Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU, cs, České vysoké učení technické v Praze, ČVUT) is one of the largest universities in the Czech Republic with 8 faculties, and is one of the oldest institutes of technology in

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the ar ...

. It is also the oldest non-military technical university in Europe. In the academic year 2020/21, Czech Technical University offered 130 degree programs in Czech and 84 in English. It was considered one of the top 10 universities in emerging Europe and Central Asia in the same year.

History

It was established as the Institute of Engineering Education in 1707, but as a secondary education (high school) instead of a tertiary university, by Emperor Joseph I as a response to Christian Josef Willenberg's petition addressed to preceding emperor Leopold I. In 1806, the institute of Engineering Education was transformed into Prague Polytechnical Institute (or Prague Polytechnic), when the university studies began. After the disintegration of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise o ...

, the name of the school was changed in 1920 to the Czech Technical University in Prague.

Origins

In 1705, asked Emperor Leopold I for permission to teach "the art of engineering". Later, the emperor's only son, who succeeded him on the throne in 1707 as

Joseph I Joseph I or Josef I may refer to: * Joseph I of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch in 1266–1275 and 1282–1283 *Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (1678–1711) * Joseph I (Chaldean Patriarch) (reigned 1681–1696) *Joseph I of Portugal (1750–1777 ...

, ordered the Czech state of Prague to provide engineering education. For various reasons, the request was not implemented for some time. However, in October 1716, Willenberg repeated the request. Finally, on 9 November 1717, a decree by the Czech state granted Willenberg the first engineering

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

ship in Central Europe. On 7 January 1718, he began teaching. Initially, Willenberg started teaching only 12 students in his own apartment (six

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knigh ...

s, four knights, and two burghers), but gradually students proliferated (in 1779, there were around 200) and they started studying in more suitable premises. Initially, the training focused mainly on the military. Teaching in the first year lasted one hour per day; in the second year, almost two. The successor of Prof. Willenberg was Johann Ferdinand Schor, builder of hydraulic structures in the basin of the Vltava and author of textbooks used at the school of mathematics. He began under Willenberg's leadership by teaching optics,

perspectivity In geometry and in its applications to drawing, a perspectivity is the formation of an image in a picture plane of a scene viewed from a fixed point. Graphics The science of graphical perspective uses perspectivities to make realistic images ...

, technical drawing and geography. The third was professor

František Antonín Herget František () is a masculine given name of Czech origin. It is a cognate of Francis, Francisco, François, and Franz. People with the name include: *Frank Daniel (František Daniel) (1926–1996), Czech film director, producer, and screenwriter * ...

, who mainly focused on civil engineering, particularly construction. In September 1776, Maria Theresa allowed Herget to use the

Clementinum The Clementinum (''Klementinum'' in Czech) is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries; the City Library was also nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. In 2009, the ...

building; in 1786, the school moved to the new and better building. In 1787, the School of Engineering was established at the decree of Emperor

Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...

Academic profile

Rankings

The CTU is the best technical university in the Czech Republic. In 2010, in the world rating of THES-QS universities in the category of technical sciences, the CTU took the 121st place, in the category of natural sciences – 246th place. In 2018, Czech Technical University was ranked as 220th in Engineering and Technology in the QS World University Rankings.

Admissions

Students apply to faculty. Each faculty has different admissions requirements. Acceptance rate ranges from 52.32% ( Faculty of Information Technology) to 81.51% (Faculty of Transportation Sciences). The percentage of international students grew from 2.5% in 2000 to 16.4% in 2017.

Graduation rate

Due to the pace and difficulty of CTU coursework, high percentage of students fail to complete first year of their studies. First year failure rates range from 23% (Faculty of Civil Engineering) to 47% (Faculty of Information Technology). Overall, only 48% of enrolled undergraduate students end up graduating.

International cooperation

Study and work abroad

CTU has international agreements with 484 foreign universities. Many of them are ranked in the first hundred in QS World University Rankings such as

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in the c ...

, Nanyang Technological University,

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and mon ...

, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Technical University of Munich, Delft University of Technology or KU Leuven. CTU has many bilateral agreements with universities outside of Europe. The most sought after universities are from Canada, Australia, Singapore, United States and Japan. That said, every year many students choose to study in attractive destinations such as Argentina, Brazil, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, South Africa, South Korea, Costa Rica, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Russia or Taiwan. CTU also participates in the European programmes Erasmus and

Leonardo Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard. People Notable people with the name include: * Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), Italian Renaissance scientist ...

International students

CTU has currently over 3500 international students from 117 countries. About 750 of them are an exchange students. One of the organizations that takes care of international students is International Student Club (ISC), which organizes Buddy Programme and extra-curricular activities.

Dual diploma

CTU has currently 21 agreements with universities such as Technical University of Munich, RWTH Aachen or Trinity College Dublin.

Constituent parts

CTU has 8 faculties. The oldest one (Faculty of Civil Engineering) was founded in 1707, while the youngest and most selective faculty ( Faculty of Information Technology) was founded in 2009. The university also has 5 university institutes, such as Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics, Klokner Institute, Institute of Physical Education and Sport, University Centre for Energy Efficient Buildings and Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics. Other constituent parts include Computing and Information Centre, Technology and Innovation Centre, The Research Centre for Industrial Heritage, Centre for Radiochemistry and Radiation Chemistry, Division of Construction and Investment an
Central Library
The university also has a Publishing House and service facilities. Student clubs within the CTU are integrated in the

Student Union A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social ...

. It has 27 members and covers a wide range of free time activities, with the biggest club being Silicon Hill. The Student Union also organizes social events for students throughout the year.

Notable alumni

* František Běhounek, radiologist *

Christian Doppler Christian Andreas Doppler ( (); 29 November 1803 – 17 March 1853) was an Austrian mathematician and physicist. He is celebrated for his principle – known as the Doppler effect – that the observed frequency of a wave depends on the relative ...

, mathematician and physicist * Ivan Puluj, physicist and one of the founders of medical radiology *

Antonín Engel Antonín Engel (May 4, 1879 – October 12, 1958) was a Czech architect, urban planner and architectural theorist. His most known works are the Prague Waterworks building in Podolí, the Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Defense buildings an ...

, architect * Josef Gerstner, physicist and engineer * Václav Havel, statesman, writer and former dissident, who served as the last President of Czechoslovakia *

Josef Hlávka Josef Hlávka (15 February 183111 March 1908) was a Czech architect, builder, philanthropist and founder of the oldest Czech foundation for sciences and arts. Biography He was the second-born son of Mayor Antonín Hlávka and his wife, Anna née ...

, architect, main founder of Academy of Science, patron * Otakar Husák, CTU graduate, chemist, General, Czechoslovak Legionnaire in Russia and France, fighter from Zborov and Terron, Chairman of President

Masaryk Masaryk is a Czech surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alice Masaryk (1879–1966), Czech sociologist and one of the founding members of the Czechoslovak Red Cross, the daughter of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk * Charlotte Garrigue Ma ...

's Military Office, Minister of Defence, First Director of the Explosia Semtín factory, prisoner of concentration camps Dachau and Buchenwald, Director of the Synthesia Semtín (1945–1948), political prisoner (Prague

Nusle Nusle () is a district of Prague. It became part of the city in 1922. Location Part of Nusle is in Prague 2 while most is in Prague 4. Nusle is located south of the city centre in ''Nuselské údolí'' (Nusle Valley) on the Botič brook. It b ...

-Pankrác, Mírov 1950–1956) (CS) PRECLÍK Vratislav. Masaryk a legie (Masaryk and Legions, Масарик и Легии), Ваз. Книга, váz. kniha, 219 p., vydalo nakladatelství Paris Karviná, Žižkova 2379 (734 01 Karviná, CZ) ve spolupráci s Masarykovým demokratickým hnutím (изданная издательством «Пари Карвина», «Зишкова 2379» 734 01 Карвин, в сотрудничестве с демократическим движением Масаpика, Прага), 2019, , pp. 16 – 70, 150-157 *

Eva Jiřičná Eva Jiřičná (born 3 March 1939) is a Czech architect and designer, active in London and Prague. She is the founder of the architectural atelier ''Eva Jiricna Architects'', operating in Britain (at first as ''Jiřičná Kerr Associates'') fro ...

, architect * Karel Jonáš, who became

Charles Jonas (Wisconsin politician) Charles Jonas (born Karel Jonáš, October 24, 1840January 15, 1896) was a Czech American immigrant, journalist, linguist, and political activist. He was the 16th lieutenant governor of Wisconsin and served in the Wisconsin Legislature, represen ...

, Czech-American publisher, legislator and Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin *

George Klir George Jiří Klir (April 22, 1932 – May 27, 2016) was a Czech-American computer scientist and professor of systems sciences at Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York. Biography George Klir was born in 1932 in Prague, Czechoslovakia. ...

, computer and systems scientist * Karl Kořistka, geographer and technologist *

František Křižík František Křižík (; July 8, 1847 – January 22, 1941) was a Czech inventor, electrical engineer, and entrepreneur. Biography Křižík was born into a family in Plánice. In spite of his background, Křižík managed in 1866 to study engin ...

, inventor, electrical engineer and entrepreneur *

Ivo Lukačovič Ivo Lukačovič (born February 7, 1974, in Prague) is a Czech entrepreneur, founder and chairman of Seznam.cz, an Internet portal in the Czech Republic. According to '' Forbes'' magazine he is the 11th richest person in the Czech Republic with a ...

, entrepreneur, founder and chairman of

Seznam.cz Seznam.cz (or just ''Seznam'', which means ''list'' in English) is a web portal and search engine in the Czech Republic. Founded in 1996 by Ivo Lukačovič in Prague as the first web portal in the Czech Republic. Seznam started with a sear ...

* Vladimir Prelog, chemist and Nobel Prize winner * Richard Rychtarik, set designer * Marie Schneiderová-Zubaníková first female Czech civil engineering graduate (in 1923) * Emil Votoček, chemist * Emil Weyr, mathematician *

Josef Zítek Josef von Zítek (18321909) was a Czech architect best known for two Neo-Renaissance landmarks in Prague, the National Theatre and the Rudolfinum. Image:Rectorate CTU in Prague.jpg, The CTU Rectorate Image:CzechTech Univ Campus, Prague Dejvice.jpg, Dejvice campus Image:CVUT Karlovo namesti.jpg, Karlovo Náměstí campus Image:Academic_ceremony_Bethemel_chapel_Prague.jpg,

Bethlehem Chapel The Bethlehem Chapel ('' cs, Betlémská kaple, link=no'') is a medieval religious building in the Old Town of Prague, Czech Republic, notable for its connection with the origins of the Bohemian Reformation, especially with the Czech reformer ...

– The CTU's ceremonial hall Image:CTU_Dejvice_campus.jpg, Dejvice campus - Library, FA, FIT Image:National_Technical_Library.jpg, Interior of National Technical Library