The Faculty of Economics and Management organized a three-day program for students from partner universities in Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia, and Serbia, who visited Prague with support from the CEEPUS program. The aim of their stay was to explore innovative and sustainable solutions related to consumption and environmental issues.
The program, prepared by the Department of Economics - Ing. Pavel Kotyza, Ph.D., Ing. Lenka Rumánková, Ph.D., doc. Ing. Karel Tomšík, Ph.D., included an introduction to CZU and FEM, as well as a series of expert lectures focused on sustainability, consumer behavior, and greenwashing. National student teams presented sustainable initiatives implemented at their home institutions.
One of the highlights was an orientation game around the CZU campus, through which students were introduced to local sustainability efforts in an interactive way. Participants counted green roofs, searched for water reservoirs, calculated the number of plastic bottles saved through drinking fountains, and found information about the free shop at the BDC dormitories.
Working in international teams, the students also explored sustainable practices in Prague and proposed measures they felt were missing in the city. They praised public transport, shared mobility, and the wide range of alternative shopping formats—such as zero-waste grocery stores, second-hand shops, and sustainable restaurants. On the other hand, they were quite critical of car traffic in the historic city center.
The final part of the program was dedicated to presenting proposals for Solidarity Projects—initiatives that can be supported by European Union funds and are open to both formal and informal groups of engaged young people.
Although the short-term excursion format supported by the CEEPUS grant has been implemented several times before, the Department of Economics once again succeeded in creating an innovative, educational, engaging, and integrative experience. We greatly appreciate the support of the Czech National Agency for International Education and Research (DZS) and hope to continue these activities in the future.
