Tomas Bata University in Zlín

Tomas Bata University in Zlín (TBU) isa top-rated educational and research insti-tution. It is progressive, it is open to peo-ple, places and ideas, and it gives specialimportance to research, development andbusiness liaison. With more than 10,000students it belongs to medium-sized Czechuniversities. The University was constituted as of 1 Jan-uary 2001 after its Establishment Act wassigned by President Václav Havel on 14November 2000. In 2001–2007, Tomas BataUniversity, headed by its first Rector, Prof.Ing. Petr Sáha, CSc., achieved rapid devel-opment during the first years of its existence.Higher education in Zlín has a long tradi-tion. The Faculty of Technology has beenhere since 1969, first as part of VUT Brno.It has educated hundreds of specialists,particularly for the rubber and plastics in-dustries. The University was named after the inge-nious entrepreneur Tomáš Baťa (1876–1932),who initiated the development of the shoe in-dustry in Zlín and won worldwide fame. Hisson, the Canadian entrepreneur Tomáš BaťaJr. (b.1914), heads the University Board ofGovernors. TBU has managed to establish a signifi-cant position in the Zlín Region, not onlyas a provider of the highest level of edu-cation, but also as an institution that con-tributes significantly to the developmentof the region and supports the employ-ment in the region. The University’s next aim is to becomean internationally recognized institution

and rank among the best in the world atleast in a few disciplines. TBU is a bilin-gual university nowadays as English hasbecome equal in value and importance toCzech. Therefore, particular emphasis isplaced on teaching English to both stu-dents and staff. There are more and moredegree programmes held in English. Allforms of international cooperation areintensely supported: student exchanges,lectures, educational stays for teachers,cooperation in R&D projects, etc. To assess the progress in studies, a unifiedcredit system compatible with the ECTSstandard is used for all TBU degree pro-grammes. The ECTS (European CreditTransfer System) was developed by the EUCommission to ensure the compatibilityand agreement in the recognition of qualifi-cations at higher education institutionswithin the European Union. This enablesstudents to spend part of their studies atother higher education institutions, espe-cially those abroad. These study periods arerecognized as regular parts of their studieswhen they return. Apart from their degree certificate, TBUgraduates also receive the Diploma Sup-plement in English, which is recognizedthroughout Europe and which facilitatestheir position in the European labourmarket. In August 2006 TBU was awarded the Di-ploma Supplement Label by the Euro-pean Commission, which raised theUniversity’s prestige and reputationamong European HEI.

Tomas Bata University in Zlín is headed

by Prof. Ing. Ignác Hoza, CSc.

(see picture), appointed to the post

of Rector by President Václav Klaus

on 12 May 2007. The inauguration

ceremony was held on 21 June 2007.

p ro f i l e

The University is located in the regional capital of Zlín, the population

of which is 90,000. The town itself is situated in the South-East of Moravia.

First-time visitors to Zlín admire all the neat green areas in town,

the friendliness and hospitality of local people and particularly

the unique red-brick functionalist architecture. The so-called

“Garden Town” was created in the 1920s and 1930s by Tomáš Bat’a and

his fellow workers, such as the well-known architects,

V. Karfík, F. L. Gahura, J. Kotěra, M. Lorenc and Le Corbusier.

Many of their buildings and housing complexes are now protected by

the National Trust. The most significant of these is the Bata Company

Building No. 21, also known as ‘Bata’s Skyscraper’, which was designed

by the architect Vladimír Karfík.

It is one of the most remarkable works of the Czechoslovak constructivist

architecture.

The entrepreneurial spirit introduced by the founder of the shoemaking

factory at the beginning of the last century revived during the great

business boom in Zlín in the first half of the 1990s. Thanks to numerous

private firms that operate in Zlín and also thanks to the University,

today’s Zlín is a modern and lively town. It is a very nice place to live,

work and enjoy yourself.

The dynamic development of the University contributes to the changes

in the Zlín architecture. In June 2004 TBU opened its new University

Complex in Jižní Svahy, Zlín, which provides representative teaching

spaces for 1,700 students. The facilities and equipment available there

meet European standards.

Currently, a new University Library, which will form part of a complex

called the Congress and University Centre Zlín, has been

under construction. The complex has been designed by a renowned

London-based studio led by a Zlín native, a well-known architect,

Professor Eva Jiřičná. The complex is expected to become an impressive

landmark of Zlín, sensitively incorporated into the original town

architecture.

