On Tuesday, April 22, 2008 the
Academic Senate of the Silesian University in Opava decided unanimously to
appropriate four study programmes of the existing Faculty of Philosophy
and Science for the establishment of a new part of the Silesian University,
the Faculty of Public Policies. The new faculty began operation on October 1,
2008.
Since the beginning of the academic year 2016/2017, the students, teachers
and administrative staff use the newly renovated seat building at 14 Bezruč
Square, Opava. The original neo-baroque palace of the provincial finance
directorate from the early 20th century now houses modern teaching facilities
which provide all the necessary comfort for teaching and scientific research.
It offers
modem and comfortable premises for all of the instruction, the scientific
research and the implementation activities to take place. Everything is found
here under one roof, including the lecture halls, specialized classrooms with
first-rate equipment where the practical training is carried out, the
instructors ' offices 
and the
university library.
Scientific and educational
activities are provided by four departments:
·
Institute of Paramedical Health Studies
·
Institute of Pedagogical and Psychological Sciences
·
Institute of Public Administration and Social Policy
·
Institute of Special Education
The faculty focuses primarily on the instruction of students mainly in professional degree programs in areas of so-called helping professions (such as nursing, midwifery, dental hygiene, social pathology and prevention, social welfare, special education, education of the elderly, etc.) and on education usable in a wide range of sectors of public administration and social policy. The graduates are well prepared for future job performance thanks to high proportion of practical training. Already during their studies, the students are enabled to establish contacts with experts who often become their future employers. Graduates find employment in the public service sector from nursing over pedagogical specialization and social work to the public administration sphere, exhibiting extremely high employment rate.
On average, more than a
thousand students study at the faculty of whom primarily students of
Master’s and doctoral programs regularly engage in creative activities and
implementation of their own research work. The study is governed by a
credit system based on the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), which allows
candidates to complete part of their studies at partner universities abroad
(e.g. in Germany, Poland, Portugal, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy and the Slovak
Republic).
Students are supported through
merit, accommodation and other types of scholarships. The best students
interested in scientific research can raise funds to finance their
participation in the projects of student grant competition and they can also
succeed in the competition for the best final thesis.
Faculty of Public Policies
enables its researchers and other professionals to publish the results of
scientific work primarily by means of three journals. From 2013, the Faculty
publishes the peer-reviewed scientific journal Central European Papers, filed
since 2015 in the prestigious European database ERIH PLUS in the fields of
political science and history. Similarly, a journal called Social Pathology and
Prevention which reflects a multidisciplinary view of the area of risky
behaviour and its prevention is published in English since 2015. The newest
professional journal under the auspice of the Institute of Nursing is Nursing
Perspectives (Ošetřovatelské perspektivy).
As a research activity
priority, the faculty focuses on areas related directly to student theoretical
and practical background. Besides paramedical disciplines and
pedagogical-psychological issues in the field of special education, social
pathology and prevention and education of the elderly, research focuses on
current issues in the area adjacent to social policy, such as working with
ethnic and national minorities, migration and social integration and other
topical social issues.
The Faculty of Public Policies
with its educational focus and research profiles gradually became an essential
part of the Silesian University in Opava, helping to create a positive image of
the university in the public and contributing significantly to the education of
vocational professionals whose representation in the labour market is
dramatically scarce and who are essentially irreplaceable.
Faculty in Public Policies in
a nutshell:
- study programmes with a high
share of practical experience
- modern specialized
well-equipped classrooms
- focus on professional programmes
with applicability on the labour market
- modern faculty narrowly cooperating with practice and corresponding to the current needs of helping professions
