A discussion on the issue of professional study programmes and their importance took place at the Polytechnic University of Jihlava

On 23 April 2024, a round table discussion on professional study programmes was held at the Jihlava Polytechnic University. Robert Plaga (Chairman of the National Accreditation Office for Higher Education), Václav Velčovský (Senior Director of the International Relations Section of the EU and ESIF of the Ministry of Education), Jan Břížďala (Councillor of the Vysočina Region for Education, Youth and Sport, Information and Communication Technologies), Milan Edl (Vice Dean for External Relations and Development of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen and manager of the regional RIS strategy) and Martin Plachý (representative of the Chamber of Commerce of the Czech Republic). Zdeněk Horák, Rector of the Polytechnic University of Jihlava, participated in the debate. The discussion was moderated by Václav Báča, Vice Rector for Internal, External and International Relations of the VŠPJ.

Discussants unequivocally expressed their support for the development of professional study programmes and emphasised their importance in the framework of tertiary education in the Czech Republic. They dealt with the issues of the definition of vocational study programmes, their specifics and the view of companies and the public on the topic. The participants of the discussion agreed on the need for quality professionals who are educated by vocational study programmes and mentioned the key role that these professionals play in the development of regions. They touched upon the issues of quality assessment, in particular the system of internships in companies, and the need for practitioners who teach in vocational study programmes. The VŠPJ was acknowledged as a university involved in the definition and qualitative development of professional study programmes for a long time.

The Polytechnic University of Jihlava (VŠPJ) was established in 2004 as a non-university public school that implements professional study programmes and focuses on applied education, provides professionally diverse study programmes based on the needs of the regional labour market and supports intensive cooperation with the application sphere and its innovative development. "The discussion and support of professional study programmes by the government and the national accreditation body is crucial for the Jihlava Polytechnic University. We are a vocationally oriented university, which aims to offer quality professional study programmes whose graduates will have not only theoretical knowledge, but also experience and skills acquired through practice, and will be employable not only in the Vysočina Region and the Czech Republic, but also in Europe and the world," said Václav Báča, Vice-Rector for Internal, External and International Relations of the VŠPJ.

The round table on professional study programmes was held as part of the celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the school's foundation. The event was supported by the Vysočina Region, the Statutory City of Jihlava and the Euroregion Dunaj Vltava.