Bata Company Building No. 21, also known as ‘Bata’s Skyscraper’ (1938) New University Complex in Jižní Svahy, Zlín University Centre, Zlín

(computer visualization)

t own o f Z l ín

Applicants for study at Tomas Bata University in Zlín can choose froma number of degree programmes offering good career prospects. The pro-grammes are studied at five Faculties: the predominantly technically orientedFaculty of Technology (FT), the economically oriented Faculty of Manage-ment and Economics (FaME), the Faculty of Multimedia Communications(FMC), the only one of its kind in the Czech Republic. This Faculty educatesspecialists in the programmes of ‘Marketing and Social Communications’and ‘Multimedia and Design’. The Faculty of Applied Informatics (FAI)provides higher education in the disciplines related to all types of informa-tion technology applications and the Faculty of Humanities (FHS) offersdegree programmes in philology, pedagogy and health care. All the pro-grammes offered are designed to meet the needs of the current labour mar-ket.Another important component of TBU is the University Institute (UNI),particularly its Innovation Centre, which deals with strategic applied re-search projects beneficial for the region.

f acu l t i es and ins t i tu te

Tomas Bata University in Zlín

Tomas Bata University in ZlínFaculty of Technology

Tomas Bata University in ZlínFaculty of Management and Economics

Tomas Bata University in ZlínFaculty of Multimedia Communications

Tomas Bata University in ZlínFaculty of Applied Informatics

Tomas Bata University in ZlínFaculty of Humanities

Tomas Bata University in ZlínUniversity Institute

The TBU International Affairs Department works intensively onexpanding the University’s contacts abroad. Currently, theUniversity has concluded about 130 cooperation agreements. TheInternational Affairs Department also coordinates student andteacher mobility programmes and participates in EU project activ-ities. Most students and teachers travel abroad within theSocrates/Erasmus programme, which enables them to exchangeexperience with their colleagues from over thirty European uni-versities. The interest in educational stays abroad is steadily grow-ing and an effort is made to enable all students to spend at leastpart of their studies abroad. Within their R&D activities, all theFaculties cooperate with a number of institutions and establish-ments all over the world. Their cooperation takes the form of lec-ture stays, participation in international conferences and, aboveall, coordination of R&D projects.

TBU participates in the following programmes:

I Socrates / Erasmus(the biggest EU higher education cooperation programme)

I 5th and 6th EU Framework Programmes(framework programmes for research and technological development)

I CEEPUS(university exchange programme for Central Europe)

I Leonardo da Vinci(European programme for the support of the quality of, innovation in and Europeandimension of vocational education)

Since 2002 TBU has been a member of the European UniversityAssociation (EUA), which associates over 600 universities from45 European countries. The membership enables the Universityto take part in all the significant EUA activities supportinghigher education in Europe, and thus to present itself to the en-tire academic community in Europe.

i n te rna t iona l coopera t ion

I Armenian State University of Economics, Yerevan, Armenia

I State Engineering University of Armenia, Yerevan, Armenia

I Yerevan State University, Armenia

I Trent University, Canada

I East China University of Science and Technology,

Shanghai, China

I Shandong University, China

I Sichuan University, China

I South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China

I Groupe Ecole Superieure de Commerce de Troyes, France

I Institut National des Science Appliquees de Lyon, France

I l’Universite d’Evry Val d’Essonne, France

I University of the Gambia, Serrekunda, Gambia

I Huddersfield University Business School, Great Britain

I University of Genoa, Italy

I University of Palermo, Italy

I University of Salerno, Italy

I Portobello College Dublin, Ireland

I Mongolian University of Science and Technology,

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

I Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands

I Kwidzyn School of Management, Poland

I University of Rzeszow, Poland

I University of Bacau, Romania

I University of Craiova, Romania

I Gorno Altaisk State University, Russia

I Russian State University of Commerce and Economics,

Omsk, Russia

I Pedagogical State University, Biysk, Russia

I Saint-Petersburg State University, Russia

I Samara State Pedagogical University, Russia

I Russian State University of Commerce and Economics,

Omsk, Russia

I Tomsk Polytechnic University, Russia

I Tuymen Research Centre, Russia

I Alexander Dubček University in Trenčín, Slovakia

I Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Slovakia

I Technical University in Zvolen, Slovakia

I University of Žilina, Slovakia

I University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

I Soonchunhyang University, Asan, South Korea

I National Dong Hwa University, Taiwan

I Horlivka State Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages,

Ukraine

I Hanoi University of Technology, Vietnam

I Hochiminh City University of Pedagogy, Vietnam

I University of Economics, Hochiminh City, Vietnam

I University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Hanoi, Vietnam

par tner un ive rs i t i es

research & deve lopment ac t i v i t i es

TBU considers science, research, development and other creative and artistic activities an integral part of itsmission and the basis of its educational activities.

