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Academics

Courses:

Great classes with first class professors that make studying in Prague educational and fun. These professors are not stuffy! They are hip and cool and provide you with current knowledge, cutting edge business strategies and networking opportunities with real entrepreneurs.

Our program is accredited by:

University of Economics, Prague

University of Economics
Prague

(Leading university in the field of management and economics in the Czech Republic)

Student's Quote
"How many students can say, "I spent a month studying in Prague"? Well, ESAC provided me with the opportunity to study abroad and have a blast! I not only had the opportunity to get a head start on college, but got a head start on my development of understanding cultures and outlook of the international business ring." Evan Grunberger, US 2009

Each course is worth 4 US credit hours (or 7 ECTS credits). Students enroll in 2 classes for a total of 8 US credits (or 14 ECTS credits). Students also take an informative and fun Czech language and culture course for free. All courses are taught by highly-credentialed international professors. These courses are accredited by University of Economics Prague. Transcripts will be provided to each student upon completion for transfer back to their home institution. Classes will be taught in the English language. (Note: Students are advised to check with their home university registrar to ensure transfer credit will be approved).

Class sessionOffered courses for Summer 2010:

Students can choose max. 2 courses (in addition to Czech language and protocol class). Either the business track or the art/history track or a combination of the courses (1 course from each track).

  • Czech language and culture (required, free of charge/not for credit)
  • International Business
  • Global Marketing
  • Central and Eastern European History and Politics

You can see sample syllabus here (in pdf format).

 

Internship or Independent Study:

Not a business or entrepreneurship major but want to study in Prague? Why not an internship with a local or international company or an independent study?

 

Site visit Ernst & Young Class presentation on Japan

Faculty:

The professors hold graduate degrees in their discipline and have extensive experience in the region. Space is limited to 30 to ensure all students have adequate access to their faculty members.

Professors and their biographies:

Dr. Kristine Zamastil, J.D. Expand/Collapse bio

Dr. Zamastil is an accomplished international educator and founder of the European Study Abroad Center. She earned her Ph.D. in Adult Studies/Higher Education with a cognate in International Studies from the University of Denver, her J. D. from John Marshall Law School, and her B.A. in English and Interdisciplinary Writing from the University of Northern Colorado. Dr. Zamastil spent five years as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Cook County, Chicago while teaching part-time at Robert Morris College and the Chicago Police Academy. In 1994, Dr. Zamastil moved to the Czech Republic to complete a one-year visiting lecturer position at Charles University Law Faculty in Prague. Upon completion of the lectureship in Prague, Dr. Zamastil founded an International Training Centre, coordinated continuing legal education courses for Central and Eastern European lawyers on behalf of John Marshall Law School, coached Moot Court competitions and was the Country Manager of a U.K based Executive Recruitment Consultancy firm.

After 4 years of international experience, Dr. Zamastil returned to the United States to teach a variety of international business, management, and law courses at the University of Denver, Metropolitan State College of Denver, and Johnson & Wales University. In addition to teaching, Dr. Zamastil organized and coordinated the international study abroad term for International Business Students and Co-Chaired the Honors Program. From 2005-2006, Dr. Zamastil taught Business Law at KIMEP in Kazakhstan. Currently Dr. Zamastil teaches the Introduction to Global Business, Business Law, and International Law courses at various universities including The University of Economics, Prague and Webster University, Thailand.  She is involved with NAFSA and has published numerous articles on legal issues in higher education and the impact of short-term study abroad programs on undergraduate students.

Dr. Matthew S. McMullen, J.D. Expand/Collapse bio

Dr. McMullen has over ten years experience in teaching, research and policy analysis and design. His earlier research and teaching, sponsored in part by the United Nations and USAID, focused on “Nations in Crisis” with an emphasis on the institutions that impact political and economic change. Dr. McMullen is a published author of policy oriented research in books and peer reviewed journals with many of his publications focused on the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. More recently his research and policy analysis has focused on health law and comparative law. He regularly presents the results of his research to the public, government agencies and law enforcement through conferences and training programs. Before returning to academia he worked in both the private and public law areas. While working in the federal government, he wrote and evaluated health care legislation and trained law enforcement on healthcare fraud and abuse issues. He also was chosen for Presidential and Secretary created workgroups focused on developing new legislation to address issues and challenges in healthcare. During his service for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Dr. McMullen received their highest honor when he was awarded the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Integrity and Excellence award. Dr. McMullen holds a doctorate in Administration and Policy Studies (International Development), and a JD (International and Health Law specialization), both from the University of Pittsburgh..

