The competition is named after Jindřich Halabala, a prominent figure in the furniture creation of the former Czechoslovakia of the 20th century. From the interwar period until his death in 1978, he played a significant role in raising the standard of housing and creating a new, modern lifestyle. Through his teaching activities at the former University of Forestry and Woodworking in Zvolen (currently the Technical University of Zvolen), he indirectly influenced the creation of the current Department of Furniture Design and Wood Products.

It was this workplace that, together with the ZSVTS Zvolen Woodworking Congress, organized the 5th International Symposium "Furniture 2004" in October 2004, where on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Jindřich Halabala and as a tribute to his lifelong work, the 1st year of the student competition was announced. Since then, the Professor Halabal Prize has been held periodically at annual intervals. Its professional guarantors and alternate organizers are the Technical University in Zvolen in Slovakia (odd years of the competition) and the Mendel University in Brno in the Czech Republic (even years). The statute of the competition was approved by the Scientific Councils of both universities, which participated in the birth of this event.

In past years, the competition was shaped like a Czechoslovak one. In the 11th year of the contest of Prof. Halabal 2015, the competition was also opened to participants from other European Union countries.