ANNUAL REPORT ON ACTIVITIES OF VSB-TUO FOR 2020 Main Part

ANNUAL REPORT ON

ACTIVITIES OF VSB-TUO FOR 2020

Main Part

ANNUAL REPORT ON ACTIVITIES OF VSB-TUO FOR 2020

Main Part

Editors:

doc. Ing. Igor Ivan, Ph.D., Ing. Andrea Šimoníková, Ing. Miroslav Neulinger VSB - Technical University of Ostravaa Ostrava 2021

CONTENTS

The VSB-TUO Scientific Council discussed

the VSB-TUO Annual Report for 2020 on 14 May 2021.

The VSB-TUO Academic Senate approved

the VSB-TUO Annual Report for 2020 on 10 June 2021 The VSB-TUO Administrative Board discussed the VSB-TUO Annual Report for 2020 on 18. June 2021.

© 2021 VSB – Technical University of Ostrava This work is subject to a Creative Commons licence Please state the origin-Do not use commercially- -Do not process 4.0 International Licence.

ISBN 978-80-248-4529-6 (on-line) https://doi.org/10.31490/9788024845296

INTRODUCTION 7 STUDYING AT VSB-TUO 8

ONLINE LEARNING 12

BEING A UNIVERSITY WHERE GRADUATES EASILY

FIND JOBS IN THEIR FIELD 14

ŠKODA UNI.SPACE 18

RECOGNISED RESEARCH-ORIENTED CENTRE 20

NEW HORIZON 2020 PROJECTS AND LARGE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS

FOR VAVAI IN 2020 24

INCUBATOR FOR PROMISING WORKERS 26

NEW CIRCULAR ECONOMY CEETe TESTBED 30

EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT AND USE

OF UNIVERSITY’S CAPACITY 32

CPIT TL3 TESTBED BUILT 36

CREATION OF MOTIVATING ENVIRONMENT

FOR PERSONALITY AND TEAM DEVELOPMENT 38

GREEN LIGHT 42

CHANGE TO PERCEPTION OF BRAND INSIDE AND OUT 44

WE HELP FIGHT THE CORONAVIRUS 48

INTERNATIONALISATION 50

DEVELOPMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONTACT POINT 54

The COVID-19 pandemic influenced the life of every employee and student at our university. This Annual Report about VSB-TUO’s activities clearly presents how very different this year was. After practically two semesters of distance learning I can say that we coped with this transition and we provided students with online lectures and seminars of the highest possible quality. Recognition should also go to our students for staying the course, consciously getting themselves educated and having understanding for occasional complications. No less important is, however, the fact that through our combined strength we managed to increase the numbers of newly registered students and stop the negative trend.

We regard obtaining another seven Horizon 2020 projects as a great success and the growing share of articles published in journals in the first quartile is also positive. There is still room for improve- ment. For this reason we worked intensively on the SMARt And Green District (SMARAGD) strategy, as a part of which we want to become leaders in sustainable energy, IT, digitisation, material and environmental technologies, with marked involvement in European research platforms.

I strongly believe that at least for a time in the following year the campus will again be full of stu- dents, we will again hear foreign languages in the corridor and we will be able to go and strengthen current and make new partnerships with foreign universities without serious complications. I am proud of the way in which we handled this difficult test and I would like to thank you for it.

INTRODUCTION

prof. RNDr. Václav Snášel, CSc.

VSB-TUO Rector

01

STUDYING AT VSB-TUO

The year 2020 was a challenge for academics, students and the university itself in terms of studying. For the first time in its modern history, in the spring months the university, was closed to students due to COVID-19 and learning was progressively moved into online form. This fact, which was repeated in the autumn months, had a significant influence in particular on practical learning, which can be realised in online form only to a limited extent. Student life also came to a stop, halls of residence were empty for most of the year, the same as the university. With the exception of one faculty, entrance examinations were not held for applicants for study and the order when selecting.

In the following period it will be important to deal with the consequences of the pandemic and also continue with acti- vities improving the education process, such as the intro- duction of blended learning methods where it makes sense.

However, personal meetings with students and educators will continue to have an irreplaceable role.

11,353

students and self-payers studying at VSB-TUO

500

accredited study programmes

8,868

applications submitted

in bachelor’s,

following masters

masters and PhD studies

Most Important Statements for 2020

» We managed to achieve a year-on-year increase in the number of students applying (by 17%) and registered (by 11%) for the first years.

» In the course of the year 75 study programme accreditations were newly granted.

» As a consequence of the closure of the university and the movement to distance learning, great efforts were made to expand the e-learning portal (vsb.cz/e-vyuka), which now con- tains study materials for almost all subjects taught.

» A survey was performed in November with the aim of obtaining feedback from students on distance learning. 2,835 students participated in the survey and the total degree of satisfac- tion was 67.1%, where satisfaction rose with the year of studies and was higher for combined studies students.

» In 2020, the university paid grants to 6,631 students in an average amount of CZK 21,027.

What is key is to continue with the provision of motivational grants for excellent results to students in the first years of bachelor’s degree studies.

» For better selection of the study programme, the VSB-TUO Advisory Centre helped with the completion of websites for the individual faculties. The centre’s specialist services were also provided during the pandemic. The career centre served more than 1,300 clients.

» In addition to main education, a number of additional educational activities were realised at the university. In 2020, almost 230 events were realised in the form of summer schools, courses, conferences, etc.

» The first year of the Talent Programme focusing on revealing personal potential and finding the requisites for a future career for students that were selected as a part of a specifically focused assessment centre was successfully completed.

