Skill Seminars
Skill Seminars are training seminars in practical skills to kick-start an effective professional career and are fundamental to adjusting easily to an international management environment. The introductory part is mostly theoretical and then the majority of the seminar is interactive, focused on acquiring practical skills, where work is usually done in teams. Capacity is 10-20 students. At VSE, the seminars are mostly held on the company premises in face-to-face format to enable students to better experience the company culture, etc.
Winter Term 2024/2025
- Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield – Negotiation Techniques, Oct 3, 9 am – 5 pm, in the company, capacity 12, 0,5 ECTS
- Procter & Gamble – Mastering Brand Journey: How to Build a Superior Brand and How to Build Long-term Relationship through Negotiations, Oct 4, 9 am – 1 pm, on VSE campus, capacity 20, 0,25 ECTS
- Coca-Cola HBC – Get Ready to Experience how Coca-Cola Leads with Data-driven Decisions!, Oct 10, 9 am – 5 pm, in the company, capacity 20, 0,5 ECTS
- Hilti – Discover Systematic Account Development with Hilti, Oct 17, 9 am – 5 pm, in the company, capacity 16, 0,5 ECTS
- L’Oréal – L’Oréal Media Masterclass, Oct 31, 9:30 am – 2 pm, in the company, capacity 15, 0,25 ECTS
- Procter & Gamble – Career Planning, Nov 1, 9 am – 1 pm, in the company, capacity 19, 0,25 ECTS
- Plzensky Prazdroj – Business Communication, Nov 14, 9 am – 1 pm, in the company, capacity 22, 0,25 ECTS
- Skoda Auto – Employer Branding Strategy, Nov 15, 8 am – 6 pm (including the 2-hour bus transport to/back from the company located in Mlada Boleslav), in the company, capacity 20, 0,5 ECTS (driver’s license needed!)
- Deloitte – Consulting Skills / Project Management, Nov 21, 1 pm – 5 pm, at the university, capacity 20, 0,25 ECTS
Summer Term 2023/2024
CEMS V4 Conference (topic “V4 Data Universe”) was held in Prague between April 10 – 13, 2024. As the skill seminars were an integral part of this conference, there was only one skill seminar organized outside the conference this term.
- Plzensky Prazdroj – Craft and Heritage of Plzensky Prazdroj, March 28, 2024, at the company, capacity 15, 0,25 ECTS
- Google – Google Analytics 4 (V4 Conference), April 11, 2024, 9 – 12 am, at the university, capacity 33, 0,25 ECTS
- Accenture – Generative AI (V4 Conference), April 11, 2024, 9 – 12 am, at the university, capacity 25, 0,25 ECTS
- Google – Google Analytics 4 (V4 Conference), April 11, 2024, 1 – 4 pm, at the university, capacity 29, 0,25 ECTS
- Accenture – Strategic Thinking (V4 Conference), April 11, 2024, 1 – 4 pm, at the university, capacity 24, 0,25 ECTS
- L’Oréal – Value Driven Business (V4 Conference), April 11, 2024, 1 – 4 pm, at the university, capacity 14, 0,25 ECTS
- HILTI – Perfect Customer Experience Driven by Data (V4 Conference), April 11, 2024, 1 – 4 pm, at the university, capacity 16, 0,25 ECTS
- Procter & Gamble – Shopper Psychology (V4 Conference), April 12, 2024, 9 – 12 am, at the university, capacity 38, 0,25 ECTS
- Accenture – Generative AI (V4 Conference), April 12, 2024, 9 – 12 am, at the university, capacity 20, 0,25 ECTS
Winter Term 2023/2024
- Google – Export Strategy Creation Workshop, Oct 13, 1 – 5 pm, in the company, capacity 25, 0,25 ECTS
- HILTI – Discover Systematic Account Development in Hilti, Oct 19, 9 am – 5 pm, in the company, capacity 16, 0,5 ECTS
- Accenture – Generative AI & Innovative Use Cases, Oct 20, 9 am – 1 pm, in the company, capacity 16, 0,25 ECTS
- Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield – Negotiation Techniques, Nov 2, 9 am – 5 pm, in the company, capacity 12, 0,5 ECTS
- L’Oréal – Innovation and Consumer Insights, Nov 30, 9:30 am – 5:30 pm, in the company, capacity 32, 0,5 ECTS
Summer Term 2022/2023
- Plzensky Prazdroj – Business Communication, March 9, 9 am – 1 pm, in the company, capacity 15 (0,25 ECTS)
