The Higher Education Act, Section 47b, determines the method of making theses public. University is obliged to make them publicly available through a database, including the readers’ reports (reviews or opinions) and the results of the defence. Furthermore, the final theses must be made available to the public at least five days before the defence.

The amendment of the Higher Education Act (2016) specifies the way final theses are made available. Section 47b Paragraph (4) defines the possibility of postponing the disclosure of thesis for three years.

Act No. 111/1998 Coll., on Higher Education Institutions and on Amendments and Supplements to some other Acts (The Higher Education Act)

Section 47b

Providing Public Access to Theses

(1) Higher education institutions are obliged to make public, at no profit to themselves, the Bachelor’s, Master’s, Doctoral, and advanced Master’s (“rigorózní”) theses that have been defended at their institutions, including the readers’ reports and the document on the course of the defence and the results of the defence. The institution will do this by making available a database of these theses. The means of providing access to these theses is stipulated in the internal regulations of the higher education institution. The higher education institution will not make a Doctoral thesis public, if the Doctoral thesis was already made public by other means.

(2) Bachelor’s Master’s, Doctoral, and advanced Master’s (“rigorózní”) theses that have been submitted by candidates for defence must also be made available to the public at least five days before the defence at a place designated for this purpose in the internal regulations of the higher education institution, and where this is not the case, in the department or other place at the higher education institution where the defence of the thesis will be taking place. Any individual is entitled, at his/her own expense, to make extracts, copies or photocopies of theses thus made available.

(3) By handing in a thesis, its author automatically gives assent to its being made public pursuant to the provisions of the Act, irrespective of the result of the defence.

(4) A higher education institution can delay the publication of Bachelor’s, Master’s, Doctoral, and advanced Master’s (“rigorózní”) theses or their parts for the duration of the barrier to publishing³¹⁾, but only for three years. Information about the delay together with the reasons must be published in the same place as the Bachelor’s, Master’s, Doctoral, and advanced Master’s (“rigorózní”) theses. After the defence of the Bachelor’s, Master’s, Doctoral, or advanced Master’s (“rigorózní”) thesis which is to be published with delay in compliance with the first Sentence, the higher education institution will send one copy to the Ministry to be stored, without undue delay. 

31) For example, Act No. 121/2000 Coll., on Copyright, on Rights Related to Copyright, and on Amending Certain Acts (Copyright Act), as amended, Act No. 412/2005 Coll., on the Protection of Classified Information and on Security Competence, Sections 504, 2976, and 2985 of the Civil Code.

The authors of final theses sign a declaration on the use of the result of their final theses.

This declaration is based on the Copyright Act, Section 35 regarding the use of work, and Section 60 regarding the concept of school work.

The author acknowledges that VSB-TUO can use the final thesis for its internal needs without profit, and in the case of use of the final thesis by the author, consent of VSB-TUO is required.

Act No. 121/2000 Coll., on Copyright and Rights Related to Copyright and on Amendment to Certain Acts (the Copyright Act)

Section 35

Use of Work as Part of Civil and Religious Ceremonies or as Part of Official Events Organised by Public Authorities or during School Performances, and Use of School Work

/1) Copyright is not infringed by anybody who uses a work during civil or religious ceremonies or during official events organised by public authorities, provided that this is not done for the purpose of any direct or indirect economic or commercial advantage.

(2) Copyright is not infringed by anybody who uses a work during school performances performed exclusively by the pupils, students or teachers of the school or of the school-related or educational establishment, provided that this is not done for the purpose of any direct or indirect economic or commercial advantage.

(3) Copyright is not infringed by a school or school-related or educational establishment if they use for teaching purposes or to meet their own internal needs a work created by a pupil or student as a part of his school or educational assignments ensuing from his legal relationship to his school or the school-related or educational establishment (school work), provided that this is not done for the purpose of any direct or indirect economic or commercial advantage.

(4) The provision of Section 31 (1) of the sentence following the semicolon shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to Paragraphs (2) and (3).

Section 60

School Work

(1) A school or a school-related or educational establishment shall have the right to conclude, under usual terms, a licence agreement on the utilisation of a school work [Section 35 Paragraph (3)]. Where the author of such a work withholds his permission without stating a serious reason, such entities may claim compensation for the absence of manifestation of the author’s will in court. This is without prejudice to the provisions of Section 35 Paragraph (3).

(2) Unless otherwise agreed, the author of a school work may use his work or may grant the licence to any other party, unless this contravenes the legitimate interests of the school or school-related or educational establishment.

