Annual report on activities of VSB-TUO for 2021 : Main part

The COVID-19 pandemic had a marked influence on life at the university in 2021 as well. We learned to perceive the threat as a challenge. This view contributed to the further transformation of our teaching, the accelerating digitalisation of our work, as well as meetings of scientific councils and senates. Despite all the problems with COVID-19, our university was strengthened in the basic areas of our activities. We managed to stabilise the number of students, increase scientific performance and, in particular, we progressed significantly with work on the REFRESH project as a part of the Smart and Green District (SMARAGD) project. We started to transform PhD studies by launching the PhD Academy. In 2021, we also started work on two important buildings: the Economics Faculty building and the Centre of Energy and Environmental Technologies. In the future, these buildings will enclose the space for the building of a student square and, after the construction of a building in the REFRESH project, also science square. We are also performing the university’s third role in the form of support for the region. I would like to thank all university employees, without whom it would not be possible to achieve our university’s ambitions.Ostrav