Student Engagement in Innovation Projects with Česká spořitelna

The idea of involving master’s students in real innovation projects for our long‑term departmental partner — Česká spořitelna — emerged several years ago. At the beginning of each semester, Adam Daniel from Česká spořitelna introduces thematic areas that students then develop under the guidance of faculty members. The most successful projects are presented at the end of the semester to a professional jury from the bank.

This year, the opportunity was given to teams working on the Start‑up AI Partner project and Innovation for the Business Academy. Thanks to the rapid development of artificial intelligence, student outputs are becoming increasingly sophisticated each semester — no longer just visual concepts, but functional application prototypes, often with interactive click‑through features.

In the summer semester 2025/26, teams led by Nina Bočková and Mirek Špaček once again demonstrated that even within a ten‑week timeframe, they can deliver a complete innovation process: from designing the research framework, conducting the research, and analysing results, to developing a solution proposal and validating it. Their work also included stakeholder and risk identification, creating a WBS, preparing a Gantt chart, and drafting an implementation plan.

The course Innovation and Entrepreneurship is demanding, yet its strong practical orientation enables students to produce high‑quality and meaningful innovations.

Our thanks go to the jury led by Adam Daniel, which provided constructive feedback, highlighted the strengths of the proposals, and pointed out potential challenges related to implementation within a corporate environment. Presenting students received a certificate and a financial scholarship in recognition of their work.