Dr. Robert W. Robertson, J.D. Expand/Collapse bio

Robert W. Robertson is the Director, Graduate Business Studies at Saint Leo University, Florida. In addition, he serves as a Visiting Faculty member with the University of Ljubljana in the Executive MBA program.

Dr Robertson was the Dean, Bang College of Business and Executive Director, Center for Sustainable Urban Futures at the Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics and Strategic Research (2005-2006). He has more than twenty years of management experience in the public sector in Canada leading award winning organizations.

Most recently, he served as the City Manager, City of Hamilton, Ontario an organization with more than 8,500 employees and a budget in excess of one billion dollars. Robertson has lectured at universities in China, Brazil, Canada, Central Asia and Europe and he is an invited speaker at conferences world-wide.

Robertson holds a Doctorate degree from Stirling University, Scotland (Management and Organization); Master of Studies in Law, Vermont Law School; Master of Public Administration, Dalhousie University; and, Master of Art, Eastern Kentucky University.

Dr Robertson’s research and consulting interests include corporate and strategic planning, business planning, quality management, continuous improvement, organizational behavior, economic development, public sector management, city planning and international busines.

Dr. Kateřina Průšová Expand/Collapse bio

Kateřina studied Art History at the Faculty of Arts and Letters at the Charles University (Prague), where she obtained her Mgr. and PhDr. degrees.
She worked at diverse art galleries in Prague and Paris (Paul Prouté S.A, Old Master etchings and drawings). She was awarded different scholarships and internships in France (BNF Paris, Montpellier) and Italy (Perugia).
Kateřina is a lecturer for several study abroad programs in Prague, such as the Charles University (International Studies Abroad) and she teaches Prague Art and Architecture at the Anglo-American University. She works equally at the National Gallery in Prague, Collection of Old Masters (St. Agnes Monastery, Sternberg Palace).
Kateřina specialized in French and Flemish late medieval manuscript illumination. Her fields of interest include medieval painting in Bohemia, baroque architecture in Rome and Bohemia as well as contemporary sculpture and painting. Kateřina is fluent in four languages, namely English, French, Italian and Czech (mother tongue), she understands German and she has a reading knowledge of Hebrew and Spanish.
In her spare time Kateřina enjoys dancing, reading and cooking, she loves skiing and swimming too. Most often she travels around Europe, especially to Austria, France and Italy.

Dr. Patrick Low Expand/Collapse bio

Presently, Dr. Patrick Low is Professor of Management and Marketing in Brunei. With an International PhD in Business and Management from the University of South Australia, Dr. Patrick Low also holds a Master of Business from the CURTIN University of Technology and a BA (Singapore). His other qualifications include being a

#Chartered Marketer (CIM, UK)
#Chartered Consultant and an Accredited Professional Consultant (American Consultants' League) as well as holding a
#Graduate Diploma in Marketing (UK)
#Graduate Diploma in Personnel Management (SIM/ SIPM)
#Graduate Diploma in the Marketing of Financial Services (MIS)
#Certificate in Administrative Mgt/ Organisation & Methods.

Dr. Patrick Low is also the licensed administrator, user and interpreter of MBTI personality type profiling for several years. A behavioral consultant, he is also DISC-certified.

Dr. Patrick Low has been a human resource professional since the late 1980s. He has work experiences in the Civil Service, electronics, trade and financial industries. He has handled HRD projects/ assignments in all ASEAN countries, Bangladesh, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka. His previous appointment was with a foreign bank as the Senior Training Manager, Management Development (Asia Pacific Region). Since 1995, Patrick runs his own consultancy (BusinesscrAFTTM Consultancy), undertaking consultancy work for other companies, both Singapore and overseas which include: Matsushita Electric Singapore, Kotobuki, MINDEF, Natsteel, Trans-Link Express, National Healthcare Group, Singapore National Employers' Federation, KAFCO (Bangladesh), Singapore National Co-operative Federation, NTUC, Comserv, Eagle's Wings, KKB Engineering Sdn. Bhd., Sawarak Craft Council, Sarawak Forestry Corporation, Rimbunan Hijau, SESCO, Sarawak State Library, Khind Marketing, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Islamic Bank of Brunei, Maybank, Maersk Singapore, Hornbill Airways, Nam Ho Travel, Standard Chartered Bank, Sales Academy (MIS) and others.

