INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION AND LIFELONG LEARNING EXHIBITION GAUDEAMUS® 2010

The 17th edition of the European Education and Lifelong Learning Exhibition Gaudeamus® 2010 was held at the Brno exhibition grounds from 2nd to 5th November 2010 in the exhibition hall F. The aim of the exhibition was to provide a wide range of information about higher education to high school and higher professional school students and graduates, bachelor students and graduates and to the whole spectrum of lifelong learning applicants. Representatives of universities, colleges and higher professional schools from the Czech Republic and from the whole world participate in the exhibition regularly.

Record figures of this year’s edition:

• Highest lecture attendance of 9 331 students, which is 31,1 % of the total number of visitors.
• The exhibition space, most important quality indicator of the exhibition, has increased by 23,7 % compared to the last year. This was the largest space in the exhibition’s history.
• The most countries of the world were represented at the exhibition, the total number was 17.
• The highest number of schools participated in the accompanying programme “Science for Life”, the total number was 11.
• 26 exhibitors, highest number so far, participated in the Best booth contest.
• The visitors came from the record number of 1 702 towns from all across the Czech Republic.
• There was a highest representation of 4th grade high school students among the visitors, 71,9 % of the total number.
• There was a record number of 6 140 121 visits at the www.gaudeamus.cz internet portal from January to November 2010.

Exhibitor's structure

186 exhibitors (- 20 compared to 2009) participated in the Gaudeamus® 2010 exhibition in 133 individual booths. The decrease in the total number of exhibitors has been caused by lower participation of Chinese and other Asian universities. The number of exhibitors from the Czech Republic and other EU countries has increased. Exhibitor’s structure is described in chart no. 1 and diagrams no. 1 and 2.

Diagram 1


Diagram 2

There were exhibitors from 17 countries worldwide at the 2010’s edition of the Exhibition, which is the highest number in history. The highest number so far was 12 in 2009, 2008 and 2006. Total number of exhibitors was however lower by 27 compared to 2009. The decrease in the total number of exhibitors has been caused by lower participation of Chinese and other Asian universities, see chart no. 1. There was only one Chinese exhibitor in 2010. The most foreign universities came from the Republic of Korea, Austria, Slovakia and Finland, see chart no. 1. It is however difficult to determine the exact number of foreign universities, because there were four joint country presentatrions: Study in Austria, Study in Inland Finland, Study in Korea and Campus France. There were also 132 schools from the Czech Republic.

Organization of the exhibition

The exhibition was organized by the company MP-Soft®, a.s., Brno in cooperation with Brno University of Technology with support of Trade Fairs Brno, a.s. The 17th edition was held under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport; chairman of the Education committee of the Parliament of the Czech Republic; Doc. RNDr. Anna Putnová, CSc. M.B.A., dean of the Faculty of Business and Management, Brno University of Technology; Mgr. Michal Hašek, governor of the South Moravian province; Mr. Roman Onderka, Mayor of Brno and Prof. Ing. Karel Rais, CSc., M.B.A., rector of the Brno University of Technology. Media partners of the Exhibition were Europe 2 radio, Lidové noviny newspaper and news portal Lidovky.cz. Accademic guarantor of the Exhibition was Brno University of Technology, represented by Prof. Ing. Jan M. Honzík, CSc., academic advisor of the Exhibition. Organization guarantor was Ing. Pavel Mikula, MP-Soft®, a.s. CEO.

The conception of the Exhibition is being set by the academic preparatory committee. Members of the committee are representatives of the most important universities with Chairman Prof. Ing. Jan M. Honzík, CSc.

The Exhibition’s course

The 17th edition of the Gaudeamus® Exhibition was held in the exhibition hall F at the Brno exhibition grounds as a standalone event.

The Exhibition was opened for the public from 2nd to 4th November, daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Friday 5th November from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

On 2 nd November from 9:40 to 10:20 a.m. there was a specialized lecture for teachers, school directors, education advisors and other experts. The topic of the lecture was "Current conditions of study at Czech universities and colleges". The lecture was held by the independent expert Ing. Josef Beneš, CSc. 215 attendants have registered for the lecture, every attendant received a complete set of information materials about participating schools.

There was a free entrance for education experts and teachers for the whole duration of the exhibition. Every attendant with the free entrance ticket received the exhibition catalogue with electronic Information system for education advisors on CD at the Information service booth. Total 1332 education advisors from Czech and Slovak Republic have registered for the exhibition. 752 registered education advisors have picked up their information sets.

