Prague College

Prague College
Motto The British University in Prague
Type Private
Established 2004
President Douglas Hajek
Students 600
Location Prague, Czech Republic
50°4′42.8″N 14°26′23.88″E / 50.078556°N 14.4399667°E / 50.078556; 14.4399667Coordinates: 50°4′42.8″N 14°26′23.88″E / 50.078556°N 14.4399667°E / 50.078556; 14.4399667
Campus Urban
Affiliations Teesside University
Edexcel
Website www.praguecollege.cz

Prague College is an English-language private university based in Prague and founded in 2004 by an international team[1] including Canadian Director Douglas Hajek, American Deputy Director, Jeffrey Buehler and Croatian Natasa Babic. Senior university management also includes Stefano Cavagnetto from Italy and George Allen from the United States.

Prague College is organized around three schools teaching to approximately 550 students and a research centre. About 35% of the students are Czech while the rest come from more than 80 countries around the world.[2] In 2014 a plan to increase number of students to 3000 was announced.

History

In 2004,[3] Prague College introduced its first qualifications in international business and web design. In 2005, it introduced HNDs in cooperation with Edexcel in business, graphic design, interactive media and computing. The first Bachelor's degree, Bachelor of Arts in International Management were introduced in 2008 in cooperation with Teesside University. 2009 saw the introduction of a BA (Hons) in Graphic Design, and the foundation of the research centre. In 2010, a Master of Science in International Management and a BA (Hons) in Fine Art (Experimental Media) were added to the curriculum. They were followed by a BSc (Hons) in Computing and a Foundation Diploma in Art and Design (2011), an MSc in Computing, professional and foundation diplomas in Business and Computing (2012) and a BA (Hons) in Applied Accounting and Business Finance (2013).[4]

Organisation and structure

Prague College undergraduate and postgraduate master's degrees are accredited and offered in cooperation with Teesside University, a British public university. Prague College’s Higher National Diplomas, Professional Diplomas and Foundation Diplomas are accredited British BTEC qualifications awarded by Edexcel.

School of Business

The Prague College School of Business delivers a Foundation Diploma in Business, a Professional Diploma in Business, an HND in Business, a BA (Hons) in International Management, a BA (Hons) in Applied Accounting & Business Finance and an MSc in International Management.

School of Business is the largest school of Prague College. Many of its graduates are playing significant role in major corporations and startups.

School of Art & Design

The Prague College School of Art & Design delivers a Foundation Diploma in Art and Design, an HND in Graphic Design, an HND in Interactive Media and two BAs (Hons) one in Graphic Design, the other one in Fine Art (Experimental Media).

Thanks to low competition in that field, School of Art & Design became the top school for undergraduate students in areas like digital media and experimental media in central Europe. Its graduates have one of the best possibilities when it comes to finding a job in central Europe.

School of IT & Computing

The Prague College School of IT and Computing offers learning about programming, networks, security, database and web design, customer support, knowledge, quality and information systems and more. It delivers a Professional Diploma in Computing, a Foundation Diploma in Computing, an HND in Computing, a BSc in Computing and an MSc in Computing.

School of IT & Computing is the smallest school of Prague College. It also provides best student:staff ratio in the world. Vast majority of graduates work at major corporations (like DHL, Monster, etc.) and top European startups (like Brand Embassy).

Research Centre

Prague College is active in Czech, European and international research and cultural projects. The college pursues its multidisciplinary and international engagement through conferences and workshops run by CRIS and the three Schools.

Prague College also offers workshops, seminars and guest speakers with participants from around the world. Some of the notable guests who have lectured at Prague College on these occasions include Darren Huston (CEO of Booking.com), Bruce Sterling, Tomáš Sedláček, Veronika Burian, Filip Blazek, Mark Noad, Errol Donald, Andor Šándor, Jaroslav Bašta, Wilhelm Dietl, and Simon Morris.

Research

The Centre for Research and Interdisciplinary Study (CRIS) is led by Dr. Stefano Cavagnetto, Head of the School of Business.

The main aims of CRIS are to introduce an environment that motivates academic research; to encourage participation in developing seminars and presentations in the respective multidisciplinary fields at national and international conferences; to publish relevant research in the Prague College CRIS Bulletin; and to promote and encourage students at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels to publish and present their work.[9]

The areas of interest currently followed at CRIS are business ethics; finance, financial crime and governance; application of game theory to business; history of programming languages; ethics of virtual environments; history of cryptography; links between mathematics and art; cellular automata theory and applications; pattern theory and design; quality assurance and enhancement in transnational and international education; and aligning research to learning.

Prague College also produces an academic journal titled CRIS - Bulletin for the Centre for Research and Interdisciplinary Study,[10] which includes scholarship and research from Prague College students and faculty, as well as academics from around the world. The CRIS journal is published by Versita, part of the Walter de Gruyter academic publishing group.

Students

Prague College's student body represents over 80 different countries.

The student council is an active and influential part of the college. It is open to all students; the council represents students from throughout Prague College’s three schools and consists of students of various nationalities, stressing the multicultural atmosphere of the college.

Every year the council puts on events, organizes social activities, raises money for charity and works with college management on enhancing student life at the college. The council also provides tutoring support and general life support for new students. Student council also produces the college magazine and United News.

(dot)

(dot) is a social networking website for the college’s students and lecturers aiming to create a place for communication, discussion and presentation of work and activities around the college.

University Profile

After the Velvet Revolution, the economy of Czech Republic went through many changes. One of them was the possibility of offering privately funded education, which resulted in the foundation of several private universities.

Today, there are three major private universities, that are accredited by US and UK bodies. These universities are Prague College, Anglo-American University and University of New York in Prague. All of them offer degrees in business areas. Prague College is the only one that is awarding degrees in more technical disciplines, like IT and design. In fact, Prague College is the only institution in Czech Republic that offers students interested in digital design the possibility of undergraduate studies. Despite the lack of tradition in private education in Czech Republic and paying for education in general (students in Czech Republic have to pay for education only if they are older than 26), these three universities enjoy massive amount of growth and success. Tuition costs in these universities is in general several times lower than in US and UK despite the fact that students:staff ratio is among the lowest in the world. These tuitions are becoming higher and higher every year but the number of students interested in such education is growing much faster.

These universities are also showing the trend that can be observed in US, which demonstrates that best performing private universities are becoming alma mater for children of social elite.

Location

Prague College is centrally-located, in Vinohrady near the center of the city. The college campus is housed in a reconstructed nineteenth century historical building facing the Riegrovy Sady park, which is the largest "green" area in central Prague. As a result, large number of apartments surrounding Riegrovy Sady park, is rented by Prague College students.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ "Awards, recognitions and milestones". Prague College.
  2. ↑ Bardsley, Daniel (February 2013). "Head of college aiming for a multinational atmosphere". The Prague Post.
  3. ↑ "Awards, recognitions and milestones". Prague College.
  4. ↑ "Interview with Douglas Hajek – Prague College". Prague.tv.
  5. ↑ "Master speaker". Prague College.
  6. ↑ "Secret of Ciphers". Prague College.
  7. ↑ "Differing Accents". Prague College.
  8. ↑ "Underground City XXI". Underground City.
  9. ↑ "Centre for Research and Interdisciplinary Study". Prague College.
  10. ↑ "CRIS - Bulletin for the Centre for Research and Interdisciplinary Study". Walter de Gruyter.
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