- Skoda Auto – Brand Strategy /includes an arranged bus from Prague to Mlada Boleslav and back/, March 10, 8:15 am – 5 pm, in the company, capacity 15, (0,5 ECTS)
- Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield – Negotiation Techniques, April 13, 9 am – 5 pm, in the company, capacity 10 (0,5 ECTS)
- L’Oréal – Building Personal Skillset for Sustainable Success, April 14, 9 am – 5 pm, in the company, capacity 15, (0,5 ECTS)
Winter Term 2022/2023
- Simon-Kucher & Partners – Launching the Next Generation of Digital Solutions in the Healthtech Industry, Oct 7, 9 am – 1 pm, VSE, capacity 16
- Procter & Gamble – Psychology of Shoppers Applied to Communication Materials, Oct 13, 9 am – 5 pm, in the company, capacity 16
- Accenture – Trends and lessons from enterprise modernizations & transformations, Oct 14, 9 am – 1 pm, in the company, capacity 16
- KEARNEY – Interactive Case Study – Hydroponics Farm, Oct 21, 1 – 5 pm, in the company, capacity 16
- ASAHI – Organizational Design, Nov 10, 9 am – 1 pm, in the company, capacity 10
- Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield – Negotiation Techniques, Nov 11, 9 am – 5 pm, in the company, capacity 10
- HILTI – Discover Systematic Account Development in Hilti, Nov 24, 9 am – 5 pm, in the company, capacity 16
- E.ON Inhouse Consulting – CEMS Impact Days, Oct 5 – 7, in Milano – registrations by Sept 11, 2022; recognized as a 1-day skill seminar (0,5 ECTS)
Summer Term 2021/2022
| Date | Topic | Company | Capacity | Format | Where | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 31, 2022 | Effective Presentation skills + Persuasive Selling format | Procter&Gamble | 15 students | Face2Face | Company | |
| April 7, 2022 | Negotiation Techniques | Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield | 10 students | Face2Face | Company |
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield – Negotiation Techniques, Thu, April 7 (cap. 10 students) |
| April 22, 2022 | E-commerce and Digital Media | L’Oréal | 15 student | Face2Face | Company |
L’Oréal – E-commerce and Digital Media, Fri, April 22 (cap. 15 students) |
Winter Term 2021/2022
| Date, Time, ECTS | Topic | Company | Capacity | Format | Where | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 7, 2021
9 am – 5 pm 0,5 ECTS |
Discover Systematic Account Development in Hilti | Hilti | 16 students | Face2Face | Company |
|
| October 15, 2021
1 – 5 pm 0,25 ECTS |
Organizational Design | Asahi | 10 students | Face2Face | Company |
|
| October 21, 2021
8:30 am – 5:30 pm (including transportation to Mladá Boleslav) 0,5 ECTS |
Innovation Process in a Traditional Company | Škoda Auto | 16 students | Face2Face | Company |
|
| November 11, 2021
9 am – 5 pm 0,5 ECTS |
Negotiation Techniques | Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield | 10 students | Face2Face | Company | The seminar aims to develop the sales and negotiation skills of the students by sharing the expertise of URW’s Head of Leasing and Deputy Head of Leasing for the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In the first half of the training the skills of persuasion, empathy, and active listening are explored. Theoretical background will be provided regarding planning, structuring, and conducting negotiations.
In the second part, exercises both in groups and in pairs will teach the students the practicalities of negotiations. They will learn how to negotiate in potentially difficult situations and adapt their skills in order to successfully close agreements. |
| November 12, 2021
1 – 5 pm 0,25 ECTS |
Corporate Social Responsibility | Amplifon | 28 students | Virtual | Company | CSR Skill Seminar will concentrate on the pillars of building a CSR Strategy and dive into the relationship with the key stakeholders. Moreover, students will have an opportunity to learn about the negative impacts of Noise Pollution and through a Design Thinking Methodology define, ideate, and prototype a solution to the question “Why Noise Pollution is not a common topic of discussion”.