17th edition of the Gaudeamus Exhibition was ceremonially opened at 2nd November 2010, in the exhibition hall F of the Brno exhibition grounds at 9 a.m. The ceremonial opening was held by Prof. Ing. Karlel Rais, CSc., MBA, rector of the Brno University of Technology and Mgr. Petr Černikovský, deputy director of the university ection of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport of the Czech Republic. The ceremonial opening hosted more than 190 guests of honor.

Best booth contest

It was the second year of the Best booth contest in 2010. The ranking of the booths was carried out by an independent committee comprised of studends of the Business Academy Pionýrská, Brno; High School of Art and Design Husova, Brno; High School of Technology Sokolská, Brno; Higher Professional School of Fashion Design and Management Francouzská, Brno and of other nominated students. The chairman of the committee was Ing. Drimlová of the Business Academy Pionýrská, Brno. The ranking was carried out at 2nd and 3rd November 2010 during the opening hours of the exhibition.

There were 26 exhibitors attending the contest. The winner of the contest is booth no. 18, Mendel University in Brno; second place belongs to booth no. 10, Tomáš Baťa University in Zlín and third place belongs to booth no. 14, Czech Technical University in Prague. The whole results of the contest can be seen in chart no. 2.

The results were announced at 3rd November at the social party which was held at the hedquarters of the Brno University of Technology at Antonínská Street. Rectors and other representatives of most Czech universities and colleges were guests at the party.

Attendance at the 17th edition of the Exhibition

17th edition of the Gaudeamus Exhibition was held at the Brno exhibition grounds as a standalone event. The excact number of visitors has been determined according to the number of sold catalogues. Also 1 332 teachers registered in advance at www.gaudeamus.cz. Every registered teacher received a free entrance ticket, exhibition catalogue and complete information set.

The expected number of visitors in 2010 was 30 000. Average attendance for the last 5 years is 30 351. The total number of visitors in 2010 was 30 008 which is 343 below average.

The attendance in 2010 was by 2 953 visitors lower than the record number in 2009. The reduction of the number of visitors corresponds with the demographic development. Attendance distribution into individual days is shown in chart no. 3 and diagram no. 3. In 2010, 69 % of visitors were female and 31 % male, see diagram no. 4. Attendance distribution comparison can be seen in chart no. 4.

Diagram 3


Diagram 4

Statistical survey among lecture attendants

A statistical survey was carried out among lecture attendants using pirze draw coupons. 9 331 visitors filled in the coupons, which is 31,1 % of the total number of visitors. 7,5 % more students attended the lectures in 2010 compared to 2009, which is the highest number in the exhibition’s history. In comparision with the seven year average, which is 7 055 visitors, the attendance in 2010 was by 1 976 higher, which is 28 %. Detailed results of the survey are stated in the following charts.

The survey results confirm usage of suitable marketing techniques during the preparation of the exhibition. A state-wide effect of the Exhibition can be seen in the results. The 17th edition of the Gaudeamus Exhibition confirmed its important position in informing the public about higher education possibilities.

Target group representation can be seen in chart no. 5 and diagram no. 5.


Diagram 5

Chart no. 6 contains data on regional attendance distribution. The visitors came from all Czech provinces and 5 Slovak provinces and from 1 702 Czech towns and 51 Slovak towns. Theese are the highest numbers in history.

In 2010 Students from Austria, Germany, Poland, Ukraine and Thailand also visited the exhibition. The highest number of foreign visitors came from Slovakia. Foreign visitors represented 5,2 % of total attendance, which is 0,2 % more than in 2009.

Year-on-year comparison of the selected data is stated in table no. 7. Regional attendance distribution and lecture attendance comparison is stated in chart no. 8. Target group representation comparison can be seen in chart no. 9. Chart no. 10 shows the percentage of visitors from individual provinces.

You can see numbers of Czech and Slovak towns from which the visitors came from and percentage of lecture attendants over the last seven years in table no. 8. In table no. 9 you can see the distribution of attendants according to the types of schools they study. The collum “lifelong learning” states the number of visitors interested in lifelong learning possibilities.

The percentage of visitors from individual provinces can be seen in table no. 10 and chart no. 6. Students come to visit the Exhibition from all across the Czech Republic. As can be seen in table no. 9 the Gaudeamus Exhibition is one of the very important sources high school students use when choosing their further studies. It is also important for lifelong learning applicants, this group formed 10,3 % of visitors in 2009, this is 3 397 visitors.

