Successful Cooperation between VŠE and Škoda Auto, a.s.

On Wednesday, 20 November 2013, in the premises of Škoda Auto in Mladá Boleslav, VŠE’s President Prof. Richard Hindls and Škoda’s Chairman of the Board of Management Prof. Winfried Vahland signed an agreement on partnership and cooperation for another three years.

The cooperation has many forms and has developed significantly since Mr. Vahland took the chairmanship of the board of Škoda Auto in 2011. The main common project is cooperation within the international alliance CEMS, in which Škoda Auto is one of two corporate partners which represent the Czech Republic. When signing the agreement, VŠE’s president Mr. Hindls emphasized the crucial contribution of CEMS membership for VŠE. Thanks to this strategic alliance, VŠE has received an opportunity to cooperate with the best universities in the field of management from 28 countries and built a very good brand abroad. The result is for example its presence in the Financial Times ranking, for which either the international accreditation EQUIS, AACSB or membership in CEMS are conditions.

For Škoda Auto, the main benefit is an opportunity to strengthen its brand as an attractive employer for VŠE’s future graduates. According to Mr. Vahland, Škoda Auto is particularly interested in graduates fluent in languages and who are not afraid of an international career and thus wish to work abroad – where Škoda Auto is increasingly directing its activities. Therefore, Škoda Auto has chosen CEMS and Honors Academia, the program for talented students, as the main projects which it will continue to support.