11/12 12/13 13/14 14/15 15/16 16/17 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21

0 1 000 2 000 3 000 4 000 5 000 6 000 7 000 8 000 9 000 10 000 11 000 12 000

Počet zapsaných do 1. ročníku

0 2 000 4 000 6 000 8 000 10 000 12 000 14 000 16 000 18 000 20 000 22 000 24 000

Celkový počet studentů

317

3 410 3 109

2 995 3 505

3 880 4 514

4 813 5 549

6 213 6 331

1 831 1 647

1 828 1 961

2 403 2 480

2 480 2 720

2 876 3 006

281 235 328

279 381

333 361

359 317

22 475

21 462

20 128

18 146 16 679

14 933 13 482

11 945

11 262 11 391

Počet zapsaných Bc.

nMgr.

Ph.D.

Počet studentů

Number of students registered for first years from AY 2011/2012 Registered students for first year by faculty (for AY 2020/2021)

Did you know that...

in order to improve their success in their studies, students can make use of university support centres? For example, in 2020 the successful Math Support Centre provided consultations to 1,267 students, of which 369 were in the form of individual consultations and 898 at mass consultations.

The centre helps students better deal with material from the first year of their bachelor’s degree, in particular because of various levels of knowledge from secondary schools when arriving at uni- versity. The university also organises preparatory courses on mathematics, physics, chemistry, foreign languages, programming, descriptive geometry, etc. A physics support centre was newly prepared in 2020.

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600 650 700 750 800 850 900 950 1000 1050 1100 1150 1200 1250 1300 1350 1400 1450 Počet zapsaných do 1. ročníku

EkF

FAST

FBI

FEI

FMT

FS

HGF

501

158

137

308

186

308

233 887

290

300

738

228

580

387

26

32

59

64

58

74

Bc.

nMgr.

Ph.D.

Online Learning

For the majority of 2020, our stu- dents learned in an online envi- ronment. BigBlueButton (BBB) in LMS and MS Teams were primarily used. This fast transition to a digital environment markedly increased the pressure on our infrastructure. In the whole year the university LMS server handled almost 150 million requests with a year-long median of 303,294 requests a day.

On the days with the highest de- mand3,700–4,800 unique users were connected. The days with the abso- lutely highest demand were the days in the summer semester on 25 May with almost 11,000 logged-in users (1.2 m requests) and in the winter semester on 14.December with al- most 15,500 users (1.5 m requests).

Compared to 2019, the maximums are 2.5 times higher.

Overall, there were 218,418 online tests, and 87,504 tasks, written pie- ces of work and records were handed over. 26,047 online broadcasts were made, thanks to which a total of 2,188 learning recordings were made with a total length of recording of 2,294 hours. Similar numbers for MS Teams should be added to this.

02

BEING A UNIVERSITY WHERE GRADUATES EASILY FIND JOBS IN THEIR FIELD

3,117

graduates left the gates of VSB-TUO after successfully

graduating in 2020

2,363

visitors were welcomed to the

“Career PLUS” jobs fair

1,307

students or fresh graduates made use of the services of the Career Centre for the

purpose of improving their prospects in their work

and personal life

What is important for VSB-TUO is cooperation with third par- ties, during the gaining of professional experience, intern- ships, excursions or in the form of long-term partnerships at the faculty or university level. Business representatives are also represented on the Scientific Councils of the univer- sity and faculties, where they can make proposals to improve the accreditation of study programmes submitted or contri- bute to the approval of dissertation topics. The university meets company representatives face to face as a part of the Industrial Board.

Despite all the restrictions in 2020 and the problems arising on the part of companies and the university, cooperation continued with the knowledge that bilateral contacts and feedback have to be developed continuously, regardless of ongoing social and economic changes. Therefore, in 2020 we managed to strengthen a number of activities in such a manner that there was constant connection of the univer- sity and business not only for the purpose of better success by graduates, but also as a part of the further development of the university itself.

Most Important Statements for 2020

» In 2020, there were a total of five qualitative and quantitative studies with various target groups and forms of data collection with the aim of obtaining a comprehensive view of the quality of graduates directly from their employers with regard to their professional prospects.

» The university is continuing to significantly strengthen cooperation with future employers.

It particularly focused its attention on improvements in standardising cooperation with companies. CRM was newly launched for this purpose, and a uniform whole-university offer was established for future employers of graduates.

» The university arranged one of the largest job fairs in the Czech Republic, “Career PLUS”, which was attended by 90 exhibitors/employers.

» In the field of connection between employers and students with regard to their prospects in the work process, the new “k+Portal” project was launched.

Did you know that...

in October 2020 we launched the unique, university-wide k+Portal linking employers to VSB-TUO students and graduates? The portal enables not only the publication of specialist offers for students and fresh graduates, but also the advertising of trainee programmes, internships, bachelor’s and master’s dissertations, professional part-time jobs and orders for freelancers.

Within a mere two months of launch, 1,570 students and 45 companies were registered with the k+Portal, and 71 specific cooperation offers were published. The project is being realised by the VSB-TUO Career Centre.

Comparison of gross monthly salary of graduates up to 5 years after the end of studies by faculty

Research on Needs of Employers and VSB-TUO Students in Relation to Their Future Prospects

Hornicko-geologická

fakulta (HGF) Fakulta materiálově-

technologická (FMT) Fakulta strojní (FS) Ekonomická fakulta (EKF) Fakulta elektrotechniky a

informatiky (FEI) Fakulta stavební (FAST) Fakulta bezpečnostního inženýrství (FBI) 0

10 000 20 000 30 000 40 000 50 000 60 000 70 000

Hrubá měsíční mzda v Kč

1. decil medián 9. decil

The result of research among VSB-TUO students and employers in a qualitative analysis from March 2020 in the form of focus groups. The research was focused on key competences that are currently seen as key for better prospects on the job market.