Students will also have an opportunity to get to master a critical tool for online collaborations and strategy building – Mural. Learning Objectives:
Format: Virtual Presentation: Part 1: Dive into CSR Strategy Part 2: Noise Pollution Part 3: Group Exercise based on Design Thinking Methodology using breakout rooms and Virtual Collaboration Space – Mural |
Summer Term 2020/2021
| Date | Topic | Company | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 12, 2021
10 am – 3 pm CET Virtually |
New Generation of Founders – exclusive interactive virtual design thinking workshop | Exclusive interactive virtual design thinking workshop.
Learning Objectives: |
|
| April 22, 2021
1 – 5 pm CET Virtually |
Effective Communication and Collaboration as a Critical skill for Strategy Execution and Business Results Delivery | Procter & Gamble | Importance of the right structure and clear information flow towards customers and within a company to make the most educated decision on how to drive business and execute aligned strategies in an international company. |
Winter Term 2020/2021
Students participated in Skill Seminars within the virtual V4 Conference.
Summer Term 2019/2020
Planned skill seminars were canceled due to covid-19. Students participated in the online skill seminars within the Virtual European Forum.
Winter Term 2019/2020
| Date | Topic | Company | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 3, 2019 | Professional B2B Selling with Hilti | Hilti | During this seminar was introduced a 4 step professional selling approach, and dig deeper into its individual steps. Also the techniques for asking the right questions, SNIB probing funnel, and understanding the customer attitudes were covered. During the seminar, students applied learnings in interactive role-plays and got immediate feedback on their performance. Our facilitators shared their own practical experiences.
October 4, 2019 Field RidesHilti |
| November 28, 2019 | Change Management | Plzeňský Prazdroj | The purpose of this seminar is to provide insight in analyzing, designing, implementing, and managing change in such a way that there is an appropriate balance between a people focus and a focus on business results. |
Summer Term 2018/2019
| Date | Topic | Company | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 12, 2019 (0,5 day) | Google Marketing Academy | Which are the strategic marketing questions that every manager should consider? How to develop an efficient marketing campaign, leveraging the latest digital technologies to grow one’s business? During this ½ day hands-on skill seminar students will learn about a user-centered marketing framework designed for the digital ecosystem, answering the questions above. The participants will have an opportunity to meet with Googlers and CEMS alumni working across various Google’s teams and locations. |
|
| March 28, 2019 (1 day) | Negotiation Techniques | Unibail-Rodamco- Westfield | The seminar aims to develop the sales and negotiation skills of the students by sharing the expertise of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield’s Senior Leasing Managers. In the first half of the training the skills of persuasion, empathy, and active listening are explored. A theoretical background will be provided regarding planning, structuring and conducting negotiations. In the second part exercises both in groups and pairs will teach the students the practicalities of negotiations. They will learn how to negotiate in potentially difficult situations and adapt one´s skills in order to successfully close agreements. |
Winter Term 2018/2019
| Date | Topic | Company | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 22, 2018 (2 days) | Flow Leadership Skills Development | Person/ Dr. Zoltan Buzady | The purpose of this 2+-days intensive CEMS seminar is to teach you the relevance of Flow, a core concept of modern positive psychology, and how Flow-promoting Leadership style can be applied in daily practice. For this, we use FLIGBY (www.fligby.com), the #1-global-award-winning leadership simulation game by Prof. Mihaly Csikszentmihaly. |
| October 18, 2018 | Professional B2B Selling with Hilti | Hilti | During this seminar was introduced a 4 step professional selling approach, and dig deeper into its individual steps. Also the techniques for asking right questions, SNIB probing funnel and understanding the customer attitudes were covered. During the seminar students applied learnings in interactive role plays and got immediate feedback on their performance. Our facilitators shared their own practical experience. |
| November 23, 2018 | Live the Case Team Experience with BCG | BCG | All students tried to solve a case study with 1-2 BCG supervisors, the whole the session was closed with the teams’ presentations. |
Summer Term 2017/2018
| Date | Topic | Company | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 8, 2018 | Change Management | Plzeňský Prazdroj | The purpose of this seminar is to provide insight in analyzing, designing, implementing, and managing change in such a way that there is an appropriate balance between a people focus and a focus on business results. |
| April 20, 2018 | Leadership Training | L’Oréal | Join our workshop focused on key leadership topics: Behavior, Habits and beliefs, Perception and filters, Emotional intelligence, Communication, Leadership style, Motivation, Team development, Coaching. |
Winter Term 2017/2018
| Date | Topic | Company | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 19, 2017 (1 day) |
