estonia and the only Estonian language universitas – comprehensive university – in the world. Its competitive advantages are internationality, the quality of teaching and research, and diversity.
The Center for Automation and Robotics (CAR) is a joint research center between the CSIC and the UPM. Its main objective is to develop fundamental and applied research, focused on socio-economic challenges. It has more than a hundred researchers whose activity focuses on the following scientific-technical lines: Field Robotics, Human-centered Systems, Intelligent Control and Supervisión, Autonomy and Artificial Intelligence.
The American University of the Middle East (AUM) is a leading higher education institution established in 2005 in Kuwait. AUM has two colleges: the College of Engineering and Technology and the College of Business Administration, in addition to a Liberal Arts Department and an English Preparatory Program. AUM is ranked #1 University in Kuwait as per the 2025 World University Rankings by QS and THE, making it to #611-620 in QS World and to the Top 500 in THE World. AUM is also ranked #1 in Kuwait in the Arab region rankings by QS and THE.
AI & Robotics Estonia (AIRE) is committed to increasing the competitivness of Estonian industrial companies by helping them adopt artificial intelligence and robotics solutions. Our goal is to bring universities closer to industry. We offer companies innovative solutions that cannot be found on the private market in the field of AI and robotics – be it testing of new technology or software, data analysis methods, cloud solutions, preventive maintenance or development of digital twins. AIRE is the Estonian centre of the network of European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH) and thus offering Estonian SMEs also the competencies and services of 200+ EDIHs from all over the Europe!

Travel and Stay

Hotel partner

Tallink City Hotel offers the highest quality stay for all ERW Focus Event attendees. From state of the art, clean and green rooms to high quality dining and relaxation areas, Tallink City Hotel strives to make Your journey to Tallinn as outstanding as possible. The hotel is located at the very heart of Tallinn, making access to both the Old Town and Metropolitan area a breeze.

More information at: https://hotels.tallink.com/et/tallink-city-hotel

Contact

Media and Press Contact

anneli@robotex.ee

 

Robotex International

nathan@robotex.ee