Source: VSB-TUO, Research into Needs of VSB-TUO Students and Employers, March 2020.

Škoda UNI.Space

Based on intensive cooperation between our university and Ško- da Auto, the opening ceremony for the ŠKODA UNI.Space was held on Tuesday, 22 September, on the first floor of the Central Library. It replaced the unsuitable computer kiosk, which had been part of the li- brary’s space for a number of years.

Students can meet in the new place, create something or relax between lectures and seminars. Television can also be used for presentation.

The space in front of the Central Library was therefore brought to life and there is more sun in it.

Students can relax on comfortable couches that also have 98% recyc- led covers and charge their devices using the ever-present chargers.

Unfortunately, due to the closure of the university, students have not been yet been enabled to make use of the space.

03

RECOGNISED RESEARCH- -ORIENTED CENTRE

The change to the publication activity strategy started to have a marked effect in science and research in 2020.

There was an attempt to move from quantity to quality, which was reflected in the ratio of publications in various quartiles, where there is a predominance of higher-quality publications, i.e. in the Q1 and Q2 quartiles. In the field of applied research, the university continues to develop acti- vities leading to the production of output such as patents, which led to a growth in such output in 2020.

In the future, it will be important to maintain this trend of preferring quality to quantity and strengthen the share of publications with an international collective of authors, which should lead to an improvement in the citation count of publications with an VSB-TUO affiliation.

71

articles in the first decile for 2020

24

patents awarded in 2020

CZK 1,447 m

in research and development funds

obtained including supplementary activities

and foreign research

and development funds

Most Important Statements for 2020

» In 2016-2020, the number of articles with a VSB-TUO affiliation published in impact jour- nals entered in the WoS database was 2,038. In terms of quantity, this puts the university in 9th place nationally. The quality of publication activities represents 228 articles published in Q1, of which 71 were in the first decile.

» A total of 9,213 citations were recorded in impact journals in the WoS database, which puts us in tenth place among other universities in 2016-2020.

» In 2020, the university obtained CZK 975.7 m from national public research and development funds (fall by 3%).

» Despite the difficult year for the corporate sector, the volume of funds from contractu- al research remained at similar levels to the past year and, thanks to cooperation with 449 companies, it reached the level of CZK 135.5 m (fall by 3.6%).

» In 2020, the university started three new projects in the Operational Programme Research, Development and Education, one Large Infrastructure Project for Research, Development and Innovation, two INTER-EXCELLENCE projects and seven Horizon 2020 projects.

» VSB-TUO registered a total of 265 newly-arising applied research and development resul- ts, including 23 patent applications, 50 utility model applications and six registered design applications.

» Nine contracts for the use of results were concluded with entities from the world of applica- tions in the period in question Research, development and innovation.

Did you know that...

the Mobility Atlas project, supported by funding from the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic, was launched in the spring? It is IT4Innovations research of the national supercomputer centre, Laboratory for Big Data Analysis, under the leadership of prof. Ing. Miroslav Vozňák, Ph.D, realised together with T-Mobile ČR. The project is focused on assessing the mobility of the population based on the processing of anonymised operational mobile network records. The output from this project was offered by T-Mobile to the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic. The results are also available to the public in the Mobility Atlas (https://atlas-mobility.danse.tech/ ).

Comparison of the weighted number of publications in accordance with the WoS among VSB-TUO organisational components in 2020

Comparison of selected universities by total number of citations (excluding self-citations) in impact journals in 2016–2020 according to WoS

Univerzita / Období

UK MU UPOL ČVUT VŠCHT JU ČZU VUT MENDE.. VŠB-TUO OU ZČU UPCE VFU UTB UHK TUL UJEP SLU VŠE

2014-2018 2016-2020 2014-2018 2016-2020 2014-2018 2016-2020 2014-2018 2016-2020 2014-2018 2016-2020 2014-2018 2016-2020 2014-2018 2016-2020 2014-2018 2016-2020 2014-2018 2016-2020 2014-2018 2016-2020 2014-2018 2016-2020 2014-2018 2016-2020 2014-2018 2016-2020 2014-2018 2016-2020 2014-2018 2016-2020 2014-2018 2016-2020 2014-2018 2016-2020 2014-2018 2016-2020 2014-2018 2016-2020 2014-2018 2016-2020

0K 50K 100K 150K 200K 250K

Počet citací 158 721 214 211 46 841 64 642 44 213 57 874 31 767 37 555 16 020 22 688 15 230 20 857 12 218 20 717 12 136 20 634 10 573

7 209 6 507 9 213 7 686 8 838 5 407 8 147 5 969 7 149 4 014 6 248 3 517 5 997 2 444 5 833 2 729 4 731 2 334 3 525 2 281

954 1 363 2 216

Univerzita UK MU UPOL ČVUT VŠCHT JU ČZU VUT MENDELU VŠB-TUO OU ZČU UPCE VFU UTB UHK TUL UJEP SLU VŠE

HGF FMT FS EkF FEI FAST FBI IT4I ENET IET VEC CNT CPIT KSV+KJ 0

20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Přepočtený počet publikací

12,7 14,9 13,3

15,0 73,7

36,7

22,7 24,8 29,2 16,0

30,7 26,5

31,7

21,0 20,5

21,7 14,0 23,8

15,0 13,0

Kvartil Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

Newly-solved Projects Horizon 2020 and

Large Infrastructure Projects for Research, Development and Innovation in 2020

Work on seven new Horizon 2020 projects started in 2020. In total at VSB-TUO 17 prestigious international projects with a total budget of over EUR 8 m were realised.