Digital Ecosystem for Garnier Brand | L’Oréal | How to create an ideal digital ecosystem for Garnier brand and its customers.What is the trigger that leads to the moment when a customer is using and buying our product? Who influenced her/him? How does it happen? Why does it happen? Identify moments and mindset. |
| October 20, 2017(1 day) | Start-Up | Project A
Ada Health Zalando Wine in Black |
All companies are either start-ups or related to entrepreneurial businesses. Students will get in touch with entrepreneurs as well as investors and will get a chance to experience the unique startup culture in the start-up capital Berlin. Students will get to know four different industries and businesses and will be able to broaden their knowledge in various entrepreneurial topics, such as VC investments, pitch presentations, e-commerce, VR, AI and Growth management. The whole trip will provide a great opportunity for CEMS students willing to start their own business or planning to enter a career in a start-up and will get students in touch with entrepreneurs and potential future networks. |
Summer Term 2016/2017
| Date | Topic | Company | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 17, 2017 | Digital Marketing | Unibail-Rodamco | The purpose of this seminar is to provide insight in how Unibail-Rodamco uses digital marketing to deliver results that help the company to be #1 retail operator in Europe, attend our workshop. Just remember, that the way we do it is not nice and easy, but rough. |
| April 6-7, 2017 | V4 Conference | All students who will take part in the workshop will be evaluated for this activity as for a two-day skill seminar. |
Winter Term 2016/2017
| Date | Topic | Company | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 5, 2016 (1 day) |
Personal Branding | Rostya Gordon-Smith, Minerva21 | The purpose of this seminar is to provide insight in:
|
| November 2, 2016 (1 day) | Change Management | Plzeňský Prazdroj | The purpose of this seminar is to provide insight in analyzing, designing, implementing, and managing change in such a way that there is an appropriate balance between a people focus and a focus on business results. |
Summer Term 2015/2016
| Date | Topic | Company | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 8, 2016 (0,5 day) |
Tips on Marketing Strategy and Career Development | Which are the strategic marketing questions that every manager should consider? How to leverage the internet and online marketing to boost your business? And finally, how can Googlers and CEMS alumni inspire your own career path? This 1/2 day skill seminar will answer all these questions and will also give you the opportunity to raise yours. You will exchange ideas with Googlers working across multiple European countries. | |
| April 14, 2016 (1 day) | Negotiation Techniques | Unibail-Rodamco | In the first phase, the skills of persuasion, empathy and active listening are explored. In a second stage, learning how to negotiate in potentially difficult situations and adapting one´s skills in order to close successful negotiations. |
Winter Term 2015/2016
| Date | Topic | Company | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 29 – 30, 2015 (2 days) |
Communication skills | Škoda Auto | Communication skills, argumentation, assertiveness. Museum and factory excursion, test drives. |
| November 26, 2015 (1 day) |
Change Management | Plzeňský Prazdroj | The purpose of this seminar is to provide insight in analyzing, designing, implementing, and managing change in such a way that there is an appropriate balance between a people focus and a focus on business results. |
Summer Term 2014/2015
| Date | Topic | Company | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 16 – 17, 2015 (2 days) |
Communication skills | Škoda Auto | Communication skills, argumentation, assertiveness. Museum and factory excursion, test drives. |
| April 9, 2015 (1 day) |
Change Management | Plzeňský Prazdroj | The purpose of this seminar is to provide insight in analyzing, designing, implementing, and managing change in such a way that there is an appropriate balance between a people focus and a focus on business results. |
| April 15, 2015(0,5 day) | CEMS Day @ Google | CEMS @ Google is focused on career development within the tech sector. Tech sector is becoming an increasingly popular destination for fresh business graduates. However, graduates often do not have a clear understanding of career options and paths. Especially because tech careers tend to be more international and non-linear than in other industries. CEMS alumni in different functions and geographies across Google will conduct the seminar and discuss their current career and the path that led them to it. Students will get the chance to visit local Google office, meet with Googlers and play a round or two of fussball. |
Winter Term 2014/2015
| Date | Topic | Company | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 20 – 21, 2014 (2 days) |
Communication skills | Škoda Auto | Communication skills, argumentation, assertiveness. Museum and factory excursion, test drives. |
| November 26, 2014 (1 day) |
Marketing as a tool to build loyalty | Unibail Rodamco | In the first phase, an introduction of the shopping center marketing, what are the targets and how to measure them. Marketing vs. shopping center customers – how marketing could help to build a relationship and loyalty, Events and Digital marketing, Social media marketing. In the second phase, we introduce case studies of the campaigns. |
Registrations
Registrations for Skill Seminars in Term 1 AY 2024-25 will open on Monday, September 16, 2024, at 8 pm CEST. All details are announced to students via email.