(3) The school or the school-related or educational establishment shall be entitled to claim an adequate contribution to be provided by the author of the school work from the income earned by him in connection with the exploitation of the work or with the granting of the licence pursuant to Paragraph (2) to cover the cost incurred by them in creating the work. Depending on the circumstances, the contribution may be up to the full amount of such costs. The amount of the contribution shall be determined with respect to the proceeds earned by the school or the school-related or educational establishment from the utilisation of the school work pursuant to Paragraph (1) above.

Study and Examination Regulations are based on the above-mentioned legislative standards and determine, among other things, how to proceed in the event that, for example, the author of the final thesis worked with sensitive data that were provided to him for the purpose of elaborating the final thesis by a cooperating company and this company does not wish to make the sensitive data publicly available. In such a case, sensitive data need to be processed in a separate report, and this separate work will be referenced in the final thesis.

Study and Examination Regulations for Study in Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree Programmes VSB – Technical University of Ostrava (TUO_VP_19_002)

Article 26

Theses

(1) In the thesis, the student proves his/her ability to solve a problem assigned to him/her, the capability to present the problem both in oral and written forms, and to defend his/her individual viewpoint when solving it. The Bachelor’s thesis and diploma thesis differ in character of given problems and extent and depth of their processing. The elaboration of the Bachelor’s and Master thesis is a part of the study plan.

(2) Topics for theses are assigned on the basis of the thesis supervisor’s proposals and announced by the heads of departments always at the beginning of the academic year. Topics for theses may also come from proposals made by students (Section 62 (1) (f) of the Act). The topics, the way how they are made public and the student’s choice of the thesis are determined by the Dean.

(3) Assignments of theses include a brief characterization of problems to be solved and objectives to be reached, basic literature and the name of the thesis supervisor. The thesis supervisor may be a person who is employed at VSB-TUO or has concluded an agreement with VSB – Technical University of Ostrava outside employment. The thesis supervisor may also be a student of a doctoral degree programme at VSB-TUO in the full-time study form.

(4) The thesis supervisor and its opponent appointed by the head of the department will write opinions on this thesis. The student is entitled to get acquainted with these opinions at least three days before the defence takes place. If needed, the head of the department can appoint more opponents.

(5) The defence of the thesis begins with the student’s presentation of the main results contained in his/her thesis, after it he/she makes statements to the comments given in the thesis supervisor’s and the opponent’s or opponents’ opinions. Then a discussion follows.

(6) In submitting the thesis, the author agrees with its publication pursuant to the law, without any regard to the result of the defence. 

(7) The thesis, submitted at least five working days before the defence takes place, must be open to the public at the seat of the department where the defence will take place and where the final state examination will be arranged. Everyone is allowed to make extracts, printouts and copies at his/her own expenses. The head of the department, who is responsible for the organization of the final state examination, ensures that a record is made of persons who have made use of this possibility.

(8) VSB-TUO sees to the non-profit publication of theses with the passed defence together with the opponent’s opinions and results of the defence through the database of theses, which is administered by the University Library and supported by the information system. The Faculty may postpone the publication of the thesis pursuant to Section 47b (4) of the Act. The request for postponement of publication is submitted by the thesis supervisor through the information system to the Vice-Dean for Study Affairs. The application must include a justification for the postponement and a deadline for publishing the work.

(9) Should the assessment of the thesis emerge from co-operation with other legal or non-legal persons, the introduction to the thesis usually includes a declaration made by a representative of the legal or non-legal person announcing that he/she accedes to publishing. 

The formal layout of theses is set by the faculty regulation.

(10) Provisions as set in Pars. 7 – 8 are applied unless special legal regulations concerning intellectual property or business secret¹⁾ determine otherwise.

1) e.g. Act No. 121/2000 Coll. on Copyright and Rights Connected with Copyright and the amendments and supplements to some other acts.
Section 504 of Act No. 89/2012 Coll. Of the Civil Code.

Study and Examination Regulations for Study in Doctoral Degree Programmes VSB – Technical University of Ostrava (TUO_VP_07_005)

Art. 20

Doctoral thesis

(1) The doctoral thesis is the result of completing a specific scientific task, it demonstrates a student’s ability to work in a scientifically creative way, and must contain the original results of the scientific work. The doctoral thesis is a comprehensive dissertation that contains the original published scientific results of the student or results received for publication. For the doctoral thesis, a set of publications or the publication of accepted manuscripts with an integrative text can be accepted.

