The Tatra for Schools Project Successfully Continues in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

The unique project by the car manufacturer Tatra Trucks, aimed at popularizing technical fields among high school students, has had another prosperous period. Over the past two years, several more technical high schools from both the Czech Republic and Slovakia have joined the Tatra for Schools initiative. The project will continue in both countries in the new school year.

During the last two school years, students from schools in the Zlín, South Moravian, Moravian-Silesian, Pardubice, Hradec Králové, Pilsen, and Trenčín regions assembled Tatra Phoenix trucks in 4×4 and 6×6 configurations. For most schools, this was their several-time participation in the project, while some schools participated for the first time this year. The successful implementation of the project in selected high schools was once again significantly supported by the regional road maintenance administrations, for whom the finished Tatra trucks are intended. The Tatra for Schools initiative has traditionally been supported by the dealerships of Tatra Trucks and various regions in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Zlín Region

Among the regular participants of the Tatra for Schools project are the Secondary Vocational School (SOU) Valašské Klobouky and the Secondary Industrial School (SPŠ) Otrokovice from the Zlín region. Both schools completed several Tatra Phoenix trucks during the last and current school years. At the end of the 2022/2023 school year, students from SOU Valašské Klobouky and SPŠ Otrokovice ceremoniously handed over two Tatra Phoenix 4×4 trucks to the Slovácko Road Maintenance Administration. The ceremonial handover took place at the Tatra Trucks plant in Kopřivnice.

Both schools continued their participation in the project during the current school year. In May, apprentices from Valašské Klobouky successfully completed the assembly of two Tatra Phoenix 6×6 trucks for the Zlín Road Maintenance Administration. Both trucks were recently handed over for diagnostics and then delivered to the Zlín road maintenance team. In the first week of June, students from SOU Valašské Klobouky completed another Tatra Phoenix 6×6 truck, intended for the Valašsko Road Maintenance Administration, with its ceremonial handover scheduled for the beginning of the 2024/2025 school year. The long-term successful collaboration between Tatra Trucks, SOU Valašské Klobouky, the region, and the road maintenance teams was acknowledged by Radek Doležel, the Deputy Governor of the Zlín Region for Transport. In the upcoming school year, the Kroměříž Technical Preparation Center is also planning to join the project.

During the 2023/2024 school year, SPŠ Otrokovice students assembled another two Tatra Phoenix trucks in 4×4 and 6×6 configurations for the Slovácko Road Maintenance Administration. The 4×4 Tatra Phoenix truck was built in the DAF TATRA Otrokovice workshops, while the 6×6 truck was assembled directly at the Tatra Trucks plant. Both trucks were ceremoniously handed over to the road maintenance team on May 7, 2024, at the Tatra Trucks plant. The project has long been supported by the local Tatra vehicle dealer, TRUCK TRADE, providing the students with the necessary facilities for vehicle assembly.

The Tatra for Schools project also saw participation from the Pardubice Region with the involvement of the Automotive Secondary School (SŠA) Holice and SŠA Ústí nad Orlicí. For the Pardubice Road Maintenance Administration, students from these schools assembled two Tatra Phoenix 4×4 trucks. These trucks were handed over to the Pardubice road maintenance team in November 2023 and were immediately put into service for road maintenance in the Lanškroun and Hlinecko areas. The assembly of these vehicles was completed just months after students handed over two other Tatra Phoenix trucks to the Pardubice road maintenance team at the Jičín Fair in summer 2023. The NAPA Trucks dealership has been a long-term supporter of both institutions in this initiative.

The Tatra for Schools project also took place in the Hradec Králové Region. The Technical and Craft School from Nový Bydžov, which had previously participated in the project, was involved. A Tatra Phoenix truck assembled by students from this school has been in service with the Hradec Králové Road Maintenance Administration for more than two years, specifically in the Trutnov area. The Tatra Phoenix 4×4 truck assembled this year underwent final diagnostics and was ceremoniously handed over to the Hradec Králové Road Maintenance Administration on April 17, 2024. The road maintenance team uses the Tatra Phoenix in the Rychnov area.