In addition, in addition to the ongoing large infrastructure project for Rese- arch, Development and Innovation (ENRE-GAT) another was obtained with a total budget for the two pro-

jects of almost CZK 270 m. EUROCC – National Competence Centres in the framework of EuroHPC

Solver: Ing. Tomáš Karásek, Ph.D.

The EuroCC project will connect specialist knowledge for the creation of a European network of national competence centres for HPC in 31 European countries to ensure a portfolio of services for the needs of industry, the academic community and public administration. Its aim is to strengthen professional knowledge and skills in the area of high-performance computing, data analysis and artificial intelligence and to overcome current differences in the use of such technologies in individual countries.

Budget: EUR 1,997,750

EVEREST – dEsign enVironmEnt foR Extreme-Scale big data analytics on heterogeneous platforms

Solver: Ing. Kateřina Slaninová, Ph.D.

The project will make use of a holistic approach to designing calculations and communication in a system for high- -performance data analysis, thanks to the simplification of the programma- bility of expanded architectures with the help of data-managed access, the use of hardware-accelerated artificial intelligence and effective monitoring of the launching of tasks in accordan- ce with a concept linking HW and SW design. The approach will be tested in three studies – a prediction model based on an analysis of the weather, applications for monitoring the quali- ty of the atmosphere and a framework for modelling transport in smart cities.

Budget: EUR 433,750

GeoUS – Geothermal Energy in Special Underground Structures Solver: prof. Ing. Jiří Koziorek, Ph.D.

Project contributes to the develop- ment of multi-disciplinary research and innovation in the Czech Repub- lic in geothermal energy as a sustai- nable resource. GeoUS supports the commencement and development of cooperation with leading European re- search organisations and the transmi- ssion of the methodology of their rese- arch to VSB-TUO. One of the project’s priorities is support for young resear- chers, who will obtain experience at leading project partners’ workplaces.

The FoEECS, FoCE and FoMG are con- tributing to the project’s solution. The project’s partners are the Fraunhofer Institut and the University of Vaasa.

Budget: EUR 414,875

S-Nebula – Novel Spin-Based Building Blocks for Advanced TeraHertz Applications

Solver: doc. Dr. Mgr. Kamil Postava The project represents the use of a revolutionary connection of optics and magnetism for the development of future terahertz technologies. The development of new sources and de- tectors based on switched terahertz technology will overcome the current barriers in applications of widely-a- pplicable terahertz non-destructi- ve testing, high-capacity terahertz communication systems for data transfer and polarisation modulation for terahertz ellipsometry. The IT4In- novations team at VSB-TUO is contri- buting to the last-mentioned area.

Budget: EUR 324,750

SCIENCzEch – Czech European Researchers´ Night 2020

Solver: Mgr. Tereza Benešová, Ph.D.

The Czech European Researcher’s Ni- ght 2020 project supported the nati- onal Researchers’ Night event in the Czech Republic in 2020. As the project coordinator, the international design office of the Project Support Cent- re managed to obtain a prestigious H2020-MSCA-NIGHT-2020 grant in intense competition from applicants across Europe. Thanks to the grant, the national Researchers’ Night event was integrated for the first time in its history into the European structure of organisations holding European Re- sarchers’ Night.

S4AllCities – Smart Spaces Safety and Security for All Cities

Solver: doc. Ing. David Řehák, Ph.D.

The project focuses on systems en- suring safety and security for city residents. Smart cities have respon- sibilities for ensuring a safe physical and digital environment supporting cohesion and sustainable develop- ment in relation to citizens. S4AllCities integrates technologies and organi- sational solutions in a market-orien- ted agreed Cyber-Physical Security Management framework, focused on increases in resilience of urban infra- structure, services, ICT systems, IoT and support for sharing information between elements of urban conurbati- ons in the fields of safety and security.

e-infrastructure CZ

Solver: doc. Mgr. Vít Vondrák, Ph.D.

The development of e-INFRA CZ will consist of its continual innovation, development and experimental ope- ration of its new components in such a manner that the national e-infra- structure continues to provide exce- llent services for users. During deve- lopment, emphasis will be placed on user needs and technological trends, not only from the viewpoint of the ca- pacities provided, but also with re- gard to user security, data protection, economic efficiency and the impact on the environment. It will also be im- portant to develop human resources that ensure plenty of experts on the provision of comprehensive services REWAISE – REsilient WAter Innovation

for Smart Economy

Solver: prof. Ing. Vladimír Slivka, CSc., dr.h.c.

REWAISE links leading European water manage- ment entities not only from industry, but also from academia (24 entities from 11 countries).

The project deals with technological, legal, social and financial challenges in such a manner as to make available alternative water sources of various qualities and to make better use of them. The project’s solution contributes to the transition to intelligent water management in accordance with the EU policy on water, the climate and the environment. The involvement of the FoMG is primarily in the field of low-ener- gy desalination, the use of mine water in the Moravian and Silesian Region and obtaining minerals from these waters.

Budget: EUR 231,625

Horizon 2020 Programme

Note: The project colour corresponds to the solver’s

04

INCUBATOR FOR PROMISING WORKERS

In 2020, preparations started for activities focused on the development of the research potential of workers at the uni- versity and PhD students, which is not conditional only on their specialist education, but also on the acquisition of skills that are a condition of the development of their research career. This concerns, for example, the fields of publication, project management and presentation skills.

In the near future, a system will be created for support ac- tivities through the building of a PhD Academy, which will offer courses provided by whole-university workplaces, such as the University Library, the Language Institute, the Social Sciences Department, the Career Centre, the Math Support Centre and the Innovation Support Centre.

