Innovation Week at the Department of International Business was Successfully Carried out in the Spirit of Connection with Corporate Partners

In the 7th week of the semester (Ocrober 31st – November 4th, 2022) the Innovation Week took place for the first time at Prague University of Economics and Business (VSE). It aimed to enable students to connect acquired knowledge and practical experiance and introduce new possibilities to traditional forms of teaching. Students could choose to attend countless exciting events, workshops, and lectures organized for them by the Department of  International Relations.  The Innovation Week was a great success, corporate partners and students appreciated especially the opportunity to connect the academic sphere with the corporate practice.

Students could attend any from the following lectures:

• lecture by Juan Carlos Cedeño, the marketing manager at Warner Bros. Pictures, who introduced the marketing specifics of the film industry, the basic terminology of the industry, and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic,
• ČSOB expert lecture on risk management followed by a competition in solving an assigned case study,
• the interactive lecture and discussion on “Business within Cross-Cultural Environment: Chinese Culture and Business – Practical Experience” moderated by  Ing. Jitka Volfová, Ph.D., who introduced the guest speaker Ing. Weiqi She, who has been working with Chinese business partners for a long time and currently works in the Prague branch of ICBC BANK China,
• moderated discussion led by Ing. Zuzana Křečková Kroupová, M.A., Ph.D. on the topic of managerial experience with leading people across continents, during which Ing. Elvíra Čermáková and her experience with team management was introduced. Students were most interested in her work in Nigeria and the Middle East.
• and last but not least, the lecture by Ing. M.Sc. Tomáš Sadílek, Ph.D. focusing on writing bachelor and diploma theses.

Available were also workshops:

• Director of Svaz spedice a logistiky ČR (Association of Forwarding and Logistics of the Czech Republic) Ing. Petr Rožek, Ph.D. prepared a workshop that focused on the role of the FIATA organization, the current decline in the volume of transport associated with the gradual cooling of the world economy, as well as the issue of piracy, the New Silk Road project and environmental and legislative issues.
• Students had the opportunity to participate in the workshop called “How to build the brand in the BtpBtoC environment” led by Laszlo Szabo , the experienced marketer from L’Oréal,
• and to prepare of a job interview during the training called Job Interview Training within Human Resources Management in International Context by Ing. M.Sc. Tomáš Sadílek, Ph.D.
• Ing. Václava Kloudová Jiřičková enabled the students to delve into the secrets of working with their own will and find out how they can better control it.
• Students could experience coaching firsthand with Mgr. Ing. Kamila Matysová, Ph.D.
• Ing. Martin Zaklasník, Ph.D. in his Innovation and Design Thinking workshop showed students how they can unlock their innovative potential for solving complex problems.

In addition to the lectures and workshops, the following excursions were organized:

• Students could visit the Prague office of McCann Erickson and learn how an advertising agency works, how advertising campaigns are created, and who the key players in an advertising agency are.
• There was an opportunity to visit the Logistic Centre of the Czech federation of food banks (CFFB), where the operation of food banks in the Czech Republic and the role of the logistics centre was introduced in more detail. A workshop on food aid was also prepared for the students.
• Last but not least, the students had the opportunity to visit the Czech National Bank, where they learned about the Czech currency’s history and the central bank’s essential functions in the economy.

Throughout the week,  consultations on team projects took part. (Team projects assigned within the scope of the currently studied subjects often directly with company partners)

A gallery with pictures will be added soon.