Hlavní stránka Info portálu ZČU

At the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen (UWB), more than 13 thousand students could be enrolled this year, including over 5,5 thousand freshmen. At least that is what the data from September 15 suggests. Compared to last year, this would mean an increase of more than thousand students, including over 500 freshmen. In this way, UWB is responding to the Ministry of Education’s requirement set at the beginning of the year, aimed at increasing the share of the population with higher education. “We did everything we could to meet the requirement of a 10 % increase in first-year enrollments. However, data is only reported to the ministry according to the status at the end of October, and until then the numbers may still change dynamically. We will know the exact figures only after verification, probably at the end of November,” explained Jiří Kohout, UWB Vice-Rector for Educational Strategy and Student Affairs.

At UWB, as at other schools in regions with a lower proportion of university-educated residents, the condition applies to increase first-year student numbers by 7 percent. An additional 3 percent increase applies to all non-arts universities of UWB’s type (segments 2 and 3 of the ministry’s methodology). Only study programs unrelated to teaching and healthcare professions are included in the evaluation. For those fields, the ministry has prepared a different call and different financial support.

“In teacher training programs, we offered the Ministry of Education that we could increase numbers by more than 5%, and in healthcare programs by up to 20%,” the Vice-Rector explained. In both cases, this means approximately 40 additional students. “Our priority, however, remains the quality of our graduates, which we will always put before increasing student numbers at any cost,” emphasized UWB Rector Miroslav Lávička.

For the higher student numbers, UWB received about 140 million CZK across all the above-mentioned calls. “I wish this trend could be maintained in the coming years and that the ministry’s funding principle would not be limited to this year only. Student numbers will continue to be higher, and it is therefore essential that we have adequate financial resources available,” said the Rector.

Alongside the increase in student numbers, the new academic year at UWB also brings four new study programs: Mathematics with a focus on secondary school education, Informatics Teaching for Secondary Schools, Electromobility and Intelligent Transport Systems, and Nuclear Engineering Management. All of them respond to the current demand of the labor market.

At the Faculty of Arts, the academic year will start a week later, on September 22, due to building renovations. In the Sedláčkova Street building, workers are repairing corridors, while in Jungmannova Street, windows and sanitary facilities are being replaced. During the autumn, access to the Jungmannova building will also be secured through turnstiles.

In mid-September, UWB opened a new multifunctional sports field on the Bory campus, which will serve for physical education classes but will also be available for public rental. At the beginning of October, after a two-year renovation, the student dormitory building on Baarova Street is expected to reopen. This will bring back 368 beds for UWB students, which are already fully reserved.