The newly accredited programmes concern the teaching of general education subjects: mathematics, physics and chemistry at the Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering (FNSPE), as well as the teaching of professional subjects: electrical and cybernetic subjects at Faculty of Electrical Engineering (FEE), computer science at Faculty of Information Technology (FIT), construction subjects at Faculty of Civil Engineering (FCE) and engineering subjects at Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (FME). The Master's degree in Teacher Education will build on previous Bachelor's degree studies in the same or similar study programmes at CTU or other universities. With the approval of the new programmes, the EU-supported National Renewal Plan project, which aimed to address the persistent shortage of quality and qualified teachers in the relevant fields in secondary schools, has been successfully completed.
"The preparation of these programmes was based on the strategic plan of CTU, which is looking for ways to attract young people and lead them to study engineering and science. We all know that only a good teacher can shape the interest of pupils and students and influence their career paths. The fact that the students of these teacher training programmes will be closely connected with specific faculties brings a great perspective that the graduates - secondary school teachers - will be in touch with the latest scientific discoveries and technological trends that they may encounter at CTU and will be able to translate them into teaching in the future," emphasises doc. RNDr. Vojtěch Petráček, CSc., Rector of CTU in Prague.
The individual faculties, following the students' previous professional bachelor's studies, develop the professional profile of future teachers and also concentrate on didactics, which must be closely linked to the development of the field. The pedagogical and general didactic part of the training is provided by the Masaryk Institute of Advanced Studies (MIAS), which has a long tradition in the field of "engineering pedagogy". It focuses in particular on the development of teaching competences corresponding to the competence framework of a teacher graduate.
"I am very happy that this has been achieved," says the director of the MIAS, Prof. PhDr. Vladimíra Dvořáková, CSc. "The long-term societal significance of these accreditations is obvious. We do not want to lose talent and we also want to have a well-prepared workforce on the labour market. For me, this project has been an interesting experience because it has done something that is not so common at our universities. And that is synergy, using the potential of the university, its faculties and institutes. It was a great collaboration in setting up the overall concept and coordinating the procedures without reducing the autonomy and professional specificity of the individual departments. The preparation involved many enthusiastic academics from CTU, who have been working with secondary schools for a long time. I hope that this synergy will continue and will be reflected in the development of disciplinary didactics."
Graduates (with the degree of Magister - Mgr.) are mainly employed in secondary vocational schools (industrial schools, technically oriented lyceums, vocational apprenticeships), for general education subjects and informatics also in grammar schools. Thus, they will not only contribute to the preparation of future students of technical universities, but will also positively influence the quality of the future workforce and its ability to implement new technologies in practice.
The study of teaching programmes will start in the next academic year 2025/2026. The forms of study and the conditions of admission will be gradually published on the faculties' websites.