History of the University

The forerunner of Tomas Bata University in Zlín (TBU) was the Faculty of Technology founded on 15 April 1969 as part of the Brno University of Technology. For many years, the Faculty focused on educating specialists in leather, plastics and rubber technology. 

A project on the establishment of a new university was developed in the 1990s. At that time, the Faculty of Management and Economics and the Institute of Advertising and Marketing Communications (the prospective FMC) were founded. On 14 November 2000, the then Czech President Václav Havel signed the Act on the Establishment of Tomas Bata University in Zlín (TBU) and the University was founded as of 1 January 2001. Zlín became a university town offering higher education in a number of specialist fields.

The ceremony to mark the inauguration of Tomas Bata University and its first Rector Prof. Petr Sáha took place on 16 May 2001. It was attended by more than 400 guests, including representatives of all Czech universities and higher education institutions, members of the Parliament, local government representatives, businessmen, as well as many foreign guests.

One of the most honoured guests was Tomas Bata Jr, Dr.h.c., who deeply appreciated the foundation of a university bearing his father's name. The University was named after the founder of modern Zlín, Tomáš Baťa, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the life and inhabitants of the town as well as the whole country and its economy, after he had been neglected for many years by the communist regime.  

In January 2002, the Faculty of Multimedia Communications was established. Within the Czech Republic, it is a unique establishment providing degree programmes in Media and Communication Studies, and Visual Arts. The Faculty of Applied Informatics was founded on 1 January 2006, the Faculty of Humanities a year later. The newest Faculty, which is the Faculty of Logistics and Crisis Management, was launched on 1 September 2009. The number of students currently studying at the University is more than 12,000.