Generate your own video and experience the university! That is the opportunity CZU offers to all prospective students on the website zazij.czu.cz. The virtual personalized story provides a unique experience, but an in-person visit is still an in-person visit. Seeing the university and campus with your own eyes and learning everything important directly from those who know it best is made possible several times a year through Open Days. The last one, traditionally held before the entrance exams, is always very popular. And this year, Friday, March 13, was a lucky day for everyone who gained clarity about their future.
“We strive to present the university from a wide range of perspectives and cover everything we can offer young people. Above all, these are attractive study programmes, but also the unique campus atmosphere and many other things that make student life at CZU special,” says Vice-Rector for Education Jiří Remeš.
Students now have only two weeks left to make up their minds — until 31 March, when the application deadline closes. And what is interest in studying at CZU like this year? According to Vice-Rector Remeš, the course of applications so far suggests that the number of applicants for bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes could be 8 to 10 percent higher than last year, which would mean around 25,000 to 26,000 applicants.
“We already increased the number of students admitted to first-year programmes last year by approximately 10 percent compared with 2025, in line with the requirements of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports. However, any further increase this year is not realistic without a corresponding increase in funding from the Ministry,” warns Vice-Rector for Education Jiří Remeš.
At all faculties that welcomed prospective students and their parents on March 13, 2026, as part of the Open Day, young applicants set out to explore lecture halls, laboratories, and specialist facilities, learn about study opportunities, and soak up the atmosphere.
“Every year, the March Open Day is the highlight of our recruitment campaign, and this year’s edition only confirmed that. I am pleased that a truly large number of prospective students came to the campus and, on a sunny Friday, experienced first-hand what it is like to be part of CZU. Personal experience, atmosphere, and direct contact with our students and academics often play a key role in the final decision-making process,” notes Ondřej Fátor, Head of Marketing and organiser of the CZU Open Day.
Useful advice was offered all across the campus by teachers, university staff, and students, who willingly shared their experiences with the young visitors. Among other things, they spoke about travelling around the world—not only through Erasmus+ study exchanges, but also through professional opportunities enabled by the education gained at CZU. The Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences has the highest percentage of graduates worldwide, so it offered two lectures on an exotic theme during the Open Day. The first, entitled Amazonia Through the Eyes of a Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences Graduate: Ethnobotany, Traditional Cultures and the Reality of Fieldwork, told the story of research in Latin America and showed how studying at the faculty opens doors to the world. The lecture Protecting the World’s Largest Antelope: 25 Years of Research and Conservation at the Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences presented one of the faculty’s flagship projects at CZU.
Among other things, the Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources offered guided tours of its nutrition counselling centre and sensory laboratory as part of the Nutrition and Food programme. At the Faculty of Economics and Management, visitors could take a mock entrance exam or attend several sample classes. The Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences opened its woodworking workshops, introduced arboriculture, offered dendrology escape games, and demonstrated both a harvester simulator and a sawmill simulator to show how timber harvesting and processing work in practice. At the Faculty of Engineering, presentations of student formula cars, products from the ProLab prototype laboratory, and a 3D printing demonstration were not to be missed.
For those who were not yet entirely sure about the future direction of their studies, the General Information Lecture on Choosing a University and Why CZU was an excellent choice. As we found out immediately after it ended, the arguments presented by Career Centre Director Přemysl Gubani helped many visitors gain a better sense of direction. “We still don’t know exactly what we want to study, but this lecture definitely convinced us that it has to be CZU,” graduating secondary school students shared in the foyer outside the auditorium. The information centre was also located there, ready to advise on anything and direct any uncertain visitor where they needed to go.
Those who were tired of running between faculties could also try out the campus dining options—another advantage of campus life. Besides the student canteens, there are plenty of other eateries with a wide range of offerings. For visitors from outside Prague, guided tours of the dormitories were especially useful, with their clear advantage of being located directly on campus. There is no need to leave Suchdol even for sports. The sports complex next to the dormitories is equipped for most team and individual sports, and it too was bustling on March 13.
“I believe we managed to present the university as a place where studying is not just about theory, but above all about practice, opportunities, and experiences. If some applicants are still unsure about their choice, I recommend visiting studuj.czu.cz, where they will find not only an overview of study programmes, but also the opportunity to ask any questions. We will be happy to help them find a direction that makes sense,” offers Ondřej Fátor.
