How successful are Czech universities in meeting the objectives of the Strategy for the Internationalization of Higher Education until 2030? A new study by the National Training Fund provides an answer, comparing 26 public universities in the Czech Republic. Its findings show that individual universities take different approaches to internationalization and that their results vary considerably. Czech University of Life Sciences Prague achieved the highest overall score and demonstrated balanced performance across all assessed areas, with the best result in international mobility.
CZU Ranks First Overall
The STRATIN+ project study evaluates the internationalization of Czech universities in the areas of education, mobility, and academic and research activities. It draws on universities’ 2024 annual reports, statistics from the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, and the EHESO database. To provide a more comprehensive comparison, the authors developed a composite internationalization indicator that combines results from all three assessed areas.
Czech University of Life Sciences Prague achieved the highest overall score for 2024, with 59.7 points. Prague University of Economics and Business ranked second with 52.5 points, followed by Masaryk University with 50.1 points. The University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, and Charles University followed.
“Ranking first overall confirms that the mechanisms we have developed over the long term to foster an open international environment are well designed and effective. Particularly significant is our result in the area of mobility, as well as the fact that CZU achieves balanced results across all three assessed pillars of internationalization, including its research dimension,” says CZU Rector Michal Lošťák. “Almost one-third of our students come from abroad. That contributes to CZU’s strong position among Czech universities in international rankings such as the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, the QS World University Rankings, and the Academic Ranking of World Universities. In several subject areas, we rank among the world’s leading universities. The internationalization indicators published in the STRATIN+ study confirm these results and clearly show that, in terms of international activities, CZU’s research performance ranks among the best in the Czech Republic. A revised methodology for evaluating science and research should reflect these facts,” Professor Lošťák concludes.
CZU’s result is based on relatively balanced performance across all three areas of internationalization. At the same time, the university achieved the highest score of all assessed public universities in international mobility. It is precisely this balance among internationalization of education, mobility, and international academic and research activities that distinguishes CZU from some other higher education institutions, which tend to achieve particularly strong results in only one area.
CZU also holds a strong position in the internationalization of academic and research activities. In this category, the university ranked among the five highest-rated public universities in the Czech Republic.
Significant Improvement Compared with 2019
The long-term trend is equally positive. A comparison of results from 2019 and 2024 shows that CZU, together with the Institute of Technology and Business in České Budějovice and the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts, is among the institutions that recorded the most significant improvements during this period.
All three institutions strengthened their performance across all assessed areas, although each followed a different path. In CZU’s case, the main driver of growth was the development of international mobility. The result, therefore, demonstrates not only the university’s current high level of internationalization, but also the substantial progress it has made over the past five years.
Internationalization as an Integral Part of University Quality
The study confirms that internationalization is becoming an increasingly important part of the operation of Czech universities. In the years ahead, the key challenge will not only be to increase the number of international students and mobility opportunities, but, above all, to ensure that an international environment and international cooperation genuinely contribute to the quality of education, research, and academic life.
