Students from the Master’s degree programme Economics and Management represented the Faculty of Economics and Management of the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZU) at the international CEEPUS seminar titled “The Role of Digital Technologies in Sustainable Business – with a Pinch of Salt”.
The event took place from 27 to 29 May 2026 at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, and focused on the interconnection of digital technologies, sustainability, innovation and international business.
The seminar was attended by four-member student teams from Croatia, Poland, Czechia, Hungary, Slovakia and Serbia, together with academic staff. The first day of the programme took place in the entrepreneurially oriented town of Samobor, where participants were welcomed by the town’s mayor. Academic staff presented case studies focused on sustainable business, specifically on traditional salt production in Croatia and Poland. This sector was presented as an example of a long-term sustainable industry that is also undergoing digitalisation and taking environmental and social aspects of business into account. The afternoon programme included a lecture on the digitalisation of supply chains and an interactive orientation activity aimed at exploring the town and local culture. On the second day, students were divided into international teams and visited selected companies, where they analysed the extent to which digitalisation is used to achieve sustainability goals and monitor ESG. The outcomes of the field research showed that companies approach sustainability in different ways – from a strategic perspective to perceiving the topic more as a necessity or a marketing tool. Students had the opportunity to reflect on these differences and compare their findings with real-world practice.
The seminar also confirmed that sustainability is a topic close to students and that they are interested in exploring it further. International cooperation worked very well – even within a short period of time, the teams were able to communicate and collaborate effectively. Appropriately led introductory activities, known as icebreakers, also proved to be an important element of the event’s success, as they significantly contributed to the rapid formation of functional teams.
This year, the event took place outside the Czech Republic for the first time. We would like to thank the CEEPUS network for financially supporting the mobility and Prof. Blaženka Knežević for organising the event. We look forward to future editions, which could take place, for example, in Serbia, Hungary or other partner countries.