CZK 52,612,195

to support the Student Grant Competition (SGS)

130

projects realised SGS

54 097 034 Kč

for the realisation of the project PhD Grant

Competition

Most Important Statements for 2020

» The PhD grant competition came into being in 2020 with the support of the Operational Programme Research, Development and Education, whose aim is, inter alia, to improve the conditions for the preparation of new science and teaching workers and to increase and sup- port the science and research activities for students of PhD study programmes. A specialist panel was established in this context. 28 projects were selected for support in the first round of the competition.

» Under the Student Grant Competition name we managed to realise 130 projects as a part of which 602 research and development results were registered. We are also involving stu- dents over the long term in other science and research activities, such as specialist conferen- ces, Student Scientific and Expert Activities (e.g. KY- BERSTOČ), subsidy projects (e.g. Grant Agency of the Czech Republic, Technology Agency of the Czech Republic, Ministry of Industry and Trade) and contractual research projects.

» For the 2021+ period, the concept for a PhD Academy was prepared, being a whole-university activity supporting through an integrated range of courses the development of PHD stu- dents and other scientific workers in scientific activity fields, thereby increasing the quality of PhD studies and, in general, scientific and research activities at VSB-TUO.

Did you know that...

a work by VSB-TUO student Ing. Aleš Vysocký, Ph.D. from the robotics department at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, was chosen as the best graduate work dealing with Industry 4.0 topics as a part of the prestigious Werner von Siemens Prize? The work by Aleš Vysocký entitled “Robots Working Directly with Man” succeeded in a competition entered by another eight hundred com- peting works. Its content is the methodology for creating safe operation, where man and robot work side by side. The methodology is demonstrated on a proposal for a prototype workplace at Škoda Auto. The topic of the work is important also because it is currently a relatively unexplo- red area. Winning the Werner von Siemens Prize is undoubtedly an exceptionally successful end to PhD studies, the sort that only a selected few achieve. Aleš Vysocký plans to remain in academia and continue with his research. Regarding the issue of safety in connection with robots, according to him, there are still a whole number of problems that need to be resolved.

Amount allocated for specific university research in 2020 by organisational component Sources of research and development financing in 2020 by organisational unit

HGF FMT FS EKF FEI FAST FBI IT4I ENET IET VEC CNT CPIT rektorát 0

50 100 150 200 250

Částka v mil. Kč 120,3 174,1 203,2 210,5

37,6 88,6 47,8 28,0 39,0 73,8 32,7 24,6 43,6 91,2

54,8 55,7

Typ zdroje

Národní veřejné zdroje Zahraniční zdroje Smluvní výzkum

Výzkumné ústavy 10,7M Kč

Hornicko-geologická fakulta (HGF) 5,3M Kč

Fakulta strojní (FS) 6,9M Kč

Fakulta

materiálově-technologická (FMT)

6,1M Kč Fakulta elektrotechniky a informatiky (FEI)

14,7M Kč

Fakulta bezpečnostního inženýrství (FBI) Fakulta stavební (FAST) 2,6M Kč

Ekonomická fakulta (EKF) 4,2M Kč

Org. jednotka

Ekonomická fakulta (EKF) Fakulta stavební (FAST)

Fakulta bezpečnostního inženýrství (FBI) Fakulta elektrotechniky a informatiky (FEI) Fakulta materiálově-technologická (FMT) Fakulta strojní (FS)

Hornicko-geologická fakulta (HGF) Výzkumné ústavy

New CEETe Circular Economy Testbed

In 2020, VSB-TUO launched a new pro- ject bearing the name Centre for Energy and Environmental Technology – Explo- rer (CEETe). One of the testbed’s main tasks will be to examine the use of va- rious sources of hydrogen, as an emissi- on-free source of energy. This will help the Moravian-Silesian Region to become the cleanest and greenest region and to maintain its energy self-sufficiency.

The workplace will make use of modern methods for transforming waste and other alternative fuels into useful forms of energy. One of the main products that will arise through the transformation of energy is to be hydrogen. In the testbed, hydrogen will be produced in a clean, en- vironmentally-friendly way with a mini- mum carbon footprint and maximum in- volvement of technology for processing waste. The building of the new testbed will be smart and environmentally-fri- endly and will have a green facade and roof. The structure will include photovol- taic panels, whose leftover energy will be used in other buildings on campus. The testbed’s other strongpoints include the fact that it is mobile, scalable and modu- lar. This means that the currently unique project in Europe could be transferable in the future to other regions and adap- ted to their specific needs.

05

EFFICIENT MANAGEMENT AND USE OF UNIVERSITY’S CAPACITY

The non-standard course of the year had a big influence also on own management and use of the university’s capacity. The absence of students and the transition to distance learning and limitation of physical contact created pressure for the acceleration of activities in the field of the electronisation of processes and on all ICT infrastructure. The priority was to en- sure the university’s operation and the safety of employees and students with the aim of completing the 2019/2020 academic year and realising state final examinations. The situation in the academic year 2020/2021 started with only minor limitations, but the switchover to distance learning and working from home was soon made. In practice, it was constantly necessary to re- spond to new regulations from the Regional Public Health Offi- ce, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport. A University Crisis Staff was established to deal with this and met as needed. There was also a marked influence on the operation of catering and accommodation services.

The ongoing pandemic slowed down preparations for the start of the construction of the Faculty of Economics. A number of investment projects, however, were successfully comple- ted or are ongoing. Preparations for new investment projects (CEETe, Robotics Centre, Refresh, Underground Lab, fuel station for vehicles with alternative drives, etc.) were also commenced. The implementation and building of the necessa- ry infrastructure for mobile 5G technology on campus continued.

