1st Blended Intensive Programme for students at the Faculty of Economics

The first Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) for students took place at the Faculty of Economics, VŠB-TUO in the week from 6 to 10 November 2023. This novelty within the Erasmus programme, which combines virtual and physical mobility, is an opportunity for those who are interested in going but for whatever reason cannot undertake a longer-term mobility, or it can be a "trial" trip that will result in a one- or two-semester stay.

Blended Intensive Programme under the title Leadership and Sustainability in CSR was organized by Assoc. PhDr. Lucjan Klimsza, PhD. from the Department of Management of EKF in cooperation with the Faculty International Office. It was attended by 23 students from Finland (Metropolia University of Applied Sciences), France (IAE Paris Est School of Management), Germany (SRH Hochshulen Berlin) and the Czech Republic (EKF, VŠB-TUO). The aim of the programme was to introduce the students to the basics of CSR as a tool for sustainable development of organisations and to explain the possibilities of CSR for the development of organisations, especially the role of leadership as a tool for sustainable development of human capital in organisations.

The opening ceremony of the programme was held by the Dean of the Faculty of Economics, Assoc. Ing. Vojtěch Spáčil, CSc., who introduced not only the faculty itself, but also the whole university, and wished the students to enjoy the whole week in Ostrava to the maximum and to make contacts for their personal and professional life.

Then came the work programme. First, the students introduced themselves, talked about their country, city and university. Then they were divided into international teams to work together on a project. Throughout the week, the students then attended lectures by experts in philosophy, finance and artificial intelligence, worked on joint projects and took part in a range of leisure activities. They visited, for example, the Třinec Ironworks, the Werk Arena and the Vítkovice Lower Area.

The whole week ended with a ceremony of awarding certificates of participation and joint evaluation. All participants enjoyed the programme and are already looking forward to the next meeting, which should take place in spring 2024 in Paris.