IPW is already an established elective course available to Czech and foreign students of economically oriented study programmes across all years at the MIAS. Two partner universities are always being involved in the project, for this year's edition it is Hochschule Zittau/Görlitz from Germany and École La Mache Lyon from France. Six teams made up of students from all three partner universities work together on various project tasks prepared by the six partner companies. Cofidis, Total Energies and Komerční banka remain from previous years. New to IPW this year are Škoda Group, Siemens Energy and Renault Trucks.
"We try to motivate companies to choose tasks that are relevant to students and that they will be able to use in their company practice. The fact that students bring a completely fresh perspective to different areas of the company is one of the main benefits of IPW. In this way, we believe that we are helping to build a dialogue between the private sector and universities, which is increasingly important for all parties in today's dynamic times.", said Vincent Montenero, course supervisor and one of the founders of the project.
This year's edition started on 7 October in the Rector's Office, where not only students, but also their tutors (two from each university) and project coordinators had the opportunity to meet live for the first time. The morning programme was mainly dedicated to teambuilding activities, because, as Montenero mentions, "The right team dynamic is one of the fundamental pillars of a successful project."
The importance of team spirit and cooperation of students in a multicultural environment was also emphasized by the director of MIAS Vladimíra Dvořáková, who, following the tradition, opened the afternoon part of the program. "In the present time, when we are all facing many different challenges, a project where students learn responsibility towards their team, their university and partners is a great benefit", mentioned Dvořáková. In addition to wishing the students success, she also thanked all the partner companies that are cooperating in the project, not only for their participation, but also for their financial support, without which the project would have been difficult to implement.
As always, official representatives of both home countries of the partner universities were also invited to the meeting. The invitation was traditionally accepted by the Commercial Counsellor of the French Embassy in Prague, Louis de Fouchécour, and his German counterpart was Anne Glumm, Head of the Economic, Climate and Science Section of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany. The European Union, without whose support the IPW would not have been possible, was represented by Martin Svášek, the press attaché of the European Commission Representation in Prague.
Then the representatives of all the companies involved took the floor. Martin Kurka came to introduce Cofidis. His presentation aroused interest especially among students focusing on marketing, which was one of the central topics this year. Renault Trucks was represented by Veronika Mašková Hrušková, Director of PR Department, together with her colleague Ondřej Kostelník, who presented the new era of electric vehicles. Karen Göpfert from Siemens Energy came from Germany. In her presentation she outlined the challenges currently facing the energy industry and highlighted the potential of nuclear energy using modern technologies. Jan Švehla came to introduce Škoda Transportation and focused not only on the past and roots of the company, which is undoubtedly the flagship of the Czech economy, but also on the future. He sees this in new technologies that will contribute to more efficient and greener public transport. Alongside Siemens, the other company focusing on energy is Total Energies. As Josef Boubín said in his presentation, Total Energies has undergone a very dynamic development in recent years and has turned into a modern multi-energy company. The programme was concluded by Petr Vonka from Komerční banka, who spoke about consumer credit. All IPW participants then gathered one more time in the evening for an informal banquet, which, however, took place in a very quiet spirit due to the busy programme of the following days.
Another key item on the agenda of the first joint week was a visit to companies on Tuesday. This gave the teams the opportunity to soak up the atmosphere of the companies while meeting their tutors who will help them keep on track during the project. Their first task will be to evaluate and approve the implementation plan that the students will present to them before the end of the week.
On Friday, students from the partner universities will return home and further work will be done remotely. In December, they will all meet again at the University of Görlitz to present the results of their work to a jury of academics and company representatives.
The experience that students gain during their participation in IPW is completely different from anything they might experience at school or even during a regular internship. "This project has literally opened my eyes to what management is really about. I realised that we work in different ways accross different countries. The Czech and French approach is completely different." Says Cheikh Oumar, last year's IPW participant.
The whole team involved in the implementation of IPW now hopes that this year's edition will also be a success and provide valuable experience for all participants.