CZK

3,293,980,519

VSB-TUO Revenues for 2020

CZK 57.55 m

VSB-TUO’s Profit after taxation for 2020

248,669

downloaded full texts

from licensed

electronic sources

Most Important Statements for 2020

» Key strategic documents for the further development of the university were drafted:

VSB-TUO Strategic Plan 2021+, VSB-TUO Investment Activity Plan for 2021–2030 and Blue- print for VSB-TUO Development 2021–2027.

» Insulation of the dining hall building was completed and the modernisation of the halls of residence is ongoing (building A), where the interior and distribution systems were modernised and two floors of a hotel will be built.

» The construction of the CPIT TL3 building was completed with Smart Factory, Home Care and Automotive workplaces and work is continuing on the modernisation of the upper floor of building K, where facilities are being built for activities in the field of industrial design.

» Some unused buildings outside the campus were made into space for quarantine or the iso- lation of foreign students accommodated at the halls of residence. Other space was offered to the Regional Office and Ostrava City Hall.

» Work continued on the transfer of HR and economic processes to electronic form, propo- sals for personnel measures for the conclusion of agreements were transferred to electronic form and a delegated powers matrix was implemented.

Did you know that...

in cooperation with the Moravian-Silesian Innovation Centre, a SMARt And Green District (SMA- RAGD) strategy was prepared and offers the region an integrated solution to challenges in the field of materials, energy, the environment and IT in one place? SMARAGD is a comprehensive solution for the Moravian-Silesian Region. It contains sub-projects with expected multisource financing (OP JT, OP JAK, OP TAC, etc.). Two flagship projects have been prepared for the needs of the Operational Programme Just Transition. The first is Refresh, using a concept for interlin- ked live laboratories in shared infrastructure: Industry 4.0 & Automotive Lab, Energy Lab, Mate- rials & Environment Lab – as an open innovation ecosystem functioning in a territorial context.

The second project is an Underground Lab with the aim of transforming a former black coal mine into an underground laboratory with a marked link to basic and applied research and the involvement of commercial partners.

VSB-TUO Cost Structure in 2020

MoEYS’s contribution (1101) and subsidies for long-term conceptual development of research organisation (2104) from 2011 to 2020

Stipendia 4,53%

Spotřeba

Spotřeba materiálu 4,13%

Převody do FÚUP a FPP 8,55%

Ostatní služby 14,50%

Ostatní náklady Osobní náklady

50,63%

Opravy a udržování Odpisy majetku

12,19%

Typ nákladu Cestovné Odpisy majetku Opravy a udržování Osobní náklady Ostatní náklady Ostatní služby Převody do FÚUP a FPP Spotřeba materiálu

Spotřeba ostat.nesklad.dodávek a el.en..

Stipendia

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

0K 100K 200K 300K 400K 500K 600K 700K 800K 900K 1000K 1100K 1200K

Finance v Kč

50 895 103 475 143 888 185 865 205 520 241 377 259 677 287 983 290 674 307 256

979 600

850 036 846 557 795 991

855 994 809 112 831 612

877 825 915 641 923 696

Zdroj 1101 2104

CPIT TL3 Testbed Built

As a part of the FoEECS CPIT TL3 Plat- form for New Technologies project the construction of the CPIT TL3 building was completed and infrastructure was arranged to ensure teaching, in particu- lar in new Bc./Mgr. programmes. A com- prehensive testbed with Smart Factory (e.g. a robotised digitised production process with Industry 4.0 - IoT elements, digital doubles), Home Care (observati- on apartments for monitoring persons’

behaviours) and Automotive (e.g. la- boratories with a focus on e-mobility, autonomous driving systems) sections was built.

The building has a sophisticated buil- ding management system, a photovol- taic power plant, fast-charging stations for vehicles, options for monitoring and managing energy flows and an inte- grated network of sensor systems and technologies enabling high-volume data transfers and big data storage.

An industrial LTE and 5G network ser- ves for the development of timeless applications for robots, autonomous industrial vehicles and sensors in ob- servation apartments. The testbed was built by the Faculty of Electri- cal Engineering and Computer Scien- ce (FoEECS) and other faculties and workplaces are active in the operati- ons, e.g. FoME, FoSE, FoCE, FoE, IT4I and IdeaHUB.

06

CREATION OF MOTIVATING ENVIRONMENT FOR

DEVELOPMENT

OF LEADERS AND TEAMS

The operation of the university and the lives of its employees were influenced in 2020 by the restrictions that were put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. For practically the majority of the year it was possible for all employees whose job descriptions enabled it to work from outside their workplace. The aim was to limit the presence of people on campus. Information about ordered isolation or quarantine was also entered in the information system, as was employe- es’ presence at the workplace for the purpose of subsequent tracing. An information centre was also established at the Faculty of Safety Engineering. These measures helped mini- mise the presence of infected employees at the workplace.

2,378 employees worked at the university in 2020, including 934 academic workers, 398 science workers and 1,046 other employees. The largest age group is 40–49, accounting for 32% of employees. From the viewpoint of gender balance, women account for 46% of the total number. The largest fa- culty from the viewpoint of employee numbers is the Facul- ty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the smallest faculty is the Faculty of Safety Engineering. 14 pro- fessors and 13 associate professors were newly appointed.

39

2,378

VSB-TUO employees

96

VSB-TUO employees with foreign citizenship

46

Average age of employee at

VSB-TUO

Most Important Statements for 2020

» Activities towards obtaining an HR award were commenced. An expert panel was established across the university. The results of questionnaire research on the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers were worked into a GAP analysis, Action Plan and OTM-R Checklist and were submitted to the European Commi- ssion. The university will obtain the final decision in 2021.

