EUROPEAN EDUCATION AND LIFELONG LEARNING EXHIBITION GAUDEAMUS® 2008
15th EDITION
SUMMARY REPORT

The 15th edition of the European Education and Lifelong Learning Exhibition Gaudeamus 2008® was held in the exhibition hall F of the showground in Brno from the 21st to the 24th October 2008.

Exhibitors structure

The exhibition included 152 independent exhibitors (+9 compared to 2007 year), as you can see in chart 1 or in diagrams 1 and 2.


Chart 1 Exhibitors in 2008


Diagram 1



Diagram 2

In 2008 the exhibition achieved a record number of exhibitors in its history, see chart no 1. After the Czech Republic had entered the European Union, the number of foreign exhibitors, which were interested in recruiting Czech students for their courses, increased considerably.

Comparing the 15th edition of the exhibition to the 1st edition in 1994, when there were 27 individual schools, in 2008 the number of exhibitors was more then fivefold. Comparing to the 8th edition in 2001, the number of exhibitors was more then doubled in 2008.

The expansion of the exhibition in 2008 was especially among foreign exhibitors and the new Czech private schools. Among new exhibitors there were six educational institutions, two advisory institutions and one scientific publisher. Five of them were foreign exhibitors and four of them were from the Czech Republic. The majority of exhibitors were from the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, United Kingdom and Germany.

Organization of the exhibiton

The organization and development of the exhibition was as usual ensured by the company MP-Soft®, a.s., Brno, and Brno University of Technology, supported by Trade Fairs Brno, a.s., under the auspices of the Czech Ministry of Education and the rector of Brno University of Technology. Brno University of Technology, represented by Prof. Ing. Jan M. Honzík, CSc., the expert for European cooperation in education, was as usual a professional guarantor and academic advisor of the exhibition. Dipl. Ing. Pavel Mikula, the president of MP-Soft®, a.s. Brno, was the organizational guarantor.

The exhibition conception was prepared by the consultative board consisting of representatives of the most important exhibitors. Prof. Ing. Jan M. Honzík, CSc. was the chairman of the board.

The exhibition course

The 15th edition of the Gaudeamus® exhibition was held in the exhibition hall F of the showground in Brno. The exhibition was opened to the public daily from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., from 21st to 24th October 2008. The special lecture "Current Academic Conditions at The Czech Universities and Colleges" was presented by the director of CSVŠ, v.v.i, Dipl.Ing. Helena Šebková, Phd and Dr. Věra Šťastná the official deputy of the Ministry of Education. The lecture took place on 21st October from 9:45 to 10:25 a.m. and was set for experts, educational advisors, headmasters, sub masters, teachers, educational centres and authorities. The lecture was attended by more than 282 educational advisors and other experts. The exhibition was attended by 1,882 educational advisors and other experts altogether.

The exhibition was inaugurated in the exhibition hall F of the showground in Brno on the 21st October 2008 at 9:00 a.m. in the presence of Prof. Ing. Karel Rais, CSc, MBA the rector of Brno University of Technology and other 180 guests of honour - rectors and headmasters of schools participating in the exhibition and other institutions.

The first day of the exhibition culminated in a social evening and discussion meeting of exhibition participants, which took place in the VUT Centre Hall in Antonínská Street.

The Attendance of the 15th Edition of the Exhibition

The 15th edition of the exhibition was a collateral event held in the area of the showground. There were The International Medicine Fairs along side the Gaudeamus exhibition. The organization of both exhibitions was separated. It was possible to get the exact number of students and teachers visiting the exhibition. Teachers were given special tickets for unlimited entry valid every day during the exhibition.

In 2008 we expected a slightly above-average attendance, approximately amounting to the average number of the last five years, which was 29,022 visitors. The actual attendance was higher than estimated. There were 30,856 people visiting the exhibition this year, which is 1,834 more visitors compared to the average number of the last five years. The exhibition attendance distribution into individual days is presented in the chart 2 and the diagram 3. There were 248 more visitors compared to the highest number of visitors in 2007. The exhibition was visited by 67 % female and 33 % male visitors; see diagram 4.


Chart 2 Attendance Distribution into Individual Days



Diagram 3



Diagram 4

The exhibition attendance distribution for the past seven years is presented in chart 3.


Chart 3 Attendance Distribution into Individual Days for the Past Seven Years

The Statistical Enquiry Among Visitors

During the 15th edition of the Gaudeamus® exhibition the statistical enquiry was carried out among the attendees, as it was done in the previous years. The enquiry was made in the form of a prize draw. 22.2 % (6,847 visitors) of the total number of visitors filled in raffle tickets and returned them. Detailed results are listed in the following charts. The attendance of lectures was greater by 2.9 % than in 2007.

