Main Research Areas

Scientific Strategy of the Faculty of Economics (NF VŠE)

The Faculty’s leadership systematically supports scientific and research activities, actively strengthens cooperation and engagement with other universities and research institutions, and fully recognises that the key role belongs to the individual departments as centres of expertise in their respective disciplines. Therefore, the Faculty continues to deepen the autonomy of departments and their independent decision-making.

The leadership also strongly encourages habilitation and professorship procedures while ensuring that applicants meet high scientific and pedagogical standards. Simultaneously, it strives to reduce the average age of academics in the associate professor category (ideally under 40) and full professor category (ideally under 50). Department heads and programme boards are regularly urged to ensure timely accreditations and to maintain a sufficient number of associate and full professors within each field of study. In response to the demanding accreditation requirements, the Faculty supports the provision of research sabbaticals for the preparation of habilitation and professorial appointments and promotes the use of international fellowships and research stays abroad.

In the upcoming five-year period, the Faculty leadership aims to focus on the following strategic objectives in science and research:

  • Gradual enhancement and intensification of research activities with the goal of increasing the number of scientific monographs and articles published in peer-reviewed and impact-factor journals, with greater involvement in international research initiatives, particularly in line with the implementation of Methodology 17+. These efforts should also result in a higher number of professors, associate professors, and PhD graduates.

  • Use of institutional funding for long-term development to support the creation of specialised research units (e.g. sections, centres) that produce above-standard research outputs.

  • Promotion of scientific excellence, including pressure for high-quality publications and the implementation of a performance-based financial incentive system. Publication output will be regularly evaluated, and authors of outstanding research will be significantly financially rewarded.

  • Utilisation of potential reductions in teaching loads to increase research productivity.

  • Support for study leave for academic staff pursuing qualification advancement, especially where this will lead to above-standard scientific and research outcomes.

  • Reaccreditation in 2019 of habilitation and professorship procedures in the fields of Economics and Economic Policy.

  • Retention of the best doctoral graduates for further academic careers at NF VŠE. The internal grant competition will be used to allocate funds for specific university research and support their further development. Doctoral students will be actively involved in organising conferences funded from these resources.

  • Development of a motivational system for top-performing PhD students through special scholarships to provide financial security that enables them to focus fully on their doctoral studies and complete their degrees within the standard timeframe.

  • Design of a support system for talented postdoctoral researchers, enabling them to continue their research by integrating into research teams at the Faculty.

  • Priority support for long-term international research stays for doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers, utilising existing international partnerships and research collaborations. The effectiveness of these stays will be evaluated, among other criteria, based on the submission of international scientific projects.

  • Continual improvement of the Faculty’s student research competition – Dean’s Award for Student Research at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Economics in Prague (SOCD).

Detailed information about the Faculty’s scientific activities can be found in the annual reports of the Faculty of Economics (NF VŠE).