INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION AND LIFELONG LEARNING EXHIBITION GAUDEAMUS® 2011

The 4th year of the Education