Univerzita Tomáše Bati ve Zlíně

Since the inception of our Welcome Centre during the Covid era, providing wellbeing activities and advisory services has become an integral part of our operations. These activities were launched in response to the successive crises – from the epidemic and lockdowns in the early Covid years to the war in Ukraine, which brought about a cataclysmic shift in our perception of daily reality. Initially designed for international students, these activities are now extended to Czech students and staff at UTB in Zlín.

Wellbeing Workshops

We organize wellbeing courses and workshops for both Czech- and English-speaking students and staff at UTB. For student workshops, we collaborate with the UTB Advisory Centre, and you can find and register for upcoming workshops through the Job Centre UTB calendar. For the Human Resources Development Department at UTB, we organize well-being and other workshops for staff, which you can register for here.

Organizing Wellbeing Weekends for Informal Education

Since 2022, we have been organizing weekend well-being courses at the university lodge, primarily in English. These courses are open to both Czech and international students or staff interested in improving their competencies in self-care, wellbeing, or intercultural communication (e.g., enhancing English skills). The goal is to help participants fully realize their potential without unnecessary limitations while at UTB.

•  Leading Support Groups for Students
• These groups provide a safe environment for students to share and support each other in resolving everyday and academic issues (available in Czech and English). You can register for these support groups through the Advisory Centre’s online event calendar.
• Individual Consultations and Assistance – Our staff are trained in providing basic first aid for acute mental health issues such as anxiety. For longer-term consultations and counselling, we recommend Psychological Counseling at UTB.

Since 2022, we have been organizing intercultural competency courses for incoming international students and researchers. These formal and informal educational activities help introduce them to the specifics of Czech culture and behavioral norms. Our goal is to help foreigners understand why locals think and act the way they do, thereby reducing cultural shock experienced upon arrival in the Czech Republic.

Our mentor, Mgr. František Brázdilík, has also been leading intercultural courses for colleagues from other Czech universities and the Czech and Slovak Academy of Sciences under the EURAXESS brand since 2023. Starting in 2024, we plan to extend these courses to Czech students and employees at UTB in Zlín.

Collaboration with the Food Bank of the Zlín Region

Since 2022, we have regularly participated in the national food collection initiative with international students. Our students assist during these weekends in Zlín’s retail chains by handing out flyers, sorting, and packaging donated food, which is then distributed by the local Food Bank to regional charitable organizations that serve people in need.

Collaboration with TYMY Free Time Center

Would you like to collaborate with us? Would you like to involve our international students in meaningful activities? Do you want international students to visit and share their culture with the pupils of your primary school? Let us know. For European countries, you can directly contact our international student volunteer club, ESN Zlín. For students from non-European countries, write to us at welcome-centre@utb.cz or contact our coordinator, Mgr. František Brázdilík, via his WhatsApp or mobile listed in the contacts section.

Welcome Centre UTB collaborates with the Europe-wide network EURAXESS – Researchers in Motion, which provides advisory services to international researchers and their families. Currently, our representative, Mgr. František Brázdilík, is also a contact point for EURAXESS Czech Republic in Zlín.

In collaboration with the EURAXESS Czech Republic network, we offer incoming international researchers (and their families) the following activities and training:

• Integration Courses – both mandatory adaptation and optional ones at UTB in Zlín, which help incoming researchers and their families understand life in the Czech Republic and its cultural specifics.
• Taxation in the Czech Republic – obligations of taxpayers.
• “Second Career” Advisory Services for the partners of international researchers, as well as housing, interpretation, accompaniment to offices and healthcare facilities, and finding suitable educational institutions for their children.

Are you a UTB student who wants to help others? Are you looking for a place to meet international students in Zlín? Are you an international student with excellent English who would like to help international students or Czech students improve their English? Join us as a volunteer or workshop lecturer at the Welcome Centre! Contact us at welcome-centre@utb.cz or directly write to our coordinator, Mgr. František Brázdilík, via WhatsApp or mobile listed in the contacts section.