Research and development at TBU is focused on basic and applied research. TBU offers its scientific researchfindings for the use in industry and institutions. It also offers cooperation to firms and institutions when deal-ing with particular tasks. The University organizes professional training courses, provides work experienceopportunities for its students and deals with practical problems within Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral thesesas well as within contract research.

For further development of its R&D activities TBU has set the following priorities:

I to achieve higher productivity in R&D activities

I to support research activities within Doctoral degree programmes

I to support international scientific cooperation

I to recruit foreign researchers to R&D teams

I to intensify cooperation with higher education institutions, the Institutes of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, and other scientific, research and artistic institutions,including short-term and medium-term student and staff exchanges

I to create centres for applied and industrial research

I to support business liaison

I to improve working and social conditions for research staff and doctoral students

R&D activities are organized by TBU Faculties and are carried out within research and grant projects of theGrant Agency of the Czech Republic and the Grant Agency of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic,within projects launched by the relevant ministries of the Czech Republic, and within EU funds. TBU alsocollaborates with a number of leading research establishments both in the Czech Republic and abroad as wellas with numerous enterprises and other institutions.

R&D activities at the Faculty of Technology are primarily focused on polymers and their modification, foodstuffs,their properties and packaging technologies, environmental issues, material engineering, healthy footwear andfootwear hygiene. The Faculty has achieved significant results in polymer rheology, the enzymatic hydrolysis ofleather waste, the production of prophylactic footwear and research into historical footwear. The Polymer Centre, which is a component part of the Faculty of Technology, focuses on research into polymers, par-ticularly their production and processing. Outcomes of the research are implemented especially in the rubber, plas-tics, automobile and textile industries, in health care, agriculture and the production of packaging materials.

The Faculty of Management and Economics concentrates on forming the industrial policy of the region andpreparing methodological materials aimed to help firms modernize enterprise processes and so increase theircompetitive strength. It mainly deals with management systems, marketing research, enterprise productivity andeconomics, human resources management, logistic systems and enterprise information systems. It also creates thebackground for the development of cluster initiatives in the region. Economic research is carried out in closecooperation with enterprises and other regional institutions. To support scientific research and to intensify businessliaison the Centre for Applied Economic Research has been established. It specializes in research into competi-tiveness, knowledge management, the management and measurement of enterprise and cluster productivity, andthe use of benchmarking in organization management.

The Faculty of Multimedia Communications focuses its activities on practical design, visual arts, advertising pho-tography and graphics, animation and audiovisual arts, and research into marketing and intercultural communica-tions. The Faculty collaborates with a number of firms and other institutions – it participates in the creation of ad-vertising materials, co-organizes promotional events, fashion shows and exhibitions, and carries out extensivemarketing research relating to both commercial and non-commercial spheres.

The Faculty of Applied Informatics concentrates its research work on modern methods of automatic control theory,monitoring and control of technological processes, measurement technology, artificial intelligence methods,information technologies, software engineering, mathematical modelling of technological processes in view oftheir automatic control, and dealing with automatic control in CHP.

The Faculty of Humanities undertakes research into selected fields of humanities, particularly special pedagogy,medical sciences and foreign languages. It also participates in numerous grant-funded projects and collaborateswith the other TBU Faculties and Czech universities on research projects. Educational and research activitiesof the Faculty are aimed at the Zlín Region as well.

The TBU Innovation Centre aims to support research, development and innovation activities. It also focuses on pro-ject preparation and management as well as the coordination of activities leading to the establishment and opera-tion of the scientific and technical park. Applied and industrial research conducted in the Centre is primarily con-centrated on the development of medical materials and food supplements.

information background

accommodation

catering

central library

The University has always paid considerable attention to the development of informa-tion and communication technologies. The Information Technologies Centre is respon-sible for this area. All areas and buildings of the University as well as the Halls of Resi-dence are equipped with structured network cabling. All the areas and buildings areinterconnected via the optical backbone network with the connection speed of 1 Gbit/s.In the selected spaces in five buildings used for teaching wireless connection is availablethrough 35 access points of the WiFi network. There are about 1,720 computers con-nected to the University computer network in the buildings used for teaching. Over 600of these can be found in computer laboratories and Internet study rooms. The Univer-sity Halls of Residence offer 758 access points. In addition to that, students have threecomputer laboratories at their disposal at the Halls of Residence.