These statistics confirm the quality and high efficiency of applied marketing methods during the exhibition preparation phase. Results reveal evidence of the nation-wide scope of the exhibition activity and information penetration to the whole of the Czech Republic and partly to Slovakia. The 15th exhibition edition played a significant role in providing information concerning study opportunities at Czech and foreign universities, higher schools and other educational institutions.

Chart 4 and diagram 5 show the representation of individual target groups within the total exhibition attendance.

Chart 5 contains the data concerning the regional distribution of attendance. Visitors came from all regions of the Czech Republic; the representation of 967 towns in total was excellent. There was a slight decrease of 0.5% in foreign visitors.


Chart 4 The Representation of Target Groups



Chart 5 Regional Distribution of Attendance



Diagram 5

The selected values of the statistic survey compared to 2007 are shown in chart 6.


Chart 6 Visitors Analysis Compared to 2007


Charts 7 and 8 - the comparison of the regional distribution of visitors and representation of target groups. These figures represent the total attendance over the past seven years.


Chart 7 The Distribution of Visitors into Regions and Lecture Attendance in the Past Seven Years

The number of Czech and Slovak towns, from which the visitors attending the lectures came, is stated in columns 'The Czech Towns' and 'The Slovak Towns'. The column 'Lectures' states the percentage of visitors, who attended lectures, filled in the raffle tickets and took part in the prize draw.


Chart 8 The Representation of Target Groups in the Past Seven Years

The columns 'The 3rd Grade' and 'The 4th Grade' state the percentage of visitors from the 3rd and the 4th grades of secondary schools. The column 'Higher S.' states the percentage of visitors from tertiary higher school students. The column 'Bc. Stud.' states the percentage of visitors from bachelor’s study programs. The column 'Mg. Stud.' states the percentage of visitors from master’s study programs. The column 'Life Long' states the percentage of visitors from life long learning applicants. We extended the survey in 2008 for monitoring of tertiary higher students, bachelor students, master students and life long learning applicants. These new items were monitored under only one item and given the name 'Secondary School Graduates'.

Charts 7 and 8 shows that the Gaudeamus exhibition has been gaining the strongest position among information sources which are sought by the 3rd and the 4th grade pupils of secondary schools to decide about their further studies at a tertiary school. From a life long learning point of view of, the exhibition is also a significant information source because this target group is represented by 7.3 % of total number of visitors, i.e. 2,252 applicants.

Which Study Programs are Students Looking For and What are the Criteria?

Apart from standard compiled data in the past seven years of the exhibition, which are stated in charts 4 to 8, since 2004 year new data concerning the characteristics of target groups have been monitored. The students answered the following questions:

1. I would like to choose the subject belonging to the group:

• Social Science
• Engineering
• Economics
• Education (Teaching)
• Art
• Management
• Law
• Languages
• Medicine
• Computer Science
• Natural Science
• Mathematics
• Sporting
• Other

Students could tick off one or more of the listed subjects, which they would like to study at a university or college. 6,847 students were addressed out of the total number of 30,856 visitors. Results (percentage) of the survey are stated in chart 9 and diagram 6.


Chart 9 Students’ Interest in Academic Subjects



Diagram 6

2. Would you prefer:

• Bachelor's degree
• Bachelor's degree with possible follow-up Master's degree
• Master's degree (follow-up)
• Master's degree (long)
• Higher professional school
• Other

Students could tick off which degree they would like to gain. 6,847 students were addressed out of a total number of 30,856 visitors. Results (percentage) of the survey are stated in chart 10 and diagram 7.


Chart 10 Students’ Interest in the Type of Further Studies



Diagram 7

3. Put in order the factors, which influence you in your choice of further studies

• Salary
• Employment prospects
• Preceding education
• Job status
• Personal predisposes (skills and interests)

Students could give a mark in the range from 1 to 5 (1 - the most, 5 the least) expressing the importance of their choice. 6,847 students were addressed out of the total number of 30,865 visitors. Results (averages of marks) of the survey are stated in chart 11 and diagram 8. Columns contain arithmetical average of marks for each criterion. In chart 11 the values are from 2004 to 2008.


Chart 11 The Significance of Factors for a Choice of Further Studies



Diagram 8

Students are mostly interested in social science, engineering and economics. They prefer a Bachelor's degree with possible follow-up Master's degree or a Master's degree (long). The biggest influence on their decision is personal predispositions, employment prospects and salary.

