APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110012-0
by the federal and state governments amounted in 1972 to US$1.56 billion (using the official but unrealistic rate of exchange of 7.20 korunas = US$1.00), of which about 80% was expended in the Czech state. The amount appears to be excessive and probably includes items not properly included under research and development. Funds for research at the universities are not separately stated but are included in their annual operating budgets. Approval of funds for the academic sector is based on reviews by high-level committees consisting of the Deputy Ministers of Technology, Finance, Planning, and the Interior. In view of this, approvals requires considerable time, resulting in delays in initiation of research programs.
C. Scientific education, manpower, and facilities (C)
The quality of scientific and technical education in Czechoslovakia is good. High standards are maintained in spite of the overcrowding that prevails at some institutions. The Czechoslovak Government in 1972 cut back drastically on university enrollments in science and technology. At one institute, for example, admissions were down from 100 per year to 20. University-level scientific and technical training is provided by nine universities and technical schools, with a total enrollment of about 74,000. These institutions are (in descending order of enrollment): Charles University, Prague; Comenius University, Bratislava; Technical University of Prague; Slovak Technical University, Bratislava; Purkyne University, Brno; Palacky University, Olomouc; College of Chemical Technology, Prague; State College of Mining and Metallurgy, Ostrava; and College of Chemical Technology, Pardubice. There are also several specialized colleges in agriculture and engineering. All higher education, including postgraduate training, is free; stipends, based on need and academic excellence, are designed to direct students into scientific and technical specialties according to quotas set by the government and based on anticipated manpower requirements.
Scientific and technical education in the universities and technical colleges includes 3 years of general mathematics and science courses, 2 to 3 years of specialization supplemented by industrial practice, and preparation and defense of an undergraduate thesis covering a design or technical process. Graduates bear such titles as diploma physicist and diploma engineer. A 7-year program of reform of higher technical education, instituted in 1959, was designed to emphasize the program of practical work and to decrease excessive specialization. Approximately 10,000 students were being trained in the fields of science and technology at the universities and the CSAV in 1968.
There is ample opportunity for postgraduate study in Czechoslovakia. Both the universities and CSAV institutes offer programs leading to the Candidate of Sciences degree. Some postgraduate students enroll in the scientific aspirantura program, which is offered in both full-time (regular) and part-time (external) study. The regular aspirantura is a 3-year program consisting of 18 months of study and examination and 18 months in preparation of a scientific dissertation, which must be a significant scientific contribution. The external aspirantura has no time restriction on the period of study and permits young specialists to work full time as laboratory assistants and technicians while attending courses and seminars at night. Less formal postgraduate training also is offered through a program of scientific preparation of selected personnel at scientific research institutes and of selected assistants working on assigned projects at higher schools.
Holders of the degree of Candidate of Sciences (more or less equivalent to the Ph.D. degree in the United States) may, after additional research experience, submit a doctoral dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Science. This is the highest degree awarded in Czechoslovakia, and the doctoral thesis is intended to be a profound and original scholarly work.
Much of the responsibility for the training of scientific research workers rests with the CSAV, which utilizes many of the country's science graduates and competes with universities, ministerial institutes, and industry for their services. As required by law, the CSAV provides scientific instruction and cooperates with the universities in the selection and training of qualified scientific workers in both basic and applied sciences. In 1971 there were approximately 1,800 individuals in the CSAV who were engaged in full- and part-time training activities. In 1966, 34 aspirantura in the CSAV program received the degree of Doctor of Science and 267 received the degree of Candidate of Sciences. The CSAV has had some difficulty in recent years in placing some of its graduates. It has tended to absorb the best researchers in the country. Therefore, many of the outstanding men in Czechoslovak research are identified with CSAV institutes, which employ a total of about 16,000 persons at various professional levels. Of this number, approximately 7,000 have advanced degrees. Employment of scientists within the CSAV who do not
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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110012-0