Commuting students are provided with accommodation in the University Halls of Res-idence in double and triple rooms. The total sleeping capacity is 1,050. The quality ofaccommodation available is very good. When necessary, the management of the Hallsof Residence and Refectory provides accommodation in external facilities in Zlín.Every year the capacity of the accommodation facilities increases and large sums ofmoney are invested in the modernization of these facilities.

Students take their meals at the Refectory in Štefánikova Street. It was built in 2001 andit is a facility that delivers a very high standard of the meals prepared. Its equipment isalso above standard. Advanced cooking and serving technologies are used and 2,500 hotmeals are made every day. The facility meets the European Union standards relating tocatering hygiene. Since the beginning of the academic year 2004/2005, another Refec-tory has been providing catering services at the University complex in Jižní Svahy, Zlín.

The Central Library stocks books, professional journals, the daily press, CDs, audio tapes,videotapes, theses and dissertations, as well as electronic information resources (electronicjournals, bibliographical databases, etc.) The Library is equipped with 94 computers,86 of which have Internet access. There are 110 seats for library users in the Library, itsstudy rooms and reading room. The Central Library also runs three campus site studyrooms (in the buildings in Mostní Street and Jižní Svahy) with networked computerswith Internet access. Owing to increasing student numbers and the development of degree programmesheld at Tomas Bata University in Zlín, the capacity of the present Central Library hasbecome insufficient. That is why the University is currently building a new UniversityCentre, the major component part of which will be a new University Library of a higherstandard. This facility is expected to provide information services using the latest tech-nology. The interior of the Library has been designed to serve both technical and edu-cational purposes. It can be used as large-capacity study space. Areas for quiet studywill be equipped with computer technology and they will represent up to 80% of thetotal study capacity. The Library will be open to professionals as well as the public.

spor ts and cu l tu ra l even ts

Sports and modern lifestyle promotion forman indispensable part of the University life.The TBU Department of Physical Training or-ganizes a whole range of compulsory sportsactivities for all students: aerobics, basketball,climbing, fitball, floorball, indoor football,medical physical education, skiing, spinning,swimming, squash, taekwon-do and volley-ball. The University organizes numeroussports and social events throughout the year:hiking trips, swimming relays, aerobics compe-titions, indoor football marathons, basketball,ice-hockey and tennis tournaments, etc. TheUniversity teams regularly take part in regio-nal and national competitions. The Depart-ment of Physical Training supports studentsand their everyday sports activities carried outin their free time. Therefore, there are fitnessrooms and a swimming pool available to theUniversity students during the semester as wellas in the examination period.

The TBU Congress Centre, usually knownas the Academia Centre, provides full con-ference services with the latest in audio-vi-sual technology available. There are an as-sembly hall that seats 450 people, a lecturehall that seats 80 people, some exhibitionand presentation areas, and a lounge thatseats 25 people. The University is one of the co-organizers ofthe Zlín International Film Festival for Chil-dren and Youth, which attracts film fans fromthe whole country and from abroad every year. Throughout the academic year, TBU studentsorganize a number of cultural events both forthemselves and for the public (e.g. Rag Day,Miss Academia, University Ball, Film Festival,Literary May). They also organize club pro-grammes, student film showings, studentwork exhibitions, etc. The University pub-lishes its own magazine “Universalia”, whichinforms about the events at TBU.

academia cen t re

Tomas Bata University in Zl ín

Mostní 5139

760 01 Z l ín

Czech Republ ic

www.utb .cz

te l . : +420 576 03 1 1 1 1

fax : +420 576 032 121

e-mai l : kanc ler@utb .cz Pu

blish

ed

by T

om

as

Ba

ta U

niv

ers

ity i

n Z

lín

in

20

07

Gra

ph

ics:

Vla

dim

ír K

ova

řík,

MA

Itr

an

sla

tio

n:

Mg

r. H

an

a K

on

valin

ko

vá,

Mg

r. J

an

a T

om

an

ová

Ip

ho

to:

Da

lib

or

Glü

ck,

Lib

or

Sta

vja

ník

, Ja

n J

elín

ek,

Bc.

Lu

bo

mír

An

čin

ec

Ip

rep

ress

: C

om

tech

, s.

r.o

. I

pri

nte

d b

y:

Ha

rt p

ress

Otr

oko

vice

, s.

r.o

. I

SB

N:

80

-73

18-3

71-

4