Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU) () is one of the largest

universities A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

in the Czech Republic with 8 faculties, and is one of the oldest institutes of technology in

Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...

. 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 Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...

(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), i.e. a school independent of the University of Prague. This was a Europe-wide trend in the early 19th century, as polytechnical universities were established following the model of the French

École Polytechnique (, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...

. After the disintegration of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

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

Origins (18th century)

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 tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

ship in Central Europe (formally as part of University of Prague). 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 title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

s, four

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

s, 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 Willenberg was Johann Ferdinand Schor, builder of hydraulic structures in the basin of the

Vltava The Vltava ( , ; ) is the longest river in the Czech Republic, a left tributary of the Elbe River. It runs southeast along the Bohemian Forest and then north across Bohemia, through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice, and Prague. It is com ...

and author of textbooks used at the school of mathematics. He began under Willenberg's leadership by teaching

optics Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of optical instruments, instruments that use or Photodetector, detect it. Optics usually describes t ...

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 in p ...

technical drawing Technical drawing, drafting or drawing, is the act and discipline of composing drawings that visually communicate how something functions or is constructed. Technical drawing is essential for communicating ideas in industry and engineering. ...

and

geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

. The third was professor

František Antonín Herget František () is a masculine Czech name, Czech and Slovak name, Slovak given name. It is a cognate of Francis (given name), Francis, Francisco, François and Franz (given name), Franz. It can be also surname (feminine: Františková). Notable peopl ...

, who mainly focused on

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

, particularly construction. In September 1776,

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position suo jure, in her own right. She was the ...

allowed Herget to use the

Clementinum The Clementinum () is a historic complex of buildings in Prague which houses the National Library of the Czech Republic. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries; the City Library was also nearby on M ...

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 (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor F ...

and merged with the University of Prague.

Growth and ethnic split (19th century)

In 1815, the institution became independent again as the Royal Bohemian Estate Technical Institute in Prague (CS: Královské české stavovské technické učiliště v Praze, DE: Königliche böhmische ständische technische Lehranstalt zu Prag). The institute grew and changed its name several times during the 19th century. The biggest change was the split into Czech (Český polytechnický ústav království Českého) and German-speaking (Deutsches polytechnisches Institut) universities in 1869, caused by the rising ethnic tensions during the

Czech National Revival The Czech National Revival was a cultural movement which took place in the Czech lands during the 18th and 19th centuries. The purpose of this movement was to revive the Czech Czech language, language, culture and national identity. The most pro ...

Closures and renewal (20th century)

During the

Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was frequen ...

, CTU was closed, along with all other Czech universities, on 17 November 1939 due to protests by Czech students. The German Technical University was not closed as it was managed directly by the

Third Reich Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

. The German University was closed by Czechoslovak President

Beneš Beneš (feminine: Benešová) is a Czech surname. The name originated as a pet form of the given names Benedict (given name), Benedikt and Benjamin (name), Benjamin. The Germanization, Germanized form is Benesch and the Anglicized form is Benesh. No ...

's decree in 1945 in the context of the expulsion of German speakers from Czechoslovakia. The Czech Technical University was reopened and is currently the sole successor of the institution's long and turbulent history.

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 The ''QS World University Rankings'' is a portfolio of comparative college and university rankings compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education analytics firm. Its first and earliest edition was published in collaboration with '' Times ...

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.

University student teams

During their studies, students are encouraged to join one of many student teams within the university to gain real-life experience and work in teams on projects.

eForce Formula

Team based at Faculty of Electrical Engineering building a fully electric formula racing car to compete at international competitions.

CTU Robotics

Robotic team established by students of mechanical engineering designing and building a fully autonomous space rover vehicle and drones. Aiming to prestigious international competition

European Rover Challenge European Rover Challenge (ERC, ERC Space & Robotics) is an annual Rover (space exploration), Martian robot competition held in Poland. It began in 2014 at the ''Regional Science and Technology Centre'' in Chęciny, and until 2023 has been held in J ...

which annually takes place in Poland.

CTU Space Research

CTU Space Research is ambitious student team. Their goal is to design and launch space rockets and stratospheric balloons. They compete in the European Rocketry Challenge (EuRoC) in Portugal.

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 university, national Public university, public research university in Singapore. It was officially established in 1980 by the merging of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University ...

Nanyang Technological University Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is a public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1981, it is also the second oldest autonomous university in the country. The university is organised across numerous colleges and schools, includi ...

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

Korea Institute of Science and Technology The Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST; ) is a multi-disciplinary research institute located in Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 1966, it was the first multi-disciplinary scientific research institute in Korea and has contributed si ...

(KAIST),

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) is a public research university in Sai Kung District, New Territories, Hong Kong. Founded in 1991, it was the territory's third institution to be granted university status, and the firs ...

Technical University of Munich The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; ) is a public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences. Established in 1868 by King Ludwig II ...