» 12 courses for managerial employees were realised, focusing on hard and soft skills, and 80 managers registered for them. The courses concerned, for example, legislation with a focus on employment law, running meetings and conflict management. Most of these cour- ses were realised online and this form of education is expected to continue in future years.

» A number of support programmes were realised for academic workers to support distance learning and the relevant video instructions were prepared.

» VSB-TUO applied to the National Czech Quality Awards for 2020 in the EXCELLENCE pro- gramme, Smart Innovations category. VSB-TUO achieved a top-three placing in the relevant category (the specific placing will become known in 2021).

» A supervisory and recertification audit of the quality system in accordance with the CSN EN ISO 9001 standard was successful.

Did you know that...

a brand-new project called From the University to Itself was prepared and realised for university employees? Although it was prepared as an in-person event, in the end it had to be transferred to an online environment, which enabled an expansion of its impact. Employees were informed of news concerning the university, successes that the university had achieved thanks to its em- ployees in recent times and other points of interest at the university, including the outlook for the near future. The event’s aim was to thank employees for their everyday efforts, loyalty and personal approach. Employees were appreciated in the categories best teacher, best under-35 scientist and great colleague, and the best cooperation with a company was also assessed.

All employees were invited to the event. The number of views of the online broadcast and recording of the event exceeded 2,000, and there were thousands of other views of excerpts.

Trends and Structure in Number of Employees from 2011 to 2020

Structure of Employees by Faculty and Institution in 2020

Green Light

Since 2012, the GREEN LIGHT start-up programme has had its facilities at VSB-TUO. The programme develops in- novative ideas with a business poten- tial. Hundreds of people have already expressed their interest in participa- ting in the programme, but only 60 of them have already been chosen. The teams are comprised of VSB-TUO stu- dents, employees and graduates, but the programme’s uniqueness consists of the possibility of involving the public or students from other universities.

Thanks to targeted and high-quality support for the projects in the GREEN LIGHT accelerator, many projects and their ideas succeeded in national competitions such as the CzechInvest Startup Challenge, as well as in foreign accelerators.

In 2020, the clear winner of the GREEN LIGHT STARTUP SHOW was the Opava- -based Ullmanna project with the idea of a weeding machine that enables the use of artificial intelligence in bio-agri- culture. The machine recognises crops in a row and removes the remaining weeds. The project also came second in a national start-up competition.

A VSB-TUO student was also involved in this team.

greenlight.vsb.cz

07

CHANGE TO PERCEPTION OF BRAND INSIDE AND OUT

The area of marketing communications was marked in 2020 by adaptation to the new conditions caused by the pandemic crisis. The university had to alter a number of event forms and promotion, and transfer overall internal and external communication to the online environment to the maximum extent. This trend hit recruitment events the hardest.

The main task for marketing communications is a long-term attempt to change the perception of our university’s brand.

Activities leading to more marked profiling of VSB-TUO as a modern university focused on fields such as IT, mechani- cal engineering, the environment and security continued.

And the rebranding also continued, because this transi- tion is an important part of the university’s total visual communication.

160

kindergartens, primary schools and, in particular, secondary

schools are interested in our popularisation activities.

We therefore put the maximum amount of them online in 2020

7,000

shields were produced for healthcare

7,500

active graduates in our database with whom

we are in contact not only through newsletters, but also through invitations to events

and an offer of benefits

Most Important Statements for 2020

» Virtual open days and university fairs, a new web interface for applicants, new forms of advi- ce, videos, virtual tours, podcasts and dozens of other marketing communications activities were adapted to the online environment.

» VSB-TUO’s popularisation activities will be covered from 2021 by a Junior University, which will provide interested parties who are pupils at primary and secondary schools with a more individual approach to their needs. The university’s workplaces completed preparations for this unique project in 2020.

» As an appreciation of the quality of work as national coordinator of the Researchers’ Night event we managed to obtain a prestigious European Resarchers’ Night grant in the H2020 MSCA NIGHT 2020 call.

» Building relationships with graduates is already a matter of course at VSB-TUO, the ALUMNI database is constantly being expanded. Emphasis is now being placed on our graduates who are foreign students, who are a still-important part of the university’s community and can play an important role as brand ambassadors for VSB-TUO abroad.

» VSB-TUO activities and successes in social responsibility continued for the whole year and the fight against the pandemic expanded. With the exception of research areas, they are less innovative, but all the more needed in such a large crisis.

» Towards the end of the year a unique University Museum was founded as a means of suppor- ting creative interaction between art, science and technology through university collections.

Did you know that...

Researchers’ Night is a Europe-wide event supported by the European Commission? On one agreed day, universities, scientific centres, planetariums, research organisations and dozens of other buil- dings that an ordinary mortal cannot otherwise access come alive across Europe in the evening.

Visitors can take a look into laboratories, lecture halls, walk among exploding experiments and go into scientific topics in depth. Children, adults, senior citizens, everybody enthusiastic about sci- ence is welcome, because it is a unique opportunity to meet scientists in “a natural environment”.

Researchers’ Night has been held in the Czech Republic since 2005 and at the current time the event takes place under the national coordination of VSB – Technical University of Ostrava and Ostrava University. A unique element at Czech Researchers’ Night is the selection of the topic, which is different every year. In 2020 the topic was Man and Robot.

Diamond Anniversary of Graduation of Class of 1960 and Gold Anniversary of Graduation of Class of 1970

Preparations of Some of 26,170 Litres of Disinfectant for Moravian-Silesian Region

We Help Fight the Coronavirus

During the pandemic the university made use of its know-how and infrastructure to best help the region deal with the situation.

