The Technical University in Zvolen (also known as TUZVO) is a modern higher education institution providing education in all three levels of studies within the European Higher Education and Research Area. In the higher education system in Slovakia, the TUZVO has a unique specialisation within a focus on the spheres of forest – wood – ecology – environment with an appropriate expansion in other technical, natural, security, economics as well as design spheres.
In the field of research, the TUZVO fulfills its mission by solving research projects and programmes of national and international character in seven research areas: agricultural and forestry sciences, construction engineering and technologies, ecology and environmental sciences, manufacturing sciences, economics and management, security services, design; as well as in other related and applied areas.
Furthermore, the TUZVO accomplishes its mission in six groups of study programmes: forestry, construction engineering, manufacturing technologies, ecology and environmental sciences, security services, economics and management, and design; with an emphasis on the second and third level of study programmes and also accreditation and implementation of study programmes in foreign languages. In the academic year 2017/2018, the TUZVO provides 37 bachelor study programmes, 35 master study programmes, and 34 PhD study programmes. The university study programmes can be studied full-time and part-time. In addition, the University offers different educational courses and studies as a part of the University of the Third Age.
The TUZVO is proud of its mission of a green university issuing from the traditions of the Mining Academy in Banská Štiavnica, one of the oldest universities focused on the technical and forestry fields in Europe and the world. The TUZVO together with some other universities in Central Europe preserve heritage of the Mining Academy in Banská Štiavnica. In 1762, it started its educational pilgrimage on the basis of the edict by Empress Maria Theresa of Habsburg. In 1770, the Mining Academy grew up to a higher education institution and by involving teaching forestry disciplines also to an institution of green higher education. Nowadays, the TUZVO meets the concepts of the green university by providing the modern research findings for consistent observing principles.
According to the Long-term Plan for the years 2017-2023, the strategic aim of the University is to meet the mission of a university and research higher education institution which:
- is accepted in the national and international context,
- has high quality of educational, research and design activities,
- has graduates employable in practice,
- is focused on supporting the development of knowledge and innovative economy,
- is focused on effective and environmentally-friendly utilising natural resources,
- is focused on the third mission of universities with specific services for the society and region development,
- goes through processes taken place on ethical principles and assessed by the internal system of quality control, and
- applies the conception of effective internal control and risk control within all the processes