Pilsen Region

Students from the Pilsen Region also assembled their own Tatra Phoenix 4×4 truck this year. The project involved students from the Transport Industrial School (SPŠ), the Rokycany Secondary School, and the Kralovice Secondary School. The ceremonial handover of the vehicle to the Pilsen Road Maintenance Administration took place at the Tatra Trucks testing ground on April 9, with the attendance of Jaroslav Sokol, Head of the School Organization Department of the Pilsen Region. During the ceremony, representatives of the car manufacturer, Pilsen high schools, and the Road Maintenance Administration expressed their interest in continuing the Tatra for Schools project, with the possibility of the Pilsen road maintenance team receiving their fourth vehicle from students in 2025. The NEVA Group, a local Tatra vehicle dealer, also provided support to the students.

Trenčín Region

Tatra for Schools is now not only a Czech project but also a Slovak one. For the second time, two schools from the Trenčín Region participated in the project – the Bánovce nad Bebravou Technical Secondary School and the Považská Bystrica Technical Secondary School. Both schools assembled Tatra Phoenix trucks in a 4×4 configuration in cooperation with the local Tatra Trucks dealership. The vehicles assembled by the students were handed over to the Trenčín Road Administration on April 22 this year at the Tatra Trucks plant in Kopřivnice. The county’s leadership, representatives of the Road Administration, and school representatives plan to continue the Tatra for Schools project in the upcoming year.

Moravian-Silesian and South Moravian Regions

The Tatra for Schools project expanded to other regions over the past two years. In the Moravian-Silesian Region, students from the Kopřivnice Vocational School assembled a Tatra Phoenix truck for their driving school. Eleven students participated in the assembly of the Tatra Phoenix 4×4, which was diagnosed at the Tatra workshops on May 10 and blessed by the Ostrava-Opava bishop. The truck’s graphics were designed by students from the Opava Industrial and Artistic School. Students from the Bruntál Industrial and Business Academy also participated in the project this year, assembling a Tatra Phoenix 4×4 truck for the Moravian-Silesian Road Maintenance Administration. The ceremonial handover of the vehicle took place at the school on June 3, attended by the Deputy Minister of Education Jiří Nantl.

The Brno Automotive Integrated Secondary School completed its first Tatra Phoenix 4×4 truck. The assembled vehicle was handed over to the South Moravian Road Maintenance Administration at a ceremony attended by project partners at the administration’s headquarters in Brno. According to Roman Hanák, Director of the South Moravian Road Maintenance Administration, the Tatra for Schools project is an excellent way to increase students‘ interest in technical fields. „From our perspective, it is a great idea to engage young people in practical work, allowing them to handle specific parts and components of trucks while still in school, rather than just learning theory from textbooks,“ adds Hanák.

About the Tatra for Schools Project

The Tatra for Schools project was initiated in 2018 by Tatra Trucks to motivate young people to study technical fields. The project involves the active participation of the Kopřivnice car manufacturer, technical schools, regional road maintenance administrations, Tatra Trucks dealerships, and various regions across the country. In 2022, the project expanded to Slovakia. Students from selected technical high schools have the unique opportunity to assemble their own Tatra truck, which then goes into service in various regional institutions, allowing students to connect theoretical knowledge with practical experience. Through the Tatra for Schools project, Tatra Trucks, along with Tatra vehicle dealers, helps train new workers in the automotive and truck repair fields. The Vysočina Region was the first to implement the project in 2018. Since then, schools from other regions in the Czech Republic and Slovakia have joined. In 2019, Tatra Trucks received the School Friendly award for the Tatra for Schools project, awarded by the Moravian-Silesian Regional Development Association, the Moravian-Silesian Chamber of Commerce, and the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic.

About Tatra Trucks a.s.

In 2013, Tatra Trucks a.s. took over the world-renowned brand and the Kopřivnice car manufacturer, which successfully restructured after a change in ownership. In addition to standardized model lines, the company also produces custom-made special trucks tailored to customer requirements. The domestic markets in the Czech Republic and Slovakia are very important, and a large part of the company’s production is exported to dozens of countries worldwide. Tatra Trucks a.s. employs over 1,400 people, with another 700 working in its subsidiary Tatra Metalurgie a.s., which focuses primarily on foundry and forging. The shareholders of Tatra Trucks are the industrial technology holding Czechoslovak Group and the engineering group Promet Group.