Faculty of Education UWB opens a university programme for high school students

From 19 February, the Faculty of Education at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen launches UniTEEN, a new project for high school students. Building on the successful Children’s University, 35 courses let teens try university study without grades. Registratin starts on 15 February.

Virtual reality, artificial intelligence, influencers, and first aid. Starting in February, the Faculty of Education at the University of West Bohemia (UWB) is launching a new “try-out university.” This time, it is not aimed at primary school pupils, as is the case with the Faculty’s Children’s University, which has been running for 11 years, but will focus on tailored instruction for secondary school students who want to experience the atmosphere of university study. They can look forward to seminars, excursions, and hands-on activities led directly by faculty lecturers or students.

The programme, called UniTEEN, will begin its first lectures on 19 February and will run every Thursday until 7 May. “The UniTEEN offer responds to topics that genuinely interest young people. The aim is to reach students with technical, scientific, humanities, or artistic interests—whether through working with artificial intelligence in the Adobe Firefly application or a course focused on critically reading influencer content on social media,” explained Lenka Benediktová, Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Education at UWB for lifelong learning and teaching practice. As with the Children’s University, participants who complete six or more courses will receive a diploma and attend a graduation ceremony.

The goal of UniTEEN is to further increase the number of applicants interested in studying at the Faculty of Education. By offering activities for younger age groups than its regular students, the faculty is responding early to schools’ demand for teachers. According to the organisers, this “try-out university” can help young people make more informed decisions about their future studies. “UniTEEN naturally builds on the long-term success of the Faculty of Education’s Children’s University. Parents and participants themselves have often asked whether it would be possible to continue university-style education at secondary school level, said Lenka Benediktotová. „The UniTEEN project responds directly to this demand—it offers secondary school students the chance to further develop their interest in studying, get to know the faculty, and better decide on their future educational path. The strong interest is also evident from the fact that we already have more than 70 pre-registered applicants,” she added.

The faculty will open official registration for UniTEEN on 15 January. Interested students can already view the course offer. UniTEEN is free of charge for secondary school students, and the capacity of individual courses is limited to 10–15 participants. The project was created with the support of the Pilsen Region. More information is available on the website.