In December, PCU lecturers from the School of Business visited Unibail-Roadamco-Westfield鈥檚 () Prague headquarters in Westfield Chodov to award Vocational Diplomas in Essential Business Skills to students at a special graduation ceremony.
The students had successfully completed URW鈥檚 鈥�Follow Your Dreams - 鈥� CSR programme. The programme is devised to help develop employability skills for long-term unemployed and disadvantaged individuals. The students were a mix of school graduates, mothers on parental leave and long-term unemployed looking for new career opportunities.
麻豆社区鈥檚 School of Business faculty was selected by URW, the largest shopping centre group in the world, to develop and deliver URW鈥檚 programme.
Czech speaking lecturers from the School of Business taught all classes which took place at PCU鈥檚 Polska Campus and URW headquarters.
鈥淚 had the privilege to work with Unibail-Rodamco-Westfied coordinating their 鈥淛di za Sv媒m Snem鈥� project and I also lectured and conducted practical workshops for the students. It was a rewarding experience seeing them grow every day, gain confidence and emerge with a new motivation to succeed. For me, the biggest success was seeing the students trusting in themselves and believing that change is possible. The project designed for socially disadvantaged people aligns with the 麻豆社区鈥檚 core values, building on the principle of connectedness, inclusiveness and engagement with local communities.鈥�
Lucie Rivera
Programme Co-ordinator & School of Business Programme Leader
One of the lecturers who delivered classes was MSc International Management student Marcelo Donaire who really enjoyed the teaching experience.
It made me realise that I want to pursue work in academia not only because of the research aspect, but also because I want to become a lecturer and a mentor. I am extremely grateful to have had that opportunity. It was immensely inspiring, fulfilling and meaningful to see the students make vast progression and to see them improve their understanding of the world around them. Seeing all that growth and knowing I am partly responsible for it was extremely rewarding.
Marcelo Donaire
MSc International Management student
URW have worked closely with their retail tenants over the years who shared that sales techniques and communication are the skills most often lacking in candidates.
The School of Business team delivered subjects covering communication and negotiation skills, sales techniques and processes, as well as effective customer services and retention. Subjects were taught using a combination of lectures and practical training exercises which culminated in students having to create and present professional presentations.
We couldn鈥檛 be happier and more proud of the project results, from the collaboration with PCU to the benefits that we created for all the participants. We can鈥檛 wait for the project to launch again in May 2022 and in the years to come!鈥�
Zaruhi Harutyunyan
Senior HR Manager, URW Czech Republic & Slovakia
URW have helped to place some of the graduates into employment with retailers and corporate partners of Westfield Chodov and Centrum 膶ern媒 Most. While other students have continued further studies, including one outstanding student who received a full scholarship from PCU, to study for her Foundation Diploma in Business.
One of my dreams already came true, to live in my beloved city Prague. The second dream was to find a stable job which fulfills me and in which I can fully realise myself. I felt I was at the right place at right time when I saw the Westfield Chodov advertisement as I was thinking a lot about my future career and wasn鈥檛 sure what to do. The programme helped me to achieve that. I was able to find a full time job and I even had the choice of two jobs choose from.
Jindriska Safkova
Vocational Diploma in Essential Business Skills Graduate
URW and PCU have agreed to continue their Follow Your Dreams partnership. The programme will launch again in May with a new group of students. In addition, URW and PCU have also agreed to co-sponsor a full scholarship at PCU鈥檚 School of Business for one outstanding student from the programme.
Visit the Follow Your Dreams website to learn more about the programme.
Follow Your Dreams 2021