TOP 3 nominees for Alumni of the Year

The University of New York in Prague has always been incredibly proud of our alumni. Every year we celebrate their achievements, and acknowledge and reward an alumnus or alumna with the Alumni of the Year Award. Our dynamic community of more than 3,000 alumni has made a significant impact around the world in business, politics, science, and public life. UNYP alumni change the world for the better, and UNYP believes in recognizing and rewarding their efforts.

“The University of New York in Prague has reached its current high level of recognition thanks to the quality of our alumni.” Sotiris Foutsis

“All of our graduates are UNYP ambassadors who become leaders in their respective spheres and build successful careers in the Czech Republic and all over the world. Many of our alumni have consistently shown dedication to their alma mater, and have supported a broad range of projects and initiatives that have made a positive impact over the years,” says Sotiris Foutsis, General Manager of the University of New York in Prague.

Let us introduce you to the TOP 3 nominees for the Alumni of the Year Award 2021.

Lucie Čadová

Class of 2012 – Bachelor in Communication & Mass Media

Lucie has graduated in 2012. During her studies at UNYP, in the position of President of the Student Council, Lucie always pursued activities benefiting the majority of students. Her approach has not changed since entering professional life. While working in EU institutions in the communication field (currently in the position of Press/Communications to MEP), Lucie has eagerly engaged in the activities for the general public providing them relevant information about the importance of being an EU member country not only via live streams but also in the format of successful information campaigns. Delivering speeches at several international conferences and representing EU communications projects have been integral parts of Lucie’s profession. She has never detached herself from the UNYP community. Lucie has been invited as a guest speaker to UNYP and is planning to get involved even more often in the future not only to promote the EU traineeships (she is both a mentor and advisor of EU trainees) but also to raise a full awareness of how the EU institutions operate. 

Dimana Mabhena (Petkova)

Class of 2010 – Bachelor in Communication & Mass Media

Dimana is a passionate social entrepreneur who believes in driving change through hard work and determination. Her 10-year long career in education management and administration has taught her that the only way to influence people is by educating, spreading awareness, and driving equality via initiatives that encourage a constructive discussion. As the Future Females Prague ambassador, she is involved in UNYP as an education partner through various monthly events, bringing expert guest speakers to the UNYP community. She establishes open opportunities for UNYP students to create a network and personal professional development and offers practical knowledge and live presentations of Future Females Prague. Dimana is engaged in the possible introduction of Future Females Prague Business School (a 3-month accelerator program) to UNYP Management in Fall 2021. Dimana has recently launched a platform called GenWork, which aims to connect female job seekers with companies chasing diversity goals. 

Pavel Bykov

Class of 2011 – MBA MIS

Pavel has completed the MBA program in IT in 2011. During his studies, he absorbed not only the practical and very useful information but also built up his confidence, which led him to pursue his project in 2015. Pavel founded his startup from a need that he realized in his previous work and as he says – used the learnings and inspiration gained at UNYP to the fullest. As a network architect, he found that the solutions available on the market could not provide a comprehensive view of the entire network infrastructure well enough to reveal various risks. That’s why he founded IP Fabric, software for predictive analysis and network infrastructure security, in his garage five years ago. They sell solutions to the largest companies in the world and constantly grow revenue. Pavel currently employs 40 people. IP Fabric has all the prerequisites for global success while pioneering a new market category with very little competition. However, Pavel has not closed the door on UNYP with his MBA diploma. He keeps coming back as a regular guest speaker in lectures and for professional mentoring.