University of Ostrava

The University of Ostrava was founded on 28 September 1991. Its origins can be traced back to 1953, when a training college for future primary school teachers was opened in the nearby town of Opava. In 1959, all teacher training within the region was streamlined into a single institution – the newly established Pedagogical Institute in Ostrava. Five years later, the institute was awarded university status and became an independent Faculty of Education, offering four-year degree courses to future primary school teachers. The range of degrees was later extended to include a five-year programme for future teachers of higher year groups. Gradually, other faculties, departments and research centres joined the University of Ostrava, shaping it slowly into its present form and shifting the focus from teachers to research and innovation in general.

In January 2012, it began to merge with the VSB - Technical University of Ostrava with the aim of becoming the third largest university in the Czech Republic and to achieve the status of a research univerzity. The merger should have been completed by 2015, the name of the new university is still to be determined