Co-operation by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports in the Czech Republic (MŠMT) with the Czech Association of MBA Schools (CAMBAS)

In the Czech Republic there are a number of universities and other institutions offering study programmes that lead to the title of “Master of Business Administration” (abbreviated “MBA”), which is commonly used abroad. In our country, it provides a form of professional life-long education by which Czech universities use programmes of foreign universities including the above mentioned MBA. It is necessary to emphasise that the MBA title was originated abroad and does not correspond with academic titles according to Educational Act no. 111/1998 Coll. Regarding higher education. Nevertheless, since the very beginning of the formation of the Czech Association of MBA Schools (CAMBAS) the Ministry has been collaborating with us and hereafter continues informal co-operation beneficial for both sides.

So why is the Ministry interested in some specialised form of co-operation with the Association of Czech MBA Schools? At issue here is a life-long education organised by both universities and non-university institutions. There are at least two reasons.

Co-operation with the Association, which guarantees a demanding accreditation process for MBA programs, provides the Ministry and the public with the necessary information about the quality of the hereby accredited MBA study in the Czech Republic. It is necessary to note that many of the MBA programmes offered are not based upon the same level of demand or length of study or the quality of knowledge gained. Nonetheless, they necessitate a rather demanding financial investment. It is for this reason why information should be available from institutions other than the one offering the educational programmes.

The guarantee of an exacting accreditation process lies not only in the provision and maintenance of demanding criteria, but at the same time in its accessibility by both the public and the Ministry. It is for this reason that co-operation is necessary and should also continue in future.

The second reason why the Ministry is interested in co-operation with the Association is the MBA title itself. As was stated above, in the Czech Republic the concern is the “professional identification” of the graduates of the MBA programmes. It is perhaps necessary to respect that the MBA title abroad is most of the time a university title and it is possible that circumstances arise in which the graduate of this programme requests its valid acknowledgement.

Data that the Association is currently collecting through accreditation process, its feedback on the quality of accredited MBA courses, the conditions of admission and co-operation with respective foreign university may thus create a sufficient source of information useful to our universities during this validation process. It applies only to those graduates of MBA studying abroad who studied full-time at a prestigious university.

According to my own experience in co-operation with the Association, I can only express a competent presumption. I believe that the Association will earn the respect not only of the professional public, but that it will be a good guarantee of the quality and demanding character of life-long study in Czech MBA schools.

Associate professor Václav Vinš
Head of Higher Education Unit MŠMT

Contacts


Czech Association of MBA Schools (CAMBAS)

Address of the Association:

Česká asociace MBA škol
José Martího 2, 162 00 Praha 6,
tel. +420 235 363 782
fax: +420 235 363 780
e-mail: info@cambas.cz
www: www.cambas.cz

Secretary CAMBAS: Mgr. Jarmila Seidlová