UNYP featured in Handelsblatt: shaping the future of the booming Czech economy

On 25^th November 2016, the German business newspaper Handelsblatt published an article about UNYP entitled “Very close to the east,” by Hans-Peter Siebenhaar. This article summarizes the main points.

For several years, the University of New York in Prague has provided students with the ideal combination of education and networking to pursue high-powered careers.

A truly international education in the heart of Europe

According to Bernard Bauer, Director of the German-Czech Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the University of New York in Prague is one of the best private institutions in the Czech Republic. UNYP is one of several schools and colleges in the city to offer an MBA in the field of international business. Private universities in Prague are among the most international in the CEE region, with students of over 60 nationalities, of which only a quarter are from the Czech Republic and 10% from Slovakia. Lessons are conducted exclusively in English—in fact, most of the faculty members do not even speak Czech—and these English-language classes undoubtedly provide great academic and professional advantages for students.

“We are the largest English-language university in the Czech Republic,” states UNYP Rector Andreas Antonopoulos, with obvious pride. Around 800 students study at UNYP, and the annual tuition fees are around 13,000 Euros less than comparable schools in the West.

The University of New York in Prague was established by Mr. Elias Foutsis in collaboration with the State University of New York Empire State College, and is managed by his son, Sotiris Foutsis. UNYP recently purchased two buildings close to the existing campus building in order to provide accommodation and a student cafeteria, in line with the university’s philosophy of offering a complete service and a well-rounded student experience.

The UNYP faculty consists of renowned academic and industry experts with diverse international experience. This guarantees the pursuit of best practice and basic theories of management discipline, according to Danica Purg, President of CEEMAN (the International Association for Management Development in Dynamic Societies) and founder of the IEDC-Bled School of Management. UNYP’s Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Psychology are recognized by the Czech Ministry of Education, while the MBAs are accredited by the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education.

A wealth of opportunity

Most of UNYP’s MBA students are executives who continue to work full-time while they study, and for this reason tend to take longer than the 19-month official completion period. The MBA studies take place over two weekends per month, so that students who do not live in Prague can attend. UNYP’s MBA students are often resident in Germany, Austria or the Netherlands, and work for major international companies such as DHL, T-Mobile, Vodafone, KPMG, Coca-Cola, SAP, Globus and Hewlett Packard—indeed, some companies (such as Prague-based automobile manufacturer Skoda) send their employees to UNYP for MBA studies. According to the chairman of the Bauer Chamber of Commerce, there is a great deal of competition for executive jobs in Prague, but the high employment rates push firms to demand advanced linguistic skills from managerial candidates.

Mr. Antonopoulos, the Rector of UNYP, says that the location of the university in central Prague plays an important role in attracting students who are concerned for their safety and security while they study.

New majors and the future

As the Czech economy continues to flourish and grow, Mr. Foutsis has great hopes and ambitions for the future of the University of New York in Prague. He looks forward to offering new majors such as Economic Informatics, because UNYP must respond to the needs of its students and the demands of the market.

Read here the full Handelsblatt article in German