Students of ŠKODA AUTO University received purchasing certificates at an awards ceremony

Successful students received their professional certificates on Wednesday, 6 October 2021 from Dipl.- Ing. Karsten Schnake, member of the Board of Directors responsible for purchasing at ŠKODA AUTO a. s. ŠKODA AUTO University was represented at the awards ceremony by the University Bursar Ing. Sandra Lacinová and the Head of the Marketing and Management Department doc. Ing. Pavel Štrach, Ph.D., Ph.D.

During the course of their studies at ŠKODA AUTO University, students can earn two certificates focused on the field of purchasing. These are the Strategic Purchasing Foundations certificate intended for students studying for a Bachelor’s degree and the Advanced Strategic Purchasing certificate intended for students studying for a Master’s degree. Both certificates are awarded to students under the auspices of the Purchasing Department of ŠKODA AUTO a. s. Thanks to the activities which students must perform in order to obtain the certificates, they gain a greater insight into automotive purchasing issues. This form of cooperation has also been praised by representatives of ŠKODA AUTO a. s. 

 “It is my great pleasure to be able to present this award to the students. The fact that ŠKODA AUTO University has the opportunity to offer its students a combination of study and work experience in the largest company in the Czech Republic represents a unique value and a unique investment. The future is based on sound education and training, and I see this connection as very beneficial for the future of our company,” adds Karsten Schnake, talking about the possibility of obtaining these certificates.

Certificates were awarded to two students this year – in the Bachelor’s degree programme, the certificate was awarded to Bc. Lukáš Kupka, and in the Master’s degree programme, Ing. Lenka Dvořáková was the happy recipient.

In order to obtain the certificate, both of the above-mentioned students had to pass selected subjects in the field of purchasing, undergo professional work experience in one of the purchasing departments and at the same time write and successfully defend their final thesis. The final theses submitted by both students were supervised by Mgr. Iva Šonková from the Purchasing Academy. Lukáš Kupka devoted his thesis to the topic “Documentation and Records of Special Tools Owned by ŠA and Used by External Suppliers”. Lenka Dvořáková dealt with the topic of “Artificial Intelligence in the Purchasing Process at ŠKODA AUTO a. s.”

Lukáš Kupka himself confirms that these purchasing certificates are of great benefit to students. “Obtaining this certificate gave me the opportunity to take up a position in the Purchasing Department at ŠKODA AUTO a. s. I am glad that ŠKODA AUTO University provides students with the opportunity to develop in this field and also motivates students in this way.”