Winner. University of the Year 2022

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Type: Public
Established: 1906

Rector: Prof. Dr. Petr Sklenička
Academic staff: 2500
Students: 18000
Address: Kamýcká 129, 165 00, Prague-Suchdol, Czech Republic
Website: www.czu.cz

The history of the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (acronym CZU) begins in 1906 with the establishment, by decree of the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph I, of a Faculty of Agriculture at the Czech Polytechnics in Prague. Professor Julius Stoklasa, a renowned specialist in soil chemistry, became the first Dean of the Faculty. From its very outset, the Faculty developed its own vital activity, based to a large part on the selflessness of its teachers and students.

WW1 temporarily halted the development of the Faculty, but with the foundation of the Czechoslovak Republic in 1918, the Faculty started to develop in a very dynamic way. Reforms in the sphere of education in the newly founded Czechoslovak Republic led to structural changes in the Czech Polytechnics (renamed Czech Technical University in Prague in 1920). The Faculty of Agriculture was transformed in 1920 into a College of Agriculture and Forest Engineering. It was still part of the Czech Technical University.

During WW2, all the Czech universities were forcibly closed (from 1939 to 1945). After WW2, and after the takeover of the government in Czechoslovakia by the Communist party (in 1948), the mission of the College of Agriculture was to educate agronomists and engineers for state-operated farms. The Department of Forest Engineering was transformed into a Forestry Management Institute (until 1964, it remained part of the Czech Technical University).

In July 1952, the College of Agriculture became a University of Agriculture with 3 Faculties – the Faculty of Agronomy, the Faculty of Mechanization, and the Faculty of Agricultural Economics. The University of Agriculture grew gradually in size during the 1960s. In the academic year 1960 – 1961, a fourth Faculty was established in České Budějovice. In 1964, a modern university campus was built in the township of Suchdol, about five kilometers from Prague.

After the downfall of the Communist regime in 1989 and the establishment of democracy and free market enterprise in Czechoslovakia, the University of Agriculture started a new chapter in its development. The Faculty of Forestry was fully reinstated in 1990 and became part of the university, moving to a new building within the university campus in 1997. Later, in 2006, the Faculty of Forestry was divided into two Faculties – the Faculty of Environmental Sciences and the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences.

After the peaceful separation of the Czechoslovak Republic into the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic (1993), further reforms in the higher education policy of the Czech Republic ensued. On 1 January 1995, based on Act No. 192/1994 Coll., the University of Agriculture was renamed to Czech University of Agriculture Prague. It became a public university, managed and administered by the Rector’s Board, elected every four years by the University Academic Senate, and supervised by a Board of Trustees. Accreditation of all study programs remained within the competence of the Czech Ministry of Education. In 2000, following up on the EU Bologna Declaration, a 3-year bachelor, 2-year master, and 3-4 year doctoral studies system was implemented. As early as 1999 ČZU signed the Socrates Erasmus charter and started to send first the exchange students to partner universities in the EU in the framework of the Socrates Erasmus Life Long Learning Program.

In 2007, the University Academic Senate changed the official English name of the Czech University of Agriculture to the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, thus reflecting the full scope of its future educational and research objectives.

Currently, the university has more than 18 000 students (10% are international students), 6 Faculties, and 1 Institute. CZU offers over 170 accredited study programs at BSc, MSc, and Ph.D. levels (in 9 BSc, 20 MSc, and 18 Ph.D. programs, the language of instruction is English).

The university has 1 700 employees, of which more than 700 are Professors or Associate Professors. Since 2007 the Czech University of Life Sciences has been a member of the Euroleague for Life Sciences.

CZU puts constant efforts into implementing eco-friendly and sustainable programs, eco-friendly policies and change management in the academic community.

On its campus on the outskirts of Prague, CZU boasts many green technologies that mitigate adverse environmental impacts and contribute to a better climate. These include green roofs covered with various plants, including small trees. In most cases, green roofs divert rainwater into retention basins, where the water is reused for watering or flushing toilets. Green roofs cool the surroundings, improve air quality, increase biodiversity, help with water conservation, and protect the roof surface from external influences, thus prolonging their life. Another example is water filtration devices, which save around 10,000 kg of plastic annually.

The campus includes flowery meadows, parks, areas densely covered with trees, "Libosad," beds with edible fruits and herbs, experimental agricultural fields, ponds, wetlands, animal stables, and thousands of ornamental plants. Part of the care of the campus is composting organic waste, which makes up a large proportion of the total waste of CZU. Last year, 165 tons of organic waste were composted on campus. Students and staff can use five different types of composters on campus. In addition, all waste - including metals, toner, and electrical waste - is comprehensively sorted on campus. For example, the CZU woodworking shop uses all its wood waste to produce briquettes or sawdust used in the CZU stables.

CZU supports the circular economy and offers its students more favorable tariffs for using Uniqway carsharing services in cooperation with Škoda Auto. There is also a CZU Free shop at the campus, which accepts functional items that are no longer useful to someone but would otherwise end up as waste and donates them free of charge to new owners who may still be well served. Similarly, the so-called Reuse Points operate in the CZU Library and the dormitories. Reusable thermo- cups for coffee or ReBaskets for food can be purchased in some on-campus restaurants. You can buy many packaging-free drugstore products in the CZU Shop in the canteen and fairtrade and organic products.

The Czech University of Life Sciences regularly encourages students and employees to adopt a sustainable approach. Each year, students and employees can propose a new measure or project to help the university become a more sustainable institution as part of the CZU Campus Sustainability Challenge. Selected projects are implemented with the support of the management. In addition, anyone can make suggestions on sustainability at CZU on the website.

In 2022, CZU ranked 45th in the UI GreenMetric ranking worldwide and repeatedly ranked 1st as the most sustainable university in the Czech Republic.