In the spring months it primarily concerned the preparation of disinfectant solutions for hospitals and other facilities. In cooperation with the Regional Office, 26,170 litres of dis- infectant was prepared. In cooperation with the City of Ostrava, seventy 3D printers were taken to a printing farm, where almost 7,000 shields were produced.

Cooperation with the Czech Technical Uni- versity and the University Hospital in Ostra- va on the introduction of an online system for monitoring hospital beds was successful.

For the needs of the Government of the Czech Republic, in cooperation with T-Mobile Czech Republic a.s. information about the move- ment of Czech residents is mined. The resul- ts are available at the Mobility Atlas of the Czech Republic portal. For activities related to the fight against coronavirus, computing time was offered as a part of IT4Innovations.

Last but not least, a tracing centre was es- tablished at the Faculty of Safety Enginee- ring in cooperation with the Regional Public Health Office.

It came to help all VSB-TUO employees and students in their difficult fight and to prove a key third role by our university in the region.

08

INTERNATIONALISATION

International activities were hit hard by the COVID-19 pan- demic. Marked restrictions for crossing borders and greatly restricted or even closed operations at universities abroad practically did not enable the realisation of classic mobility of VSB-TUO students and employees. Huge efforts were made so that the government restrictions for the quarantine of arriving students and employees were as effective as possible. VSB-TUO provided space for students in quarantine, during this time students were paid special grants alleviating the increased costs of overcoming this period and they were also provided with consultation services, including psycho- logical consultations.

Despite the restrictions on travelling, there were revisi- ons of bilateral contracts with partner universities and the range of exchanges for students was expanded, for example, to include Douglas College in Canada. There was also active cooperation as a part of the Urban Reseach and Knowledge Alliance (U!REKA), the development of exchanges of stu- dents and employees is being prepared. VSB-TUO is a member of a number of specialist networks, associations and international organisations. The most important include, for example, participation in the implementation of the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking.

205

students and employees had foreign placements

595

foreign students and employees had a place-

ment with VSB-TUO

266

self-payers studying

at VSB-TUO

Most Important Statements for 2020

» A new grant for students that are self-payers was introduced (studying in English-language study programmes).

» Former student and current employee Artem Chesalkin was selected among the final six in the DZS Award in the Study In category for a foreign graduate. VSB-TUO actively communi- cates with its foreign students and is expanding its network of foreign Alumni.

» There was an increase in grants for trips to third countries (outside the Erasmus+

programme).

» In 2020, there was a marked strengthening of the operation of the specialised Internatio- nal Contact Point for foreign students and employees. Two employees work full-time in the office. There was also increased demand for psychological advice in English. An information brochure was printed with basic information and contact details and handed over to faculties and centres; it is available to newly-arriving employees at the International Contact Point.

» New relaxation space was opened close to the International Contact Point, primarily for foreign students.

» Two International Weeks were successfully realised and attended by specialist adminis- trative workers from EU Member States and non-European countries. One was in-person, the other online.

Did you know that...

for the purpose of supporting and developing the recruitment of foreign students who are self- -payers, a new grant for students who are self-payers was introduced? After successfully com- pleting two-round selection proceedings, a student can get CZK 35,000. The grant for self-payers is for foreign students on in-person bachelor’s, subsequent master’s or PhD study programmes in English. It expanded the rich university range of supporting financial programmes to develop the mobility of students and employees in both directions. The university is interested in talented students, who are supported financially during their studies in the Czech Republic.

Trends in Number of Self-payers Studying at VSB-TUO (AY 2010/2011–2020/2021)

Number of Interactions Provided to Foreign Students at International Contact Point

ZS 18/19 LS 18/19 ZS 19/20 LS 19/20 ZS 20/21

0 200 400 600 800 1 000 1 200 1 400 1 600 1 800

Počet interakcí v ICP

1 716

667 641 680

760

2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400

Počet samoplátců

109 105

124 127

140

119 145

23

24 27

26

22

35 39

34 52 59 54 40 60 69

93 95 94

29 45 62

33

Fakulta USP FBI FAST FEI EkF FS FMT HGF

Development of International Contact Point

In 2020, there was a marked strengthe- ning of the operation of the specialised International Contact Point for foreign students and employees. Office em- ployees helped foreign students and employees mostly with complications dealing with residence permits due to the situation in the world, to a greater extent they dealt with healthcare servi- ces and health insurance companies, provided support during their time in quarantine and regularly informed the students of valid measures. They also assisted communication with employers or the labour office, accommodation providers and the Police of the Czech Republic. A matter of course is personal accompaniment during meetings in pla- ces where a language barrier can be ex- pected. You can communicate with the office in person, by telephone or e-mail.

There are two full-time employees, as well as student interns who help out primarily on the ground. A new relaxa- tion zone was opened for incoming fo- reign students, where the students can meet and prepare for lessons, in 2020.

ANNUEL REPORT ON ACTIVITIES OF VSB-TUO FOR 2020 Main Part

The Main Part of the Annual Report on Activities of VSB-TUO for 2020 includes:

Text Annex Table Annex

It is three separate volumes.

Published by: VSB - Technical University of Ostrava

Editors: doc. Ing. Igor Ivan, Ph.D., Ing. Andrea Šimoníková, Ing. Miroslav Neulinger

Photographs: VSB-TUO archives

Graphic design and typesetting: Mgr. Štěpánka Komínková 1. edition, Ostrava 2021

© 2021 VSB – Technical University of Ostrava ISBN 978-80-248-4529-6 (on-line)

https://doi.org/10.31490/9788024845296

ISBN 978-80-248-4529-6(on-line) https://doi.org/10.31490/9788024845296