The University of Ústí Launches a Unique Degree Program. Companies Are Already Clamoring for Future Graduates

A new Bachelor’s degree program is set to prepare experts for the green transition and the energy transformation of the industry. How can waste be turned into raw materials to save costs? What will power the world after the end of coal mining? The program “Sustainability of Renewable Raw Material Resources” is being opened by the Faculty of Environment at Jan Evangelista Purkyně University (UJEP).
Although classes do not begin until September, companies are already signaling an enormous interest in future graduates. Cooperation with the industry will be fundamental for the students; companies will assign thesis topics tailored to their current real-world challenges. This ensures students conduct research with immediate practical applications.
“We won’t be producing theses that just collect dust in an archive. This is a study program for those who want to see tangible results behind them,” says the program guarantor and Dean of the Faculty of Environment, Assoc. Prof. Pavel Kuráň.
From the Deserts of Oman to Ústí Laboratories
As part of international teams, scientists at the university are currently researching how to create new yarn from old clothing or how to efficiently recycle lithium batteries from electric vehicles. Textiles, in particular, is a topic that struck Dean Kuráň personally during his travels: “When I first saw real photographs from the desert near Nairobi with an endless pile of textiles discarded there by Europe, I realized we had to stop this.”
The Ústí Region is shedding its “coal country” label. It is currently a frontrunner in European science, securing 2.5 times more funding from the prestigious Horizon Europe research program than in the past—thanks in large part to the Faculty of Environment.
An Industrial Transformation in Real-Time
The new study program will focus on technical reality.
“Industrial sectors in the Ústí Region will undergo a fundamental transformation in the coming years, making these experts essential for our region’s future for two reasons. First, they will directly participate in this gradual transformation within local companies. Second, as qualified experts, they will become attractive employees for local employers. This increases the chance they will remain in the region after graduation, bringing significant economic benefits,” says Martin Růžička, Director of Decarbonization at ORLEN Unipetrol.
Jan Harnych, Project Manager for ČEZ and GEOMET, shares this vision: “This cooperation allows us to prepare students in modern sectors such as energy storage technology, the use of renewable resources, and the processing of strategic raw materials, including lithium. We expect demand for experts in these fields to grow. In the projects ČEZ is preparing in the Ústí Region, we want professionally educated employees from the region itself. That’s why cooperation with UJEP makes perfect sense.”
35 Years of Experience
The Faculty of Environment at UJEP celebrates its 35th anniversary this year. Its history is closely linked to the fate of North Bohemia. It was founded in 1991 to help restore a landscape devastated by the industry of that era—when forests were decimated by acid rain and polluted air was a daily reality.
“Modern environmental protection is primarily about science and the deployment of cutting-edge technologies directly into the field,” adds Dean Pavel Kuráň.