(2) In the case of a joint work of more authors, the student´s share must be clearly and materially determined, and the positions of the associates with their percentage share should be attached.

(3) The doctoral thesis is written in the language in which the doctoral degree programme is accredited and the study carried out. If the degree programme is accredited and the study done in Czech, the thesis may also be written in Slovak. at the request of the student and on the basis of the opinion of the supervisor and the faculty councils, the Dean decides in which language the doctoral thesis will be written according to Art. 14 paragraph 7.

(4) The doctoral thesis usually includes the following parts:

a) an annotation in Czech or Slovak and in English, to the extent of one text page,
b) an introduction and overview of the current state of the subject matter the doctoral thesis deals with,
c) the objective and content of the doctoral thesis,
d) processing methods,
e) doctoral thesis results mentioning new knowledge and how it is analysed,
f) specific conclusions for implementing it in practice or for further development of the discipline,
g) the literature used and other sources the student used or responded to,
h) a list of own work related to the doctoral thesis topic,
i) the conclusion of the work and recommendations for further research and development in one of the languages referred to in Art. 14 paragraph 7; the scope of this conclusion is approximately a one page text (if the doctoral thesis is written in one of the languages referred to in Art. 14 paragraph 7, the conclusion of this thesis and recommendations for further procedures must be written in Czech or Slovak).
A formal modification of the doctoral thesis is determined by the faculty.

(5) The student submits the doctoral thesis in electronic form and, at the same time, submits an application for defence. The Dean determines whether the dissertation should be submitted in hard copy.

(6) A supplement to the doctoral thesis can be a summarized report, which serves to inform the scientific public about the main results of the thesis. The content of the doctoral thesis is summarized in the abstract. Formal modification is determined by the faculty. The summarized report is written in the Czech language, or in the language in which the doctoral thesis was drafted. The summarized report is a one page abstract. If the summarized report is written in Czech, then the abstract is written in English. If the summarized report is written in a foreign language, the abstract is drawn up in Czech. The summarized report is submitted in electronic and printed form. The number of copies is determined by the Dean. The Dean determines the possible submission of the summarized report.

(7) It is true that by submitting a doctoral thesis the author agrees to publish his/her work according to the Act, regardless of the result of the defence.

Materials available after logging into InNET:

• Instructions for the Final Thesis Elaboration (HGF_SME_15_001, version C)

Digital repository DSpace VSB-TUO:

• Theses and dissertations of Faculty of Mining and Geology (HGF)

• Guide for the Elaboration of Master’s Theses

Digital repository DSpace VSB-TUO:

• Theses and dissertations of Faculty of Materials Science and Technology (FMT)

Materials available after logging into InNET:

• Guide for Elaboration of Theses (Bachelor’s and Master’s) (FS_SME_05_003 version: L)
• Thesis template (cze)
• Example cover – p. 1 (cze)
• Example cover – p. 2 (cze)
• FME department logos (cze)
• Guidelines for the Preparation of the Dissertation Thesis Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, VŠB-TUO (FS_PKP_19_001 version: A)
• Dissertation propositions template (cze)
• Dissertation template (cze)
• Dissertation autoreport cover template (cze)

Digital repository DSpace VSB-TUO:

• Theses and dissertations of Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (FS)

Materials available after logging into InNET, some of them exclusively for EKF students and employees:

• Directive by the Dean of EkF, VŠB-TU of Ostrava on Guidelines for Graduate Theses (EkF_SME_12_002 version: J)
• Guidelines for Development of Doctoral Thesis Proposals and Doctoral Theses (Ekf_SME_11_001 version: C)

Digital repository DSpace VSB-TUO:

• Theses and dissertations of Faculty of Economics (EKF)

• Binding Guidelines for Writing Bachelor’s/Master’s/PhD Theses

Digital repository DSpace VSB-TUO:

• Theses and dissertations of Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (FEI)

Materials available after logging into InNET:

• Guidance for Elaboration of the Thesis and Organization of the State Final Examination (FAST_VYH_21_003)

Digital repository DSpace VSB-TUO:

• Theses and dissertations of Faculty of Civil Engineering (FAST)

Materials available after logging into InNET:

• Formal Guidelines for the Dissertation Thesis (FBI_SME_10_002 version: D) 

Digital repository DSpace VSB-TUO:

• Theses and dissertations of Faculty of Safety Engineering (FBI)

Successfully defended theses are imported from the Edison to the DSpace VSB-TUO repository several times a year. Being in the repository, electronic theses are publicly available in accordance with the Higher Education Act.