The ST-Link is a device used to connect a computer to a device with a JTAG header. On EVT, this is most commonly one of our custom Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs). In the past, our team used the ST-Link V2, but our standard is now the V3, which added in UART support. It creates a virtual COM port to expose UART as a serial port, similar to the way a nucleo works. In fact, the circuitry on this device is very similar to the circuitry on the nucleo above the cuts in the board.
Like the nucleo, you can get UART input and output over a serial port on your computer. Unlike the nucleo however, you must use the STM32CubeProgrammer to program a board using this device. For more information about using the serial port or CubeProgrammer, read over Running Code.