Founded in 2001, Tomas Bata University in Zlín (TBU) is still the youngest state higher educational institution in the Czech Republic. Today it has almost 10,000 students. Given the fact that Zlín has a total population of approximately 75,000, one inhabitant in seven is a student today. This fact has completely changed the atmosphere in the city in the last two decades. The growing presence of the student population has changed the once sleepy Zlín into a vibrant place where things happen all over the year, often organized or co-organized by the university, its faculties, or its student associations. Especially in spring and summer, the city parks, local pubs, cafes and bars are bustling with young people.

Over time, the number of faculties of the TBU had been growing to reach the final number of six. TBU today offers study opportunities in a wide range of disciplines, from technology, applied informatics, management and economics, humanities, nursing, pedagogy, logistics and crisis management, marketing communications, filmmaking, animation, design and art.

About 11 per cent of the student population at TBU are foreigners, either studying for free in Czech or enrolled in one of the twenty available paid degree programmes taught in English (for details see https://apply.utb.cz). The university offers not only full-time and part-time study in bachelor, master and doctoral programmes, but also job opportunities for foreign academics and post-docs, many of which work at one of the several research centres, linked to individual faculties of the university (e. g. the Centre of Polymer Systems) . Every term, hundreds of exchange students visit TBU, contributing to the colourful ethics composition of its student population.

Student organizations like Buddy System Zlín organize annual festivals. Students of several faculties participate in the organization of the annual Zlín Film Festival, the oldest festival of films for children worldwide and undoubtedly the biggest cultural event of the spring. Students of the Faculty of Multimedia Communications organize the annual week-long Zlin Design Week as well as several smaller cultural festivals that have already become an integral part of the Zlín cultural scene.

The university has its own Job Centre, helping graduates to find jobs in Zlín, and since March 2021 also a new International Welcome Centre, aiding incoming exchange and degree students. TBU also runs its own kindergarten. The university organizes courses of the Czech language. UPPER – Centre for Creative Industries and Business is a co-working centre, providing services for start-ups.

For more information on Tomas Bata University, visit the TBU Facebook, Instagram or YouTube.