The development and the level of biotechnology and molecular biology have increasingly become a benchmark for assessing the degree of economic development of a country or region. At the same time, characterized with rapid dynamic developments, this discipline is wide-reaching and important in terms of scientific research. Hence, high demands are placed on scientific and research facilities, the level of theoretical and professional competence of staff of biotechnological operations. To satisfy these needs, we provide our students with extensive methodological background, deep and up-to-date theoretical knowledge and insight, hands-on experience and quality information sources.

As is the habit at the Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia, a large portion of instruction is interconnected with other Departments or fields of study: accordingly, students obtain a more complex education encompassing several scientific disciplines. Our Department of Genetics and Biotechnologies is a guarantor of the Bachelor’s, the follow-up Master’s and doctoral study programme AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY. We are also co-guarantors of the doctoral study programme AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY.

The main asset of our Department consists in the targeted focus on our graduates’ practical skills. One of the important objectives that we pursue is to teach students the practical use of modern laboratory techniques, to show them how to master the techniques and procedures of molecular biology and biotechnology, which provides our graduates with a path to secure a full-fledged employment in practice and the discipline they have studied. This approach enables our students to become members of laboratory teams as early as during their Bachelor’s studies, to be involved in projects and attend scientific conferences, whether in the Czech Republic or abroad.  

An integral part of our practical instructions is laboratory practicals, practical training and our students’ independent work in laboratories equipped with cutting-edge devices of our Biotechnological Centre of the Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, which thus creates the necessary conditions for the development of theoretical fundamentals of biotechnological disciplines, and works as a specialized scientific and research station focused on e the pivotal areas of the study programme Agricultural Biotechnology.

The study is suitable for everyone who would like to unveil the secrets of microbiology, genetics, molecular biology, microbial, plant and animal biotechnology, cultivation or bioinformatics.

Areas and questions that a prospective student should ask and answer with a “yes”:

University studies are not just about getting a degree for me, as my goal is to honestly delve into and direct my efforts in disciplines related to biology?

• Am I interested in developing not only my theoretical knowledge but also - and mainly so - practical skills and learning the “craft” of biotechnology and genetics?
• Do I wish to pursue an interesting career in the rapidly developing biological field and to offer the world my knowledge and practical skills?

Practical instruction is one of the key cornerstones of the whole study at our Department. We make it possible for our students to develop their practical skills within the discipline, for instance, in our molecular laboratories, and our students can choose to undergo their practical training in breeding or cultivation establishments or research institutes. Furthermore, we strive to ensure that our students are not limited to studying only at our University, wand we encourage them to complete foreign internships in the EU Member States, as well as, by way of example, New Zealand, the USA, Norway or China.

Your studies will prepare you for working in a wide array of job positions in the scientific or private spheres, both in the Czech Republic or abroad. Your career awaits you for example in:

• Research institutions (universities, departments of the Academy of Sciences, departmental research institutes),
• Breeding establishments and laboratories of breeding companies,
• Food industry,
• Central Institute for Supervising and Testing in Agriculture,
• Inspector positions,
• Diagnostic laboratories for plant medicine or animal health,
• Department of Forensic Technology and Expertise, Forensic Genetics and Forensic Medicine,
• Medical Genetics Centre,
• Private sector engaged in research and development of biotechnological applications, transfer of biotechnology from laboratory to semi-operational and operational scales in pharmaceutics, food industry or biological plant protection.

Since the Czech Republic and Czech companies rank among the world leaders in biotechnology and nanotechnology, a successful career of graduates is within their reach.

The Department’s research activities are mainly oriented on plant cultivation - genomic approaches to cultivation, associative transcriptomics, molecular selection markers or precise phenotyping in relation to the concept of “climate smart breeding”.

In addition, the objective of our research is the development of genomic tools for the cultivation of plants that are able to respond to climate changes, are stress-tolerant and provide a corresponding level of performance and quality. In similar terms, we are engaged in animal genetics research.

As regards international cooperation, the Department of Genetics and Agrobiotechnology  enjoys a long-standing cooperation with universities in the United Kingdom, United States of America, Italy, Germany or China. These universities include:

• University of York,
• University of Minnesota,
• NRS Sesto Fiorentino,
• Justus Liebig University,
• Fraunhofer Institute Giessen,
• OCRI CAAS Wuhan.