The University of Economics Prague
Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze (VŠE)
Ingrid Elise Hansen and Jeppe F. G. Bjerke
Fall 2009
General Information about the School
The University of Economics, Prague (VŠE) is the leading university in the field of
management and economics in the Czech Republic, founded in 1919, and is
situated close to Prague city centre, only 5 minutes by tram.
The University of Economics, Prague has six faculties. These include: the Faculty
of Finance and Accounting, the Faculty of International Relations, the Faculty of
Business Administration, the Faculty of Statistics and Informatics, Faculty of
Management and the Faculty of Economics and Public Administration
VŠE is composed of about 15 500 students, including around 300 exchange
students. The university offers bachelor, master and doctoral programmes.
VŠE was awarded in 2009 as the “1st Business School in the Eastern European
Zone”.
The Teaching situation
In which language are the courses taught?
Most of the courses are taught in English, but some are also taught in French and
German as well.
How would you evaluate the level of study in comparison to the level at BI?
Most of the courses are easier than at BI in terms of difficulty and work load. The
courses are typically divided up in four parts: a presentation, a midterm test, a
midterm paper and a final test in the end of the semester. Regarding exams and
tests the level is below BI, on the other hand, class-participation, attendance and
presentations are of more importance at VŠE, rather than one single final exam.
Is the teaching primarily practical or theoretical?
The teaching is both practical and theoretical, and the professors are using a
broad combination of tests, case studies, assignments and presentations. Many
courses are divided up in a lecture, followed by a seminar thereafter. In some
courses are the seminars more practically, while others there exists no big
difference between a lecture and a seminar.
How is the workload compared to BI?
As mentioned above, the workload is less compared to BI. During September and
October you have a lot of time to travel in Europe if you want.
How is the relationship between faculty and students?
The relationship between the faculty and students are more flexible than BI,
which both has its benefits and drawbacks.
How is the relationship between the students in the classroom?
The relationship is quite good, which is necessary when group works and case
studies are more frequent at VŠE. Normally you work in groups with 3-5 people
from all over the world. The atmosphere is less competitive then BI and the case
studies make it easy to meet people and get in touch with other exchange
students.
Required Literature
Many courses are just based on the topics presented in class. In these cases there
are no books or just a few articles to prepare. But not all courses are like this.
Some courses have required literature that is both based on books and articles.
However, mostly of the courses literature were based on the slides presented in
class. This gave us enough knowledge to participate in case discussions and
group works. Exams were mainly based on slides and notes from the lectures.
Exams
What types of exams were you given?
The final grade are based on a fractioned different evaluations. Our courses
consisted of both multiple choice exams, as well as exams with a few “in-depth”
questions. Your final grade is typically based on 25% Midterm, 25%
Presentation, 25% of case studies or a final test.
What knowledge level was required to pass the exams?
In contrast to BI, the type of questions you will get is more obvious. So while
studying for an exam, it’s easier to extract the important parts of the readings,
hence less difficult to pass the exams. Again to point out that less weight is put on
these tests, in favour of presentations and assignments. The grades that are given
at VSE are as follow:
Library and IT
The library is the best place to study at the university even if it can be crowded at
times and closes at 19.00. The international study room is a good alternative,
which is reserved for exchange students and contains PCs and print-facilities and
closes at 21.45. This facilities are situated next door to the student dorms. The
university is always closed at Sundays. The technology facilities are kind of old
fashioned compared to what we are used to at BI. The computer-access works in
the same way as BI, and instead of Blackboard, VŠE has a similar system called
ISIS. All course registration and information can be found here.
Description of Courses
In contrast to BI, you are able to undertake some “Intensive Course” instead of
‘regular ones’. These courses are normally taken on a very short period of time.
They count for 3 to 4 credits and can be taken normally over 2 to 3 days. We had
both good experience with such courses. We would therefore recommend to sign
up for intensive courses, because you get more spare time and it is quite
different from Norway.
Below you’ll find a list over the courses we participated in at VŠE.
Course
Code
Course name
Prerequi
sites
Exam
Major at
BI
Approved
as
3MA661
Management of
Knowledge Workers
None
Strategy
Advanced
3MG364
Marketing
Communication
None
Strategy
Free Elective
3MA625
International
Management in the Global
Environment
None
Test, Casestudy,
Assignment,
Presentatio
n
Test,
Assignment,
Presentatio
n,
Participatio
n
Test, and
Assignment
Strategy
Advanced
3PA669
Corporate learning and
development
None
3PA661
People Management in a
Global Environment
None
3PA662
Human resource
management seminar
3LG623
2 Tests, ,
Assignment
and
Presentatio
n
Active
participatio
n
Strategy
Free elective
Strategy
Free Elective
None
Active
participatio
n
Strategy
Free elective
Global Supply Chain
Management
None
Strategy
Advanced
2OP602
International
Management
None
Strategy
Free Elective
3PE683
Joint Ventures and
Multinational
None
Presentatio
n, Termpaper,
Multiple
Choice,
Case Study
Midt term,
Final test,
Presentatio
n
Presentatio
n,
Strategy
Advanced
corporations
2SE411
Economic integration of
the Central Europe into
the EU
Termpaper,
Oral final
exam
None
Presentatio
n,
termpaper,
Final test
Strategy
Free elective
Practical Information about the School and the Exchange Experience
Information before you leave
We received an information package well in advance of the arrival, and it
consisted of all necessary information. If you have any e-mails, the international
office at VSE is very helpful and answer you quickly. Moreover is The Buddy
system a well developed program for arriving students. You will receive a
‘Buddy’ that will help you with all administrative stuff in the beginning of the
stay. Very useful! In addition, The Buddy system arrange lots of trips and parties
throughout the whole semester.