Target Groups of Visitors and Their Characteristics

Apart from the previous enquiry in the 15th year of the exhibition in 2008, new marketing research was done with the aim of making an image of target groups of visitors. 1,200 students up to the age of 25 and 144 older than 25 were addressed. During the research 67 % female and 33 % male were addressed. Visitors under 25 had a different group of questions than older visitors. However, foreign exhibitors were only interested in the evaluation of answers form visitors younger than 25. Therefore, we put only that part of the research into the English version of the summary report. The evaluation of answers of visitors older than 25 is only in the Czech version of the summary report. The meaning of answers of older group is only important for domestic schools because the older group was made up from teachers and parents.

Visitors Younger Than 25

In diagram 9 you can see the age spectrum of visitors who were younger than 25. The biggest segment represents visitors at the age of 18 and 19 but the other segments are also significant, for example visitors at the age of 20 and older.

From the evaluation of answers for the question: “At which school do you study?” it follows that the main target group is created by students from secondary schools. The target group of students from tertiary education level (higher school, college and other) is created by 7.1 % of all visitors.



Diagram 9

The next question was: “What motivated you to visit the exhibition?” Students could choose one of answers:

• Your own decision.
• A recommendation of a school.
• A recommendation of parents.
• Another recommendation.

You can see the result in diagram 10. It is clear that most students perceive the exhibition as a very important source of information for their future studies. They decided themselves without other influences. The recommendation of a school plays a very important role but it is not the main role.



Diagram 10

The next question was “Where did you find out about the exhibition?” Students could choose one of the following answers:

• An education advisor.
• A poster at a school.
• Information from friends.
• The website of the exhibition.
• An advert in public transport.
• An advert in a newspaper.
• A promo on a radio.

The result of the evaluation you can see in diagram 11. It confirms the effectiveness of the usual promotional methods like direct communication with education advisors, students and schools. The good reputation, the professional organization and the stable date have a very important influence on a number of visitors and spreading good information about it.



Diagram 11

We were interested in learning how much students were single-minded and responsible at the time when they were looking for future study opportunities. We asked the question: “What is the main goal of your visit to the exhibition?” 94 % of students answered without hesitation that the main goal was to find out future study opportunities. Only 6 % of visitors had another goal.

Another group of questions had the aim of finding out whether students had enough time to find their future studies. We asked two questions: “Do you have enough time for inspection of the exhibition?” and “How much time would you need optimally?” You can see evaluation of answers in diagrams 12 and 13.



Diagram 12



Diagram 13

The next two questions had the goal of finding out about the quality of lectures. We asked the following two questions: “Did you take part in a lecture?” and “What was the main aim of your attendance at the lecture?” 57.5 % of students took part in a lecture and 42.5 % did not, see diagram 14. The attendance of lectures is overwhelming, 92.8 % of students stated the main reason why they attended a lecture was to find out information about future studies, conditions for interviewing and other information about a school. The evaluation of answers is shown in diagram 15.



Diagram 14



Diagram 15

One of the main topics of the new research was to find out about foreign studies. We asked the question: “Would you prefer to study abroad or not?” 49.8 % of students would prefer to study abroad than at a domestic university or college. The next question was “In which country would you like to study?” The top ten of the most favoured countries can be seen in diagram 16.



Diagram 16

We also asked for the most missing. Students stated they missed Harvard University from USA and Oxford University from Great Britain in particular.

The last question of the research was “Did you find your future studies at the Gaudeamus exhibition?” 73.5 % of students answered “Yes” and the rest of them answered “No”. The main question for next year in 2009 will be “Why did you not find your future studies at the Gaudeamus exhibition?” Answers could be varied. Among the answers could be missing schools from abroad, missing lectures of foreign schools, a lot of missing information about future studies, an insufficient number of art schools, not enough time for inspection and many other reasons.

The Exhibitors’ Lecturers During The Exhibition

The lecture theatre has been a part of the standard exhibition facilities for several years. In 2008, there were two theatres - one seated 300 people and the second seated 150 people. Both were equipped with a quality sound system, an overhead projector, a data-video projector, a video recorder, a DVD recorder and computers. The lectures were given by qualified representatives of participating schools.

The total attendance was higher than 6,847 visitors (22.2%), because only visitors who filled in a ticket and returned it to the organizers were counted. That is why we can only estimate the real number of lecture participants. We believe that in 2008 the attendance of lectures ranged from between 25-30 % of the total number of exhibition visitors, the absolute number is in the range of 7,721 to 9,265 visitors.

