PF2023! How was the year 2022 at FIR?

Throughout the year 2022, our faculty was actively involved in the preparation and conduct of the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union – academic staff dealt with projects related to the Presidency and dozens of students were sent by the faculty to the Permanent Representation of the Czech Republic in Brussels, missions and embassies of the Czech Republic throughout the EU or to the Czech Centre in Brussels.

Since the beginning of the Russian aggression, the Faculty has been supporting its Ukrainian students and incoming students from Ukrainian universities affected by the war who would otherwise have been prevented from continuing their studies.

In 2022, we began implementing the LMS into individual courses, as part of a broader strategic goal of blended learning combining face-to-face and online learning methods. In doing so, we aim to strengthen competencies in teaching – developing critical thinking, working with data and using new technologies.

2 000

…almost two thousand applicants have applied for bachelor studies at FIR

The interest in studying at the FIR is constantly growing. As of 30 April 2022, applications for Bachelor’s and postgraduate studies have been closed. We have received almost 2,000 applications just for Bachelor’s studies. Overall, interest in studying at our faculty – measured by the number of applications for Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes – has been at a record hight in recent years.

137

…students completed internships in the Czech Republic and abroad

In 2022, a total of 137 students took part in work experience and internships accredited by the faculty, most of which were located abroad. In this semester, our students gained work experience in Lima, Bogotá, Ho Chi Minh City, Calgary and Chicago, as well as a number of European destinations.

317

…students studied abroad

Thanks to great support of mobility, faculty students get to travel all over the world to top universities. In 2022, they went to places like the U.S., Brazil, South Korea, Japan, Canada, Germany, France, or Spain.

1

… VŠE organized the first #innoweek

Innovation Week enriched “ordinary” teaching with new forms of learning. FIR put particular emphasis on deepening cooperation with practice in the form of lectures by external experts, excursions or even a competition in solving a case study.

1 300 000

…Czech crowns were paid by the faculty to its talented students as part of merit scholarships

Traditionally, the majority of the scholarship fund has been used to support internationalisation, i.e. financial support for student internships and exchange study stays, which form an integral part of studying at our faculty. The faculty also supports students who achieve exceptional academic results (this academic year a total of 35 students with excellent grades, and this year a total of CZK 1.3 million. CZK), as well as students involved in the work of individual departments (research assistants) and others for extraordinary achievements and awards (language or other certificates, representation of the faculty, etc.) or activities in student associations. In addition, this year the Dean has decided to increase scholarship support for both internationalisation and excellent students.

221

…courses taught by FIR in foreign languages

FIR offered a total of 221 semester courses taught in languages other than Czech, as well as 51 intensive courses taught by visiting professors, to both VŠE students and incoming exchange students. This puts us among the leaders in the internationalisation of the entire VŠE.

3

…in three categories a FIR student won the competition for excellent student work

Our students are regularly awarded for their bachelor and master theses – whether within VŠE or elsewhere. The unprecedented success was received, for example, by Ing. Lucie Csajková, who was awarded three times during her studies at our faculty for her seminar, bachelor and master theses under the supervision of Dr. Miloslav Machoň. Graduate Mgr. Ing. Petr Tomčiak was awarded, among others, for his master thesis under the guidance of Dr. Daniel Houska not only at VŠE, but also by receiving the Josef Hlávka Prize.

3

…new projects of the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic

The faculty was extraordinary successful and received three new projects from the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic! As part of the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union, our academic staff worked on the project “Regional Dimension of Presidency Communication (CZ PRES 2022) and Cooperation with Schools” of the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic for the Office of the Government. FIR also received a new project supported by the Visegrad grant.

6

…publications with impact factor in the first and second quartile of Web of Science

Professional publications by our academics have reached the first two quartiles in the Web of Science journal database this year. In addition to this great academic success, our employees have won awards in the Rector’s Award competition and represented the faculty in the Czech VŠEVĚD competition. FIR and its departments also organised several conferences this year. One of them was the FIR Annual Conference 2022: Repowering Europe.

2 000

…hours of training were completed by both academic and non-academic staff of FIR

As part of the Faculty Development Programme for academic and non-academic staff, we delivered over 2,000 hours of training aimed at improving participants’ professional competences, communication skills, data handling or management skills. Thus, the entire program helps to promote the skills development and achieve the career goals of the staff within the faculty department.

8

…new members were elected to the Board of Alumni

The Board of Alumni leads the Faculty Alumni Club, which connects alumni in mutually beneficial partnerships, thereby creating meaningful connections that lead to personal growth as well as strengthening the Faculty of International Relations community.

80

…mentors and mentees participate in this year’s Alumni Mentoring

The program connects ambitious students with experienced FIR alumni. This offers mentees the opportunity to develop themselves, gain new experience, establish a relationship with a professional in their chosen field and prepare for the transition into practice.

252

…followers has our new English faculty’s Instagram

Thank you for sharing student and faculty successes, graduations, and student events with us! And we look forward to more academic experiences in 2023!

 

PF2023! How was the year 2022 at FIR?