The Mendel University in Brno (MENDELU) is the oldest independent specialised university in the Czech Republic, established on 24 July 1919. MENDELU has five faculties - Faculty of Economy, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Faculty of Business and Economics, Faculty of Horticulture, Faculty of Regional Development and Lifelong Learning Institute. University has about 1300 employees, including 800 teachers and researchers.
In 2011, the establishment of an independent university institute CEITEC MENDELU within the Faculty of Agronomy, incorporated the University into an international scientific centre of excellence, the Central European Institute of Technology. At the end of 2012, the University received the prestigious certificates ETCS Label and Diploma Supplement Label from the European Commission. MENDELU is also a holder of the European HR Award.
MENDELU aims at interconnecting educational activities with new scientific knowledge and practice, ensuring the effectiveness of the research outputs. University collaborates with various state, research and private/commercial institutions and interest groups and associations.
The Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology at the Mendel University in Brno (FFWT MENDELU) consists of 13 departments, and the student population varies at about 1800. The FFWT MENDELU staff participates in the European and international consortia and projects such as H2020, INTERREG, COST, Norway Grants and others. In addition, they participate in various actions and implement priority research directions in the fields of interest in Europe and the world.
The FFWT MENDELU focuses on research and academic activities in arboristics, furniture design and furniture technology, forestry, landscaping, timber structures and wood building construction, wood technology and timber management, and furniture design at Bachelor, Master and Doctoral levels. The most critical research areas include Soil sciences and chemistry, Forest Health, Structure and Productivity, Silviculture, Forest Management, Wood Properties and Applications, Forest Economics and Policy. The FFWT mission is to facilitate education, support scientific research, and nurture creative ecologically sound activities related to land, forests, wood, and interior, emphasising ecology and aesthetics.
The FFWT MENDELU closely collaborates with the Training Forest Enterprise (TFE) Masaryk Forest Křtiny. The TFE manages 10 265 ha of forestland, serving with its experimental forest stands, greenhouses, forest nurseries, game preserve, a sawmill, mechanised log depot. Significant investments into research infrastructure include Josef Ressel Research Centre OP RDI CZ.1.05/4.1.00/11.0261 focused mainly on wood research and Phytophthora Research Centre CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/15_003/0000453. FFWT MENDELU also creates joint teams with another centre of excellence, the Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences (CzechGlobe).
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement N°952314.