After each lecture, the organizers drew lots and drew out the names of 5 participants, who then got raffles with the exhibition logo or prizes donated by MP-Soft, a.s. company or the lecturing school. The first drawn person was given the most valuable prize, the others got umbrellas, CD boxes, T-shirts, peaked caps etc.

During the 15th edition of the exhibition, lecture theatres were the most attended place and the lecture attendance has been the second highest since the beginning of the exhibition. The lectures have been for a long time the most efficient way of passing information about possibilities of higher education and conditions of entrance examination. Despite the high capacity of the lecture theatres, there was not enough space during some of the lectures, there were not enough seats and the entrance hall was overcrowded.

The Exhibition Catalogue

Each visitor received the printed 88 pages catalogue of the exhibiting schools and the detailed electronic catalogue on CD ROM. The catalogues contained detailed information about higher education at exhibiting schools and educational institutions. Most of the schools supplied information about school, the list of faculties, contacts to studies departments, information about faculties’ subjects, entrance examinations, students’ statistics at individual faculties and departments, etc. Each exhibitor has a free-of-charge four-line advert in the catalogue.

For the 15th edition of the exhibition 32,000 printed catalogues and CD ROM catalogues were prepared.

Information About Fields of Study and Information Stand

In 2008 visitors had at their disposal three sources of information about study opportunities, fields of study, universities and colleges:

• The interactive index of fields of study on the website www.gaudeamus.cz. The index was subdivided into Czech and foreign parts. Each exhibitor could provide its own list of fields of study. It was included in index free of charge.
• The interactive version of fields of study index which was put into the CD ROM catalogue.
• The advisory service about study opportunities, selection of future studies, fields of study and so on. This service was free of charge for visitors and future students. A special stand was built for the service next to the lecture theatre. Advisers were mainly answering four typical questions:
  • Where can I study a chosen field of study ?
  • Which field of study can I study at school ?
  • Where can I study at faculty ?
  • Can I study abroad and in which countries ?

The organizers are going to expand new ways of information sources based on our experiences from 2006 to 2008.

The Exhibition Development in 1994-2008

The exhibition development is stated in chart 12.

In the column 'Exhibitors' there is the total number of individual exhibitors, which mostly represent other subjects. For example, in 2008, the exhibiting universities and colleges represented 262 faculties in total. The column 'Area in m2' states the range of the basic exhibiting area only. The common base for all exhibitors, stores, lecture theatre and other back-up space is not included. The developed area was almost tripled. The column 'Attendance' states the total attendance in the individual years.


Chart 12 The Exhibition Attendance Development Since 1994

The Exhibition on The Internet

All the information concerning the exhibition is available on the Internet address www.gaudeamus.cz. When the exhibition is finished, you can always find the content of the exhibiting schools printed catalogue at the afore-mentioned address. This year it was for the seventh time and the catalogue of the 15th exhibition was released on 25th October 2008. The content of the printed catalogue is available on the Internet until August 2009. For the exhibiting schools this service is provided for free by the organizer. During that time the exhibiting school can change their information free of charge.

Since February 2002 the access observation has been performed at www.gaudeamus.cz, the result of the observation is stated in chart 13.


Chart 13 Access to www.gaudeamus.cz

The 16th Edition of The Exhibition in 2009

The 16th edition of the Gaudeamus® exhibition is planned from 20th to 23rd October 2009 and we are expecting to hold it in the exhibition hall V of the Brno showground. The term of the exhibition was chosen with respect to requirements of the exhibiting schools. The exhibition will be extended to include the new international part named “Job fair”.

For 2009 we are preparing:

• Interactive index of fields of study to be put on the website www.gaudeamus.cz and CD ROM catalogue. It will be prepared on the basis of exhibiting schools. The registration to index will be free of charge for exhibiting schools.
• Providing a brief glossary of the basic topics of university and colleges terminology. It will be on the website before exhibition and in the printed and CD ROM catalogue as well.
• Attendance encouragement at the exhibitors' lectures as in 2008.
• Continuation of extensive encouragement to attend the exhibition by means of suitable media promotion.
• Continuation of so called economy expositions for presentation of Art Academies and Higher Professional Schools in the area of 2.4 and 6 m2 or in the form of board placard.
• Printed catalogue edition for each visitor (32,000 copies).
• Revision of new overviews in printed catalogue for better retrieval, for example the index of fields of study.
• The CD ROM exhibition catalogue for each visitor in the edition of 32 000 copies.
• Continuous update of data about the exhibitors on the Internet (www.gaudeamus.cz).
• Preservation of the exhibition promotional catalogue content as in 2008.

1st December 2008 in Brno


Pavel Mikula
President