Applications are based on a first-come, first-served basis. Students must upload their CVs from cems.org (preferably) to finish their registration.
The registration and unsubscription deadline is 1 week before the seminar (e.g., Skill seminar on October 13 has the application/unsubscription deadline on October 6 before 23.55 o’clock). After this deadline, a medical report or other official document is needed; otherwise, a No-Show status is given.
Please note that the school reserves the right to make changes according to the companies’ requirements.
Skill Seminars Global Requirements
CEMS students are supposed to pass at least 4 days in total (= min. 2 ECTS) on skill seminars.
1-day skill seminar (= 8 hours) is equal to 0,5 ECTS. Half-day skill seminar (= 4 hours) is equal to 0,25 ECTS.
Additionally, students have to pass 2 days of the Global Citizenship Seminar (= 1 ECTS), which is always organized in Term 2.
Finally, the student’s profile on cems.org must show at least the following amount of ECTS (to be able to graduate):
| Skill Seminar ECTS: 2 | Skill Seminar Days: 4 |
| Global Citizenship Seminar ECTS:1 | Global Citizenship Seminar Days: 2 |
I.e., 3 is the minimum amount of ECTS, and 6 is the minimum number of days in the seminar section.
Skill Seminars Local Requirements (valid for CEMS VSE home students only)
- Term 1 (eventually Term 2) – minimum 2 skill seminar days (= 1 ECTS) of the skill seminars must be met as 3IG667 CEMS Skill Seminar – any combination of skill seminars that last a total of 2 days passed in Term 1 (eventually in Term 2). Students DO NOT register for the course 3IG667 in Insis. At the end of Term 1 (eventually in Term 2), CEMS office will individually recognize the completion of this course (3IG667) based on the skill seminars entered in students’ cems.org profile (2 days in total; must be passed in Term 1, eventually Term 2). These seminars can be organized by any CEMS university/CEMS Global Office (e.g. Career Forum), can be held in person or virtually, and must be entered into student’s cems.org account. Example: student passes 3 days of skill seminars in Term 1. This student will have the course 3IG667 for 1 ECTS recognized in VSE system INSIS and, at the same time, 1,5 ECTS recognized in cems.org.
- Term 1 – 4 (during the CEMS studies at VSE) – students have to pass another 2 days of skill seminars, i.e. you do not have to pass them in Term 1 (eventually Term 2), but later. These skill seminars will be recognized in cems.org only (not in Insis).
At VSE, we don’t require CEMS VSE students to complete 4 days of skill seminars within the CEMS year, students can complete them during their 2-year studies.
Non-VSE Skill Seminars
There are many half-day skill seminars organized during the Cems Career Forum in Barcelona., or CEMS regional events, such as V4 Conference. V4 Conference is organized on a rotating basis among VSE (Prague) in spring 2024, SGH (Warsaw) in 2025, and CUB (Budapest) in 2026.
Other skill seminars can be found via JobTeaser, which students should be able to enter from their cems.org profile (the number will increase as semesters at CEMS schools begin). Students can also contact directly other CEMS schools.
Skill Seminars NO-SHOW
If a student receives a No-Show, he/she won’t be allowed to register for any future skill seminar during this and next term, which can cause an obstacle to graduation.