Awarded the MIS/ Standard Chartered Gold Medal Award - 1994 for being the most outstanding graduate in the Graduate Diploma in Marketing of Financial Services, Patrick is also the author of (2000) (revised in 2002) Strategic Customer Management (one of Border's Top 10 Business Books as featured in Asian Entrepreneur). The reading public has also given good rating of his second book, (2001) The Power of Relationships. Developing True Leadership Potential is his fourth book while his third book (co-written with Dr. Daniel Theyagu), recently out, is Team Success. His fifth book is Training Success, published by the Institute of Chartered Financial Analyst India (ICFAI). Besides, several of his articles have been published in magazines (such as Horizons and Today's Manager) and journals including the Emerald Insight, the Management Development Journal of Singapore and the Effective Executive.

Dr. Ray Smith Expand/Collapse bio

Dr. Smith earned his Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership from Regent University in Virginia.  Additionally, Dr. Smith has an International MBA from the prestigious Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina and a BA in Economics from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.  Currently, Dr. Smith serves as a professor for Bethel University in Tennessee, with primary responsibility in the MBA program.  Dr. Smith also holds adjunct faculty appointments at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Covenant College, and at The Anglo American University of Prague, Czech Republic.   For eight years prior to coming to Bethel University, Dr. Smith served as the founding director of two MBA programs – first at King College and later at Bryan College.

Dr. Smith worked internationally in Haiti, West Indies for seven years before entering academia.  For the past ten years, Dr, Smith has directed international study abroad programs for undergraduate and graduate business students in 25 countries of Europe with a focus on introducing American students to the European Union.  Dr. Smith has most recently taught and lectured in Emanuel University in Oradea, Romania; Mendel University in Brno, Czech Republic; Anglo American University in Prague, Czech Republic; the University of Banja Luka, in Bosnia; SERC in Bangor, Northern Ireland; and he has delivered lectures on various topics in organizational leadership at Heopharm in Vrsac, Serbia; Club of Managers in Bratislava, Slovakia; and the Defense Language Institute for senior Czech military officers in Vyskov and Brno, Czech Republic.

Dr. Smith was the recipient of two academic awards to further his work in Europe. Dr. Smith participated as a Salzburg Seminar Fellow in Salzburg, Austria under the auspices of a Mellon Foundation Grant to explore the topic: The European Union: Challenges of Integration and Expansion in July of 2005 as well as an International Faculty Study participant to examine the cultural heritage of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faiths in Andalusia, Spain in July 2004.

Dr. Smith is a member of ASTD (American Society for Training and Development), and he is President of GLOBE (Global Leadership for Organizations, Business and Education), a training and development consulting firm.

Ciaran S. Kelly, M.A. Expand/Collapse bio

Ciaran S. Kelly, M.A. The George Washington University 1990, B.A. and B.A. California State University at Long Beach (1987). Mr. Kelly has 25 years of international management experience,  10 years of Interior Design in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills (www.duxiana.com), as well as 15 years in academia and the auto industry in Europe.  As National Sales Manager and Group Operations Director for AAA AUTO, his sales teams sold more than 400,000 cars and generated some 83 billion Euros for the Czech economy (www.aaaauto.cz).  Mr. Kelly has been teaching at University level since 1993.  He began by teaching History and Political Science, and for the last 5 years has been teaching HR, Marketing, Business Management, Sales and Advertising.  In Prague, he has taught at University of Northern Virginia, University of New York, Anglo American College and Vysoka Skola Economics and Management.  Mr. Kelly frequently travels to Sweden where he teaches business courses in Sales and Customer Service for Ideforum (www.ideforum.com).  Mr. Kelly coached the Prague Panthers to their first four National Championships in American football, brought them to the quarter finals of the Eurobowl competition and now coaches the Pilsen Patriots (where last year, he led them to their first ever playoff appearance).  Mr. Kelly has created two international internship programs: one for the Foreign Ministry of the CR with Dr. Vladimir Galuska, and second intern program for United Nations Office in Prague with Dr. Andreas Nicklaus.

Professor Kenneth Proudfoot Expand/Collapse bio

Kenneth Proudfoot, the former Founding Director of the Larry Friedman International Center for Entrepreneurship and Professor of Entrepreneurship at Johnson & Wales University, is Director of the Rhode Island Youth Entrepreneurship Program and President of the Enterprise Institute of Rhode Island, Inc.

