Department of Finance and Accounting

Microeconomics of Competitiveness

Another possibility for professional study in English is the course “Microeconomics of Competitiveness” prepared at Harvard University by Professor Porter and his colleagues. In this academic year, the course will be for the first time exclusively offered to students in Master’s degree courses. At present, this course is used at over fifty universities all over the world. It deals with critical factors of competitiveness from the microeconomics point of view, which is an aspect often missing in traditional courses. It is not only an educational tool but also an opportunity for universities to better influence and support the economic development of the country and region. The course is taught through a series of case studies. The participating universities create a network and thus can easily cooperate on joint projects.

Americans Came to Zlín to Study

These days, students have many opportunities to improve their knowledge of English by taking language courses at foreign universities or through internships in foreign companies. However, FaME offers other possibilities for those who, for whatever reasons, do not want to leave their alma mater. One of them was the course “International Finance” organized by the teachers from the Department of Finance and Accounting and their American colleagues from Chapman University (Orange, California). For one week, twenty-two American students and the same number of students of the Master’s degree course Finance from FaME dealt with the issues of international finance and their practical aspects. Apart from regular classes, the students also worked on case studies and confronted the gained theoretical knowledge with the practical experience of experts. As a part of the course, the students visited some important companies from various fields in the Zlín Region, such as Barum Otrokovice, the distillery Rudolf Jelínek in Vizovice, or ČSOB, and they also met the representatives of the Zlín Region. The feedback on the course was very positive, so we can probably expect it to continue in June 2007.

Professional Texts in English

During summer semester 2005, Professor Bruce Dehning from Chapman University in California was staying at our Department. His stay was sponsored by the Fulbright Foundation. Professor Dehning provided the tuition of the subject “Professional Texts in English” in the Master´s degree programme, degree course Finance.