Doc. Zdeněk Horák: Talented students no longer have to leave the region for an engineering degree

Bachelors & bachelors as well as those who have been working in technical fields for a long time, now have aí a unique opportunity to earn a degree in engineering at Highlands. Theá šcollegesá polytechnicá Jihlava has openedá from thisšautumná newý followá masterá studyá program Appliedá technology for industrial practice. Read the interview with the head of the Department of Technicalý VŠPJ and the guarantor of the newé program doc. Ing. Zdeněk Horák, Ph.D., in which I will reveal more about the possibilities offered by the new program.

How would you describe the newý follow-upý Masterý program in Appliedá Technology for Industrial Practice?

Oneá is a professionally orientedý program in which theý two of theá most´ areas are explored. The firstí of these´ areasí is focused on machineryí, industrial automation, robotics and Industry 4.0. The second areaí whichá in comparisoná with the first´ is less represented, is electrical engineering. In addition, the newý masterý program focuses asé on the development of softý skills, such as projecté managementé;, language skills or týmová práce, and on the application of theýscaný knowledge in rámce of professionalé practice. Graduates of the program will find immediateé employmenté in the fieldé of engineeringé andé industrialé industry. This is evidenced by the great demand from companies that are already contacting us with offers of cooperation and would like to select their future employees among our students.

When did the first thoughts of opening this student program at VŠPJ begin?"

When the bacheloráýý degree program in Appliedá&technology for Industrial Practice began to develop, the next&scaroný&logical&step&was&to&allow&students&to&continue&the&study&in&the&followingá&master&program. Since the original idea, whose spiritual fathers were Assoc. Dr. Ing. Jan Voráček, CSc., and prof. Ing. František Zezulka, CSc., from the Department of Technicalý Studies at VŠPJ, led of course a longá and ná year-longá path to realization, during whiché was necessary; posílit staffální staffedá departments and prepare a studyá program, including studyách manuals and distributedách materials.

Theýsequence of these efforts has resulted in a uniqueý úrush in the form of grantingý accreditation for the newý follow-upý masterý course for a period of 10 years, which will make it possible to obtain a degree in engineering in a technical field for the first time in the Highlands. According to Vás, whatáconsequences will this haveánot only for VŠPJ and candidates for study, but also for the region of the Highlands itself?

With theí accreditation granted, giftedí students will not have to leave the´ region for their masterá education and will be able to continue their studies in Vysočina. The ý&scaroní will thus &scaron&ance that they will stay in the region after graduating and there will be no more brain drain to  otherýý regions. In connection with this, I would like to thank the leadership of the Vysočina Region, which has been supporting the college for a long time, both in material and organizational terms. Thanks to thisý support, in the pastý years, we have managed to retrofit ourše laboratories and implement a number of collaborationsý with partnerý companies operatingý in the field of industry in the Highlands.