He brings a wide variety of business and personal experiences to the field of business education, including: fifteen years as owner, publisher and editor of a commercial trade publishing company; trade show producer; host of a weekly cable television show; author of three books, overseas trade mission leader; musician (guitar, piano & harmonica); recorded songwriter member of the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers (ASCAP); mountain climber; U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer (Chile & Peru); Red Cross certified lifeguard; magazine columnist; microbusiness training and technical assistance specialist; consultant to the Small Business Development Centers; founder of the Rhode Island MicroEnterprise Association; candle manufacturer; white water kayaker; toy maker, founder of the Rhode Island Youth Entrepreneurship Program; Summer Study Abroad leader (Eastern Europe); church leader; father; teacher; and coach.

He has developed curricula and taught courses in:

  • The Business Plan
  • Global Entrepreneurship
  • Financing the Entrepreneurial Venture
  • Managing Change & Innovation
  • Guerrilla Marketing & Financing
  • Making A Living Making Art!

He is bilingual Spanish and teaches business workshops throughout the U.S., the Caribbean, and Latin America. His goal for over 25 years has been to help people achieve their dreams by teaching, guiding, and exposing them to as many people, places, ideas, and experiences as possible. He is currently an international motivational speaker and trainer for entrepreneurial education projects in Portugal, Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Hungary. He has worked and traveled in 48 countries.

Miriyam Nitzberg, M.A., PgDL Expand/Collapse bio

Miriyam Nitzberg currently works as Head of Legal & HR in Central & Eastern Europe for a multinational health & fitness company. She has a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, an M.A. from the Monterey Institute of International Studies, and she completed her Post-graduate Diploma in Law and her Diploma in Legal Practice at The College of Law in Guildford, England. Miriyam has been working in education, business and law in the Czech Republic since 1992. She has taught at Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, Anglo-American College in Prague, the Czech Ministry of Defense, and the Czech Military University in Vyškov.  She has also worked for several law firms in Prague. In addition to teaching Law for Business, Miriyam has taught legal writing and is a member of the Legal Writing Institute.

Professor Don Smith, J.D., LLM. Expand/Collapse bio

Don C. Smith is the Director of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law & Policy Graduate Program at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. He specializes in environmental law, with particular emphasis on environmental law and policy of the European Union.

Mr. Smith formerly worked as a water policy advisory for Kansas Gov. John W. Carlin. After leaving Gov. Carlin's office he served as the governor's appointee to the Kansas Water Commission.

He practiced natural resources law before joining the legal publishing arm of McGraw-Hill, where he was an associate publisher. He has also served as a publisher for an Anglo-Dutch publishing company, Reed-Elsevier, where he was responsible for a series of publications (e.g., "The Air Pollution Consultant" and "The Hazardous Waste Consultant") about U.S. environmental law. He has also had extensive experience working on environmental publications involving European Union policy.

He is a member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators, the Colorado Bar Association, and the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation. He is editor in chief of Utilities Policy, a peer-reviewed journal, published by U.K.-based Elsevier Science, Ltd.


Accrediting University:

University of Economics, Prague

The program is highly regarded in the international arena in both Europe and North America and credits are issued directly from the University of Economics Prague (in Czech this university is called VSE, Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze). Upon a students' completion of the coursework, the professors submit their grades to the Director of the program and the Dean of the College of International Relations signs off on the transcripts. Most importantly, VSE operates in accordance with the principles of the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) and all courses at the university are approved by the Czech Ministry of Education.

Students accepted into the program may enroll in no more than two courses during the program. They are required to attend all sessions including all site visits to businesses and off campus guest lectures provided as part of the academic component. The courses meet all University of Economics course policies, they are intensive in nature and we are bound to conforming to the VSE grading scale. We will provide you with the course syllabi upon request.

The total amount of academic hours per course is:

40 direct contact hours = 4 transfer credit hours in the North American system

40 direct contact hours = 7 transfer credit hours in the ECTS European system

The academic rigor of these courses approved by VSE are at the upper level undergraduate ranking. Graduate credit is also available.

The University of Economics, based in central Prague, is the top educational center of the Czech Republic. The university provides Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral degree study programs and programs of life-long education to both national and international students. Areas of study include international business, management, finance and economics. The University of Economics is a fully accredited institution of higher education that closely collaborates with other universities and academic institutions such as the European Study Abroad Center. The overall global approach is complemented by European and, in particular, Central European specifics providing an indispensable knowledge of this region with its high potential for development and growth.

The highly ranked International Business program provides students and subsequent graduates with knowledge and skills that are absolutely indispensable for their career in middle and top management of big multinational companies.

The essential features of the International Business program are excellent faculty members, an interdisciplinary approach to education, integration of management studies with intercultural aspects, and analyses of regional markets in global environment. In cooperation with the University of Economics, the European Study Abroad Center is proud to call the University of Economics Prague a life long partner in education.



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