Fields of study students are looking for and their considered criteria

Target group focuses and criteria students consider when choosing their further studies are also being monitored since 2004. Students answer the following questions:

1. I would like to choose the following fields of study:

• Social Sciences
• Engineering
• Economics
• Teaching
• Art
• Management
• Law
• Language Studies
• Medicine
• Informatics
• Science
• Mathematics - Physics
• Sports
• Other

Students could select one or more fields of study they would like to study at college or higher professional school. 9 331 students out of the total number 30 008 were aressed. Chart no. 11 and diagram no. 6 show the percentages of students who are interested in the individual fields of study. These values represent student’s interest in different fields of study they would like to choose for their future studies.

Diagram 6

2. What type of study do you prefer?

• Bachelor
• Bachelor with possible master’s follow up
• Master's
• Master's long
• Doctoral
• MBA
• Higher professional school

Students could select what type of degree they would like to achieve during their future studies. Student’s answers can be seen in diagram no. 7, chart no. 12 shows development of student’s preferences over the last seven years.

The most demanded types of study are bachelor with possible masters follow-up and masters study. There is a long-term decline in interest in higher professional school study.

Diagram 7

3. Sort the criteria you consider when choosing your future studies

• Salary
• Employment prospects
• Preceding education
• Prestige of the field
• Personal prerequisites

Students could rate the importance of these criteria 1 to 5 (1-the most important až 5-the least important). Chart no. 13 shows the results for the last seven years. Diagram no. 8 shows the students priorities in 2010.

Diagram 8

Target group characteristics

A detailed survey has been carried out during the 17th edition of the Gaudeamus Exhibition with aim to determine accurate target group characteristics. 2 290 visitors up to 25 years of age were addressed during the survey, 68,9 % of them female and 31,1 % male, see diagram no. 9.


Diagram 9


Diagram 10

Age spectrum of visitors is shown in diagram no. 10. The most numerous group are final year high school students aged 18 – 22. The second largest group are 3rd year high school students, not older than 18. The age spectrum of visitors is almost the same compared to 2008 and 2009.

Diagram no. 11 shows answers to the question “What type of school are you currently studying?” The most numerous groups are grammar school and high school students.


Diagram 11

Next question of the survey was: „Where did you learn about the exhibition?“ Answers to this question are shown in diagram no. 12. Theese results confirm right usage of marketing methods during promotion of the Exhibition with emphasis on web presentation and promotion in schools.


Diagram 12

The next question „Who recommended the visit of the Exhibition?“ was to determine the recommendation that led the students to visit the exhibition. The ansvers are shown in diagram no. 13. Most of the students decided to visit the exhibition on their own. Second most important recommendation was the recommendation from their school.


Diagram 13

Tradition, quality organisation and stable date are the factors that have an important share on student’s awareness of the Exhibition. The role of schools in informing the students about the Exhibition increased substantially compared to 2009. This is the result of the new ways of communication with teachers and education advisors.

We were also interested whether the students are responsible when visiting the Exhibition, so the next question was: „Have you come to the exhibition to look for your future studies?“ 94 % of students answered YES, only 6 % had different reasons, see diagram no. 14. This confirms the estimates that the students approach the Exhibition and the question of their future studies with responsibility.

Students who answered „NO“, were asked „What was the purpose of your visit?“. Answers to this question can be seen in diagram no. 15.


Diagram 14


Diagram 15

The next group of questions was aimed to determine how schools participate in organising student’s excursions to the Exhibition and whether the students are given enough time at the exhibition. The questions were:

• Did you come alone or with an organized group?
• If you have come with a group, were you given enough time at the Exhibition by your teacher?
• If you have come alone, how much time do you consider optimal at the Exhibition?

76 % of visitors came alone, 24 % came with a group organised by school, see diagram no. 16. Number of students who came alone increased by 20 % compared to 2009.


Diagram 16

Diagram no. 17 shows whether the students are given enough time to see the whole exhibition and to visit all the lectures they want by their accompanying teachers. It can bee seen that most of the students are provided with enough time at the exhibition.


Diagram 17


Diagram 18

Students who came to the Exhibition alone were asked „How much time at the Exhibition do you consider optimal?“. More than a half of the students consider 2 - 4 hours an optimal time. For 22 % 1-2 hours are enough. Answers can be seen in diagram no. 18. It can be seen that students require more time at the exhibition compared to last years.

Next two questions were concerning the lectures:

• Have you attended one of the lectures?
• What was the reason for you to attend the lecture?

The aim of these questions was to determine the student’s attitude to the lectures. 47 % of the students answered YES to question no. 1 and 53 % answered NO, see diagram no. 19. Number of students who attended the lectures has increased by 12 % compared to 2009. An increasing interest in the lectures can be observed among the students according to this survey.


Diagram 19

Answers to question no. 2 are displayed in diagram no. 20. As can be seen the most numerous reason to visit the lectures is to obtain information about future study opportunities.


Diagram 20

To determine the visitor’s purposefulness and successfulness of their visit, we asked these questions:

• Have you been looking for a specific school or a field of study?
• Have you found your future school?
• Why heven’t you found your future school?

Diagram 21

77 % of visitors come to the Exhibition with a clear picture of their future studies and are looking for a specific school. 23 % expects to get an idea of their studies at the Exhibition.


Diagram 22

Diagram no. 22 shows answers to question no. 2. It can be seen that every third student is unable to orient himself in the study opportunities offer presented at the Exhibition; this number is by 9 % higher than in 2009. These results could lead to considerations about the forms of presentation of information by both exhibitors and organisers.

Answers to the question „Why heven’t you found your future school?“ are presented in diagram no. 23. Two most common reasons were student’s indecision (44 %) and a lack of time for a proper decision (38 %).

Next question were about the advisory service aimed to help students specific schools or fields of study they offer. 24 % of students answered YES and 76 % answered NO to the question „Have you used the free advisory service?“, see diagram no. 24. Students who answered NO to the previous question were asked why. Answers to this question are displayed in diagram no. 25. It can be seen that almost half of the students didn’t know about the service and the other half didn’t need advice. Therefore it will be important to increase promotion of this service in the following years.


Diagram 23


Diagram 24


Diagram 25

There are many foreign schools interested in presenting themselves at the exhibition. So we also asked the students about heir opinions about studying abroad. 56 % of the addressed students were interested in studying abroad, see diagram no. 26. Student’s preferences about individual countries can be seen in diagram no. 27.

During the survey we also found out that the students miss more schools of art, higher professional schools and a police academy at the exhibition. The most demanded are schools from the USA and Great Britain.


Diagram 26


Diagram 27

Exhibitor’s lectures during the exhibition

Two lecture theatres were a part of standard exhibition facilities. The bigger one seated 300 people and the smaller one seated 200. Both theatres were equipped with high quality presentation technology. The lectures were held by qualified representatives of schools.

A record number of students attended the lectures in 2010. Verifiable attendance was 9 331 visitors, which is 31,1 % of the total number. These are the numbers of students who filled in the coupons. The actual attendance was higher, the estimated number is more than 12 000 visitors.

After each lecture a prize draw was carried out. 5 visitors who filled in the coupons were awarded a prize donated by the organiser or by the presenting school.

The lectures proven to be the most effective way to present information about study opportunities. Both lecture theatres are the most visited places at the Exhibition every year.

Chart no. 14 shows the development of lecture attendance in last seven years.

Exhibition catalogue

Every visitor received a 79 page printed catalogue and a detailed electronic catalogue on CD. The catalogues contain detailed information about participating schools ad their offer of study opportunities. Every exhibitor has a free of charge advertisement containing:

• Name of school
• Booth number
• Address
• Phone number
• E-mail and website addresses

Most schools publish more information, like: list of faculties, academic subjects, study department contacts, student statistics and more.

Part of the electronic catalogue is also an interactive index of fields of study. Fields of study are in alphabetical order, each with a list of schools where it is possible to study it and each school is linked to its contact information. There is also a list of participating schools with links to lists of fields of study that the schools offer. The CD catalogue also contains a guide how to choose a right school and an index of countries with conditions of study.

32 000 copies of both versions of the catalogue have been distributed this year to students and exhibitors.

Advisory service and other services for students

The surveys show that it is important to pay close attention to students who are unable to orient themselves in a large amount of information presented at the Exhibition. Students demand complex information about study opportunities, a comparison with other schools and asistence with choosing a right field of study. Individual exhibitors are unable to provide such compex information. To meet this demand the organisers introduce a variety of free services for students:

• Free advisory service for students. Its aim is to help students find right fields of study, schools or faculties for them. The service was available in a special info booth inside exhibition hall F. 24 % of visitors used the service.
• „Future university student’s guide“, which contains step by step instructions on how to proceed from choosing a right school up to enrolment at a university.
• „University terms dictionary“, which explains some of the terms that new students come into contact with when starting at a university.
• „Student’s section“ at www.gaudeamus.cz.
• Index of faculties, containing:
  Basic contact information
  Information about entrance exams
  Information abou admission process
  Other information Registration into this index is free of charge for participating schools. The index is available for public at www.gaudeamus.cz.
• Interactive index of fields of study at www.gaudeamus.cz, which contains all registered fields of study available at participating schools. The index is divided into Czech and international parts. It is available for public at www.gaudeamus.cz. The index is being regulary updated according to exhibitors reguests.
• Same index is also a part of the electronic catalogue on CD.
• „Index of countries“, contains information about countries where Czech students can study including information about conditions of study.

Exhibition development in 1994-2010

Decline in the number of exhibitors in 2010, that can be seen in chart no. 15, was caused by absence of 29 Chinese universities, which where represented by one agency this year. Disregarding the Chinese, the number of exhibitors is higher than in 2009.

There was a substantial increase in exhibition space in 2010, mainly in case of booths with individual construction and accompanying programmes. Average space per one booth was 14,47 m2, which is by 3,28 m2 more than 2009. Average space per one booth is one of the most important quality indicators, directly affecting the quality of presentation at the Exhibition.

There were 133 exhibitors in 2010 that represented 186 individual institutions. Universities and colleges represented another 252 faculties, 2 382 Czech and 621 international fields of study.

The exhibition on the internet

All information about the exhibition is available at the website www.gaudeamus.cz. Basic contact information about participating schools is also published every year after the Exhibition. Tere also are indexes of fields of study, index of faculties and list of schools with fields of study they offer available for students at the website. There is also a new section for students at www.gaudeamus.cz containing index of college terms, a guide how to choose a right school and an index of countries with conditions of study. This is without overstatement the on-line version of the Exhibition offering answers to questions:

• What to do after graduation?
• How to get to the university?
• Where is the study most advantageous?
• Where can I study a specific field of study?
• What fields of study does a specific school offer?
• Where can I study a specific faculty?
• In what countries can I study?

This service is completely free of charge for all participating institutions.

Numbers of acceses at www.gaudeamus.cz in individual months over the last seven years are presented in chart no. 16.

The 18th edition in 2011

The 18th edition of the Gaudeamus Exhibition in Brno will be held from 1st to 4th November 2011. It is expected that the Gaudeamus Exhibition will again be a standalone event at the Brno exhibition grounds; the expected location is the exhibition hall F.

In 2011 we do not expect to receive a government subsidy from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport. Exhibitors have to expect maintaining the price level set in 2010

For the 18th edition we prepare the following:

• Maintaining the price level set in 2010.
• Maintaining the 4 and 6 sqm “economy booths” intended for presentation of higher professional schools.
• Maintaining the price benefits for exhibitors participating in accompanying programes „Science for Life“ and „Let’s Play with Technology“.
• System of space allocation for boots participating in Science for Life“ so the booths will be connected to each other.
• Maintaining of attendance support using appropriate marketing techniques and media promotion in cooperation with our media partners.
• Lecture attendance support as in 2010.
• Printing 32 000 copies of the exhibition catalogue.
• 32 000 units of the electronic exhibition catalogue on CD.
• Further expansion and revision of the Index of Faculties.
• Continuous publishing of contact information and fields of study provided by exhibitors at www.gaudeamus.cz.
• Continuous publishing of information about the exhibition on the internet.
• Further expansion of the Index of Fields of Study and improvements of its functionality.

Gaudeamus Exhibition in Prague 2011

The International Education and Lifelong Learning Exhibition Gaudeamus Prague will be held for the 4th time at the Holešovice exhibition grounds in Prague at 25th and 26th January 2011. Atributes and aims of the Exhibition:

• To offer a wide range of higher education and lifelong learning opportunities.
• To address students from Prague, Middle Bohemia and other regions further from Brno.
• To maintain the standards and properties of the Brno Exhibition considering the local conditions.
• To allow the presentation of Czech schools offering studies in foreign languages in the International section of the Exhibition.
• The International section will be held under the auspices of the Canadian ambassador.

In Brno 3rd December 2010

Dipl. Ing. Pavel Mikula, Managing director

Prof. Ing. Jan Maxmilián Honzík, CSc., Chairman of the preparatory committee