The University of Ostrava (OU) wants to build more university halls of residence. The construction of new accommodation buildings should more than double the current capacity of the dormitories. The Moravian-Silesian Region and the city of Ostrava will help the university with financing the construction, contributing CZK 90 million, said yesterday Adam Soustružník, head of the Centre for Marketing, Communication and Popularisation of the OU, and Nikola Birklenová, spokesperson for the region.
With the development of study programmes, the number of students is growing, but the university does not have sufficient capacity for them, which is the reason for the preparation of the project for the construction of new dormitories. “As a university, we are still growing and it is therefore natural that there are more students who need to use the accommodation facilities in Ostrava. We perceive that the shoe is beginning to drop in this direction and we need to find suitable halls of residence with sufficient accommodation capacity without delay,” said Rector Petr Kopecký. According to him, the construction will be costly and the university therefore welcomes financial support from the region and the city.
The construction is to be built on the site of the current Jan Opletal University Halls of Residence. At the site, the builders will demolish the connecting necks between the buildings and other unused facilities, according to Soustružník. Two buildings with more than 600 seats and other facilities for students will be built on the vacant area.
The new student accommodation is expected to cost approximately CZK 1 billion. Of this, around 575 million is covered by a subsidy from a programme of the Ministry of Education. The region and the city will contribute 90 million each. The rest of the money will be financed by a loan from the National Development Bank, which is also supported by a grant from the European Commission. The construction of the new university halls of residence should start in 2025. The university would like to put them into operation two years later.
Currently, the school with about 10,000 students has about 500 places available in the dormitories, which is one of the lowest accommodation capacities among universities, according to Soustružník. “The development of higher education is crucial for us. Our ambition is for Ostrava to become a centre of education. Offering interesting and unique fields of study can attract talent, but it is also necessary to ensure adequate infrastructure,” said Mayor Jan Dohnal (Spolu).
According to deputy mayor for education Andrea Hoffmannová (Pirates), accommodation on campus is now only realistic for about five percent of students, with about half being foreign students. “The construction of the new halls of residence is a project with elements of social housing, so it will offer a housing solution to students who cannot afford commercial accommodation. It will increase the current capacity of the halls of residence by more than one times as much, offering 663 beds in the new buildings,” Hoffmann said.
According to Deputy Governor Jaroslav Kani (ANO), the region is trying to support not only the secondary schools it establishes, but also higher education. “We are trying to create the best possible conditions for students to learn and acquire other skills in peace. By the way, since 2017, we have invested over five billion crowns in the education sector,” Kania said.
Source: CTK