Travel experiences
Norwegian operates between Oslo – Prague, very cheap tickets if you book early.
Academic Calendar
Arrival date – introductory week
The orientation week takes place in the middle of September (14th in our case),
and is not obligatory, but we highly recommend attending this. During this week
you get a Czech “Buddy” that helps you around school, which simplifies
procedures as registration for student ID-card, Print-card, Tram-tickets,
Vodaphone SIM card and Internet access to mention a few.
Besides all the formalities, the “Buddy System” arranges tours around Prague,
parties and something called “Ice Breaking Weekend” during this week. The
most important and fun activity to participate at is the Ice Breaking weekend,
thus we hugely recommend to join this. In addition there are nation2nation
parties every Tuesday that almost everybody participate on.
First day of the semester?
21nd of September
Last day of classes?
18th of December
Examination period?
November and December
Any special events?
During the fall semester there are some national holidays. The University is
closed those particularly days.
Reception
The reception consisted of representatives from the international office and from
the Buddy system. It was well presented and informative, and followed by a tour
around the school.
Housing
Did you have housing at your disposal or did you have to find your own housing?
The University offers housing to all students. The dormitories are located 20 min
with tram from school and are quite cheap. The standard of living is, however,
very simple and you’ll will share a bedroom with an other student. The vast
majority of the exchange students lived at the dorms
On the other hand, if you are a group of 2-4 persons, we would recommend to
rent an apartment near the university or closer to downtown. We both lived in
apartments and highly recommend this. A tip is to first stay on a hotel and use a
week on find a more permanently stay which is in an area that you like. The
University provide you some Internet addresses where there is possible to rent
an apartment.
What support did you receive from the school in locating housing?
We arranged the housing before we arrived, but your Czech buddy can
additionally help you.
Any special issues or good ideas for prospective students?
The dormitories consist of 4-bed apartments and the standard is quite low. 2 and
2 students live together in one bedroom. This alternative has its charm, and is
the best way to get socialized. As we mentioned, we would recommend to rent an
apartment closer to the city centre, especially if you are a group of people.
Costs
Even tough the Czech Republic has been through a lot of changes the past 15
years, the price level is substantially lower compared to Norway. The expences
on living, dining, transport and socialising is very cheap.
A few examples:
- You pay around 60 NOK for a full dinner at a middle-range restaurant.
- A three-month tram-ticket costs around 250 NOK.
- Cab fare should not be more than maximum 60 NOK within Prague.
(Call 257257257 for city taxi. The company AAA is regarded as the best)
- Average price for 0,5 liter beer at a bar/restaurant 12 NOK
The ERASMUS-scholarship you receive will also come in good hand.
The International Office
Is there an international office?
Yes
Who is responsible for incoming exchange students?
Karolína Kaslová - exchange@vse.cz
How does the international office function?
They are very helpful, but the office closes quite early. It is located in the fifth
flour in the Paradise Building, next to the international student computer room.
Do you receive all relevant information?
You will receive e-mails with all relevant information plenty of time before you’ll
arrive.
Social Activities
How is your relationship with other students?
Since you primarily take courses with other exchange students, your relation to
local students are limited. You get a Czech buddy the first week, but how much
time you spend with this person is up to you. The Buddy`s job is mainly to help
you the first week in Prague. With a large extent of social events, there are very
easy and quickly to get in touch with other international students.
How are the relationships between other exchange students?
It’s great, the activities arranged by the Buddy System is the best arena for
socializing.
Is there a student organization, and if: are the exchange students connected with
this?
For the exchange students, the Buddy Systems arranges all kinds of activities.
Are there any special activities and gatherings for exchange students?
The Buddy System arranges Nation2Nation parties each Tuesday, trips around
the Czech Republic, trips to Poland and Hungary, and other small activities such
as skydiving and paintball. I can highly recommend participating these activities,
especially “The Ice Breaking Weekend” as mentioned.
Culture and Language
Do you have any language problems with the faculty or other students?
The communication works well. However, not all Czechs speak very well English.
How are the possibilities to experience the country and the local culture?
Traveling in the Czech Republic is very cheap; either you go by bus, train or a
rented car. The Buddy System arranges several trips, but there is no problem
going on your own. In addition to travelling in the Czech Republic, we also went
to Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary and Serbia.
Cultural and Social Effects from the Exchange Experience
How do you think the exchange experience will affect you from a cultural and
social viewpoint?
The Czech culture are different and very interesting to explore. With the long
communist leadership, there exists still lots of sign after this period. Prague is
additionally an amazing city to living in with enormous history and dozen of
sights. Even though the exchange semester only lasts for about 3 months, you
will get a whole lot of new impressions that will affect you in some kind of way.
You learn about a very old and impressive culture that often is forgotten when
focus tends to be drawn to the Soviet-period.
How do you think the exchange experience influences your future career
possibilities?
Learning about differences in cultural behaviour is not something you can learn
by reading a book. Meeting students from other business schools and other
countries is without doubt a valuable experience that can come in good hand in
your future career. Moreover, living in a foreign country like Czech Republic and
its culture give you valuable life experience, and memories that will stay with
you for the rest of your life. We really enjoyed our semester abroad and can
definitely recommend a semester in this epic city!
Best regards,
Ingrid Elise Hansen and Jeppe F. G. Bjerke
ingrid.elise@gmail.com, jeppe.bjerke@gmail.com