UniverZ: What concerns students at UWB, and can the university help them in any way? We asked

Food, finances, and transportation. Student life doesn’t bring only joys, but also huge expenses. Student representative Ondřej Bohatý and the rector of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Miroslav Lávička, discussed these issues in our podcast as they looked for possible solutions.

Rektor ZČU: Parkování v centru Plzně univerzita nevyřeší, v kampusu chce ale zřídit víceúrovňové parkoviště.

Dining in the university canteen, the need to work while studying, and even parking difficulties. Students at UWB in Pilsen have their own challenges. However, the university leadership is trying to accommodate them as much as possible. How exactly? That was also discussed in the new episode of the UniverZ podcast. This time, the studio hosted the rector of the University of West Bohemia, Miroslav Lávička, and the chair of the Student Chamber of the Academic Senate of UWB, Ondřej Bohatý.

“Students are generally satisfied - when a problem arises, the university tries to address it,” says Bohatý. At the same time, however, he admits that life at UWB also brings certain difficulties. In an interview for the university podcast, he raised several issues that concern students. For example, they would like a wider selection of meals in the canteen, affordable prices, and more environmentally friendly operations. They are also troubled by a lack of parking spaces. “Not all locations are accessible within a reasonable time frame by public transport. Students from some towns, therefore, have to commute by car,” Bohatý complains.

According to Rector Miroslav Lávička, some solutions are already being prepared: “What we can offer to improve the efficiency of the existing parking facilities slightly. For instance, if we look at the parking lot in front of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, there should be some information and a regulatory system in place. Another solution could be a multi-level parking structure.”

The government’s decision to end targeted subsidies for university catering has also raised concerns among students at the University of West Bohemia. However, according to the rector, there is no need to worry for now: “This year, it must not result in higher food prices for students. We will have to draw on internal resources. At UWB, we will cover it somehow so that our students are not affected.”

You can listen to the full interview on Spotify or YouTube.