Hlavní stránka Info portálu ZČU

The leadership of the University of West Bohemia (UWB), led by Rector Miroslav Lávička, has completed its first year in office. One of the main priorities for the four-year term is to increase the number of students at individual faculties, especially in technical fields. This goal is to be facilitated by the campaign launched in March. However, the management also needs to address security and university development.

At the beginning of March, UWB launched a recruitment campaign for prospective students titled " UWB – Magnet for Talents." The aim is to attract talented young people from the West Bohemian region to study. "The campaign targets not only students in the Pilsen region but also those in all neighboring regions. It is primarily conducted on social media, with public advertising in Cheb and Karlovy Vary. We recognize the need to focus more actively on the Karlovy Vary region, which currently lacks a university of its own, and from where students often commute to Pilsen," said Vice-Rector for External Relations and Communication Jan Váně. Advertising also targets the Karlovy Vary region because UWB already operates in Cheb.

One of the topics addressed by the new UWB leadership in its first year in office was security. The fact that this issue remains relevant is demonstrated by an anonymous threatening email received on March 11, 2024, by six Czech universities, including UWB. Since the attack on the Faculty of Arts at Charles University in December, the police have been mapping individual UWB premises. "For several weeks, we have had gunshot and scream detectors installed on the Bory campus. However, the installation was approved before the tragic incident mentioned. Currently, together with a security consultant, we are considering whether it would be meaningful to place detectors inside some buildings," said Rector Miroslav Lávička.

Contributing to building a sense of security and trust on campus is the newly established position of Ombudsman at UWB, created in January. Both students and staff can turn to him with concerns regarding social security.

Another current topic is the development of UWB infrastructure, including the ongoing reconstruction of the Faculty of Education building. Furthermore, the university is concerned about construction projects planned by the city of Pilsen in the immediate vicinity of the Bory campus. On neighboring land of the Faculty of Applied Sciences, construction of a swimming pool and a multifunctional sports hall is planned, raising questions from scientists about whether the construction activity and increased traffic will affect sensitive equipment in laboratories, thus jeopardizing ongoing and future research. "We are prepared to negotiate with the city on how the campus surroundings should develop to avoid compromising cutting-edge research, from which the city and the region undeniably benefit," said Rector Miroslav Lávička.

UWB had already raised concerns about the impact on the faculty during negotiations on extending the tram line to the campus. However, representatives of the city of Pilsen and UWB eventually found a compromise solution that preserved both functional research activities and the completion of the tram line. "It is important to emphasize that we are not opposing the construction of the municipal swimming pool or sports hall; we simply seek assurance that they will not jeopardize our projects. I believe we will reach an agreement with the city to mutual satisfaction," added Rector Miroslav Lávička. UWB will request a noise study to determine the impact not only of construction activity but also of the operation of the swimming pool and the sports hall in the immediate vicinity of the Faculty of Applied Sciences.

The management of UWB also views positively the recent agreement on the future operation of the Techmania Science Center (TSC), following several months of negotiations between the university, the leadership of the Pilsen Region, and Škoda Transportation. The University of West Bohemia in Plzeň will now become the main strategic partner of TSC. It replaces the Pilsen Region as the founding member. "The university will continue to participate in educational programs that popularize science at Techmania; we remain there in the role of expert supervision," added Rector Miroslav Lávička.