The Department provides education within the framework of Bachelor’s and Master’s study programmes. The Department is a guarantor of the follow-up Master’s study programme Quality and Processing of Agricultural Products. The doctoral study is effectuated within the study programme Agricultural Chemistry and Biotechnology, which includes product quality.

In the aforementioned programmes of study, students are introduced for example to the following areas:

• Quality of plant products,
• Quality of animal products,
• Fermentation technology,
• Brewing technology,
• Meat processing,
• Cheese making,
• Innovation in the processing industry,
• Methods for assessing the quality of agricultural products.

Studies at our Department take place in recently modernized classrooms and laboratories, including the newly built university minibrewery and meat and milk processing establishments.

During laboratory practicals, students learn of methods for determining product quality, by application of both basic analytical procedures and specific analyses on a liquid chromatograph with mass detection and NIR-analyser.

Our technology laboratory enables students to practically verify their theoretical knowledge of technological procedures of production of beer, wine, vinegar, sauerkraut, bread leaven, sterilized products (vegetable mixtures, jams), fresh cheese and other fermented dairy products, fish and heat-treated and unprocessed meat products, using modern equipment.

With reference to processing technology, great attention is paid to issues closely associated with placing food on the market, including the way consumers perceive food – i.e. nutritional properties of food, sensory analysis of food, health safety and hygiene of food, and last but not least, food industry legislation.

We will teach our students mainly the skills to move and work in an analytical laboratory from the perspective of laboratory control of food products. Students will have an excellent insight into the issues related to the processing of agricultural products and their application in food industry.

Studying at our Department is undoubtedly the right choice for those students who are interested in the quality of agricultural products and the aspects that affect it.

The content of our study programmes will also be appreciated by those who wish to learn details of technological procedures of processing individual agricultural raw materials and other rules of food production.

Creatives and innovators will enjoy the opportunity to design, execute and present their own products.

Last but not least, studies are intended for those students who are not indifferent to the quality and safety of Czech food.

During studies at our Department, students undertake a 4-week mandatory practical training. To complete their practical training, students are welcome to choose a specific food establishment themselves, for example in the place of their residence or abroad.

Our graduates find employment on the labour market in the following positions for example:

• Technologists in food industry,
• Inspectors in the supervision of raw materials and food (e.g. in the State Agricultural and Food Inspection Authority),
• Civil servants (e.g. at the Ministry of Agriculture),
• Private entrepreneurs and consultants in raw material processing and food production,
• Researchers,
• Teachers.

In the research area, our predominant focus is on obtaining subsidies from research and development projects. In recent years, the Department has been successful mainly in the area of national grants. These include programmes of the National Agency for Agricultural Research (NAZV), announced by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, and programmes of the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TAČR) concentrated on verifying the results of research and development for practical applications and commercial use. The development of research at the Department was also fostered by certain OP programmes, provided by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic.

In the above-mentioned projects, we have capitalized on our long-term cooperation with renowned universities, research institutes and commercial establishments, and we regularly participated in projects in the framework of institutional programmes (Grant Agency of the University of South Bohemia (GAJU), Institutional Development Plans (IRP), etc.).

Topics at the centre of our attention are varied: quality of meal and milk and factors affecting it, the use of substances of nutritional importance in food fortification, etc.

When it comes to foreign cooperation, our Department has so far been involved in one-off cooperation with various institutions in Slovakia, the Netherlands or Poland, chiefly for the purpose of implementation of joint projects, internships, conferences and participation in them.