A university in Czechia helps students achieve their business dreams

Success in business is often about finding new opportunities and discovering untapped potential. A university in an up-and-coming town near the Czech-Polish border embodies these values, while welcoming international students to study programs that foster future business success.

The Silesian University in Opava’s School of Business Administration provides English-language programs in Economics and Management. Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral study programs enhancing managerial skills and economic knowledge make students a force to be reckoned with in various fields of business, as well as accounting, finance, and administration.

Students study in Karviná, a town that’s undergoing a fascinating and exciting transformation as the region’s old coal mines shut down. This down-to-earth part of the country is reinventing itself for the modern world, while retaining a rootsy, authentic type of Czech culture that’s only found outside the nation’s big cities.

The Silesian University’s Master’s study program in Economics and Management, taught in English, is a two-year program focused on fostering success in international business environments. Students learn how companies are run and how marketing and financial management influence performance, while also covering international business law, microeconomics and macroeconomics, and much more.

Graduates receive the “Engineer” (Ing.) title, which is equivalent to an M.A. or M.Sc. in the English-speaking academic world. They can go on to exciting careers as the managers of businesses, non-profit organizations or financial institutions, as successful accountants, or to further academic study.

Most international students live on campus in university dormitories. Living costs in Karviná are lower than in large Czech cities such as nearby Ostrava or Prague, though some students decide to live in Ostrava and travel to Karviná for classes. Public transportation between the two cities is very convenient, with trains only taking about 20 minutes.

Students have the chance to spend part of their study at other EU universities through the Erasmus+ program, or in other countries such as Japan and Taiwan. As well as these opportunities to experience other cultures, they also get a deep insight into Czech culture, thanks not only to the location in Karviná but also to the faculty’s “buddy” program, in which local students provide friendly advice during the first semester and organize events to strengthen international bonds.

Students can also take part in a unique program called Business Gate, in which teams work on tasks assigned by real companies. With the help of experienced advisors, students craft pitches which companies may accept and, in exceptional cases, even pay for. This gives students a taste of the real pace, pressure and rewards of the business world.

Silesian University rector Tomáš Gongol describes interaction with partner organizations as well as within the university as key for academic success. “Only in this way can we fulfill one of the main functions of a university: educating ourselves and others,” he says.

A new study center for students in Karviná called the Center for Entrepreneurship, Professional and International Studies (CEPIS) is planned for construction in 2025-27. Apart from study programs in Economics and Management, CEPIS will provide space for professionally oriented programs, such as Digital Business or Innovative Entrepreneurship, with instruction in Czech.

These study programs will be matched by modern premises inspired by nature. CEPIS will be powered by solar panels on the roof, and the impressive structure will be surrounded by a moat which will help cool it during the hot summer months.

Created on the site of an old unused traffic park, the new study center, surrounded by greenery, will be another example of the rapid development of this industrial region into a hub of modern development and intellectual activity.

Developments at the Silesian University are part of the wider transformation of Karviná. The town, situated close to the border with Poland, is synonymous with a Czech coal-mining industry that’s being phased out amid the shift to a more sustainable economy.

For business students, the location within easy commute of both Poland and Slovakia is strategic, underlining the international nature of the study program in the heart of an interconnected European business environment.

Students can meanwhile enjoy the increasing variety and interest of this up-and-coming location. The campus is close to Park Boženy Němcové, which is the largest park in Karviná and one of the largest castle parks in the country, home to many annual music festivals. Karviná as a whole boasts plentiful green spaces, making it a pleasant place to live and study.

Other attractions include “Karviná Sea”, a man-made lake created by flooding a former coal mine, and Šikmý kostel, a dramatically leaning church that has a higher angle of “lean” than its (somewhat more famous) Italian rival in Pisa.

And that’s not all. Karviná has big plans for the future, too, with the Eden Silesia project inspired by the renowned Eden Project in Cornwall, in the United Kingdom. 

Eden Silesia is a major strategic project of the Silesian University, which will apply for EU funding from the Just Transformation Fund. Its aim is to build an educational science and research park offering education, instruction and entertainment focused on the regenerative development of the landscape and the region, not only for students of the Silesian University, but for people of all ages, from preschool children to the elderly. 

The success of the project’s application, supported by both the Statutory City of Karviná and the Moravian-Silesian Region, is expected to be known by the early autumn.

Students joining the Silesian University’s English-taught programs can look forward to building their own success story in this vibrant and dynamic location while making friends from Czechia and around the world. The deadline for applications for the coming academic year is at the end of April, so those interested should act now to secure a place at one of Czechia’s most exciting hubs for creating future business success.