Study Information

School without Barriers

Metropolitan University Prague has been implementing the “School without Barriers” programme since 2003. This programme enables applicants with disabilities to study at MUP.

Pursuant to MUP Bursary Code, students with disabilities can apply for disbursement of a bursary for their whole course of study at MUP. This programme allows MUP applicants with disabilities to study in fully barrier-free buildings.

Currently, Metropolitan University Prague employs 5 students and graduates of the School without Barriers programme.

The Programme Includes

  • bursary in the amount of 90% of the tuition fees for the whole course of study (student who was granted the bursary shall pay only 10% of the total sum of tuition fees per academic year)
  • barrier-free study environment in MUP buildings
  • possibility of having a special study regime
  • individualised forms of communication
  • ability to consult with the Counsellor for Students with Disabilities
  • loan of equipment needed for study (notebooks, voice recorders, relevant literature, voice transcription software and rhetoric courses to ensure its correct use).

Awards Received by the School without Barriers Programme

  • HANNDINOV EUROPE 2008 Award – for the best programme/project in support of young people with disabilities
  • Committee of Good Will – the Olga Havel Foundation Award - for the best project in support of university students with disabilities
  • Third place in the Equal Opportunity – Employer 2010 Competition – for employing persons with disabilities
  • First place in the Equal Opportunity – Employer 2014 Competition – for employing persons with disabilities
  • Bridges (Mosty) award 2014
  • Second place in the Equal Opportunity – Employer 2016 Competition – for employing persons with disabilities

SPORTS AND CULTURAL EVENTS

MUP endorses and participates in a number of events that promote inclusion of persons with disabilities within the society.

  • MUP is an annual partner of the Bridges (Mosty) award;
  • organizes gala balls and fashion shows;
  • participates in the Běchovice race;
  • organises an international floorball tournament for athletes on electric wheelchairs;

Students and Graduates

A total of 360 students took part in the programme; among them 270 students have already completed the full course of their studies successfully.

They also study abroad at universities in the EU within the framework of the Erasmus programme and take part in internships abroad.

Projects

From March 2013 until December 2015 Metropolitan University Prague, in cooperation with the Endowment Fund for Support of Employment of Persons with Disabilities (NFOZP), implemented the project "Work Training for Persons with Disabilities" financed by the European Social Fond within the framework of the Adaptability - Prague Operational Programme (OPPA), where 40 persons with disabilities were given the opportunity to participate in at least five-month internships in companies that are interested in cooperation with persons with disabilities. The project includes other activities, such as educational and vocational guidance services and lifelong education. By the end of 2013, 70 persons with disabilities, students, and fresh graduates from MUP and other public and private universities in Prague took part in the project.

Between 2007 and 2014 MUP implemented projects aimed at employment of persons with disabilities (co-financed by the European Social Fund); several MUP students took part in these programmes. Following the conclusion of the programme, some of its participants continue to be employed at MUP and other organisations (Kapsch, Siemens, VZP, Komerční banka etc.) The purpose of these projects was to facilitate access to the labour market for young persons with physical disabilities.

COOPERATION

Metropolitan University Prague entered into an agreement on long-term cooperation with the Czech National Disability Council that, among other things, works together with MUP during the admission proceedings for the School without Barriers programme.

To implement the programme, MUP collaborates with other institutions and companies that help students with disabilities find their first employment; some of these companies offer the opportunity for MUP students with disabilities to complete their practical training on their premises.

Cooperation and sharing of experience with foreign partners, such as Norwegian University of Science and Technology, which partnered up with MUP to implement projects aimed at education and employment of persons with disabilities, is of utmost importance to MUP with respect to the development of the School without Barriers programme. "The transition of graduates with disabilities to the labour market" was a project running in 2014 and 2015.