<div>Z the Institute of Art in Pilsen, there will be a faculty, thus concluding a decade-long effort</div>

Plzeň - The Institute of Art and Design (UUD) will become the ninth faculty of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen (ZČU). The accreditation committee recommended the transformation into an art faculty on Wednesday. Thus, the Faculty of Art and Design Ladislav Sutnar (FDS) will be established under ZČU, and its dean could be elected by November. "This would culminate our more than ten-year effort," said Josef Mištera, the director and founder of the institute, which has over 500 students. The focus will be on design and applied arts.
    "We still have a lot of work ahead of us before there will be an academic senate for the faculty that will elect the dean. Once the official statement from the ministry arrives, the rector will determine who will lead the institution to the senate and dean elections," Mištera stated. All transformation processes will take several more months.
    "For example, there will be work for the university's academic senate, all employment contracts must be re-conceived for the faculty, and all students must express their consent to the formal transfer under the FDS faculty," noted UUD deputy director Lenka Kodýtková. The transfer will create an academic community of the faculty, which will elect its senators. They will then announce and conduct the election of the dean. "Now, it depends on how quickly certain bodies of ZČU can be convened," Kodýtková added.
    The Institute of Art and Design was established in 2002 as a precursor to the art faculty of ZČU. Last year, the institution successfully completed a building on the university campus in Borská pole, providing it with 6,000 m² of studios, workshops, computer labs, offices, and storage spaces. Additionally, there is 1,000 m³ of so-called outdoor studio space.
    Currently, the institute has approximately 400 undergraduate students and over 100 students in the follow-up master's program. Another roughly 160 people attend lifelong learning courses. "The school staff consists of five professors, ten associate professors, more than 30 research and teaching assistants, nearly 20 technical and administrative staff in various positions, and 30 external collaborators," Kodýtková added. Dozens of educators from other faculties of ZČU are also involved in teaching specialized subjects.
    The main focus is on design and applied arts, with a principle not to duplicate fields within the Czech Republic. The institution emphasizes intensive interdisciplinary and inter-faculty cooperation and strives to involve specific companies and customers in the teaching process. "This creates an optimal position for establishing the planned incubator for creative industries, which will help graduates find their place in building creative teams, collaborating with industry, founding spin-off companies, or their own brands," Mištera said.