The Institute of Art and Design in Plzeň has become a faculty

Plzeň - The University of West Bohemia in Pilsen (ZČU) has its ninth faculty, which was established on September 1 from the Institute of Art and Design. The Faculty of Art and Design, which has over 500 students, is currently working on assembling its senate, which will then announce the date for the election of the dean. ZČU rector Ilona Mauritzová stated this to ČTK today. The faculty also obtained accreditation for all programs previously offered by the institute, with a focus primarily on design and applied arts.
    "In June, we defended the project for the establishment of the faculty before the accreditation committee, and subsequently, its establishment was approved by the academic senate of ZČU. Then followed further steps, among others, we had to apply for a change in the university's statutes, which was registered effective from September 1, 2013," the rector said.
    According to Mauritzová, the transformation has advantages, for example, the faculty can decide many things on its own. "For instance, all conditions for admitting students to the first year had to be approved by the so-called larger senate, which is no longer necessary," she added.
    At the helm of the faculty, which is viewed as a young and modern institution dealing with new media, art, and design, a dean will be appointed, whose name is expected to be known by the beginning of November. Temporarily, the institution is led by former institute director Josef Mištera, who founded it in Pilsen and led it throughout. He also brought recognized educators to Pilsen.
    The Institute of Art and Design was established in 2002 as a precursor to the faculty of arts, and since then its prestige has increased. Last year, it successfully completed a building in the university campus in Borská Pole, which offers 6000 square meters of studios, workshops, computer labs, offices, and storage. It also has an outdoor studio.
    The new faculty has about 400 undergraduate students and over 100 students in follow-up master's studies. Another approximately 160 people attend lifelong learning courses. The school employs five professors, ten associate professors, over 30 assistant professors, about 20 technical and administrative staff in various positions, and 30 external collaborators.
    The main focus is on design and applied arts, with a principle not to duplicate fields within the Czech Republic. The institution emphasizes intensive inter-institutional and inter-faculty cooperation and tries to involve specific companies and clients in the teaching. An example is the electric motorcycle presented on Wednesday, whose design was developed by students from the art faculty.
    According to Mauritzová, the offerings at ZČU now cover the demand that the Ústí nad Labem and neighboring Karlovy Vary regions have for graduates in various fields.