Delft University of Technology The Delft University of Technology (TU Delft; ) is the oldest and largest Dutch public university, public Institute of technology, technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands. It specializes in engineering, technology, computing, design, a ...

KU Leuven KU Leuven (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. Founded in 1425, it is the oldest university in Belgium and the oldest university in the Low Countries. In addition to its mai ...

or Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile. 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, Chile, 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 Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...

and Leonardo.

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 Erasmus Student Network (ESN), which organizes Buddy Programme and extra-curricular activities.

Dual diploma

CTU has currently 21 agreements with universities such as

RWTH Aachen RWTH Aachen University (), in German ''Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen'', is a German public research university located in Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With more than 47,000 students enrolled in 144 study prog ...

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

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 or student union, 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, organizatio ...

. 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

* Gaston Banda-Bafiot, Central African engineer, diplomat, and politician *

František Běhounek František Běhounek (; 27 October 1898 Prague – 1 January 1973 Karlovy Vary) was a Czech scientist (radiologist), explorer and writer. The asteroid 3278 Běhounek is named after him. Biography Běhounek studied physics and mathematics at Cha ...

, radiologist * Christian Doppler, mathematician and physicist *

Ivan Puluj Ivan Pavlovych Puluj (, ; ; 2 February 1845 – 31 January 1918) was a Ukrainian physicist and inventor known for his early research into X-rays. His contributions were largely neglected until the end of the 20th century. Biography Son of Pavlo ...

, physicist and one of the founders of medical radiology *

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

, architect *

Vladimír Fischer Vladimír Fischer (4 June 1870 – 28 October 1947) was a Czechs, Czech architect, professor and university administrator. He was a major figure in the development of modern architecture in the new state of Czechoslovakia after World War I and tr ...

, architect * Josef Gerstner, physicist and engineer *

Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and dissident. Havel served as the last List of presidents of Czechoslovakia, president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until 1992, prior to the dissol ...

, 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 né ...

, 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'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 Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a populati ...

-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 Масарика, 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'') from ...

, architect * Karel Jonáš, who became

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

, Czech-American publisher, legislator and

Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin The lieutenant governor of Wisconsin is the first person in the Gubernatorial lines of succession in the United States#Wisconsin, line of succession of Wisconsin's executive branch, thus serving as governor in the event of the death, resignation, ...

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 (; 8 July 1847 – 22 January 1941) was a Czech inventor, electrical engineer and entrepreneur. Biography Křižík was born on 8 July 1847 in a poor family in Plánice. His father, a shoemaker, died early. When he was 12 ...

, 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 Seznam, ''list'' in Czech) 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 search engine and an internet ...

* Jan Hird Pokorný, architect *

Vladimir Prelog Vladimir Prelog (23 July 1906 – 7 January 1998) was a Croatian-Swiss organic chemist who received the 1975 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his research into the stereochemistry of organic molecules and reactions. Prelog was born, and spent his ...

, chemist and Nobel Prize winner * Richard Rychtarik, set designer *

Marie Schneiderová-Zubaníková Marie Schneiderová-Zubaníková (14 March 1900 – 11 September 1966) was a Czech civil engineer and architect. She was the first woman to qualify as a civil engineer in Czechoslovakia. Early life and education Marie Zubaníková was born on ...

first female Czech civil engineering graduate (in 1923) *

Alena Šolcová Alena Šolcová (born 26 March 1950) is a Czech mathematician and science historian. She is the founder of the Kepler Museum, an astronomy museum in Prague. Life and work Between 1968 and 1973, Šolcová studied mathematics at the Faculty of Ma ...

, mathematician, historian * Vladimír Teyssler, engineer and author *

Emil Votoček Emil Votoček (5 October 1872 – 11 October 1950) was a Czech chemist, composer and music theorist. He is noted for his chemistry textbooks and multilingual dictionaries in both chemistry and music. Chemistry career Votoček studied at the ...

, chemist * Emil Weyr, mathematician *

Josef Zítek Josef von Zítek (4 April 1832 – 9 September 1909) was a Czech architect best known for two Neo-Renaissance landmarks in Prague, the National Theatre and the Rudolfinum. Life and work Zítek's father died of cholera shortly before he was b ...

, architect and engineer

Gallery

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 () 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 Jan Hus. The chapel is named for ...

– 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

Notes and references

Top Industrial Managers for Europe Top International Managers in Engineering (T.I.M.E.), formerly Top Industrial Managers for Europe, is a network of fifty-seven engineering schools, faculties and technical universities. The oldest European network of engineering schools in its ...

(TIME) network for student mobility. {{DEFAULTSORT:Czech Technical University In Prague Universities in the Czech Republic Technical universities and colleges Educational institutions in Prague 1707 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1707 establishments in the Habsburg monarchy 18th-century establishments in Bohemia Educational institutions established in 1707 Universities and colleges established in the 18th century Engineering universities and colleges in the Czech Republic