HR

a leader in

the Education

of the Future

Doc. Ing. Pavel Mertlík, CSc., is the rector of ŠKODa aUTO University, the only private university

founded by a multinational company. The school offers applicants unique study programs

combining economic and technical focus with extensive experience during their studies, teaching

experts, an individual approach, a wide range of scholarship and motivational programs, travel

during the study to more than sixty partner universities and many other benefits.

You are one of the private universities

operating in the Czech Republic.

Please introduce it to us and tell us

what makes it unique?

We are the only Czech university

founded by a large international industrial

company. Our study programmes

combine economic and technical

education

offering students a unique system of

internships with extensive, intensive

language training that will allow all

students after two years of Bachelor‘s

studies to complete an internship or

study abroad. As the only such school

in the Czech Republic, ŠAVŠ offers

students a dual-system of study in

cooperation with partner companies—

students enrolled in this program

together with full-time study complete

extensive continuous business practice

throughout their studies. The result of all

this is 100% employment of graduates,

usually in very interesting jobs in the

Czech Republic and abroad.

How is your cooperation between the

school and the company?

ŠAVŠ has partnership agreements with

about forty companies in the Czech

Republic, in addition to which it has

over thirty foreign partners which are

mainly, but not only, companies from the

Volkswagen Group. Internships take place

in partner companies, which is mandatory

for students in the 5th term of bachelor‘s

studies; it is pedagogically managed and

during this internship the student obtains

the assignment of their bachelor‘s thesis, on

which they usually cooperate with experts

from the relevant company. Students of

the follow-up Master‘s study can choose

internship as an optional subject in

academically oriented study programs; in

professionally oriented programs, practice

is a similarly integral part of study as in

bachelor‘s programs. However, cooperation

with companies is much broader; the

essential part is contract research, applied

projects of various scope and focus, as well

as ‘tailor-made’ educational activities.

Your school has become a member of

Autoklastr. What do you promise from

this membership?

We are a member of the Association of

the Automotive Industry-AutoSAP, so we

have contacts with a number of companies

in the automotive industry. However,

membership in Autoklastr will certainly

enable us to expand and deepen our

contacts with member companies, among

other ideas in the area of joint projects.

Where are you heading in terms of your

further development?

Three key development directions represent

strengthening the technical components

of study programmes, including topics

in the field of electromobility and ICT,

institutional accreditation in the field of

education economics, accreditation of the

doctoral study program and transformation

into a university-type college.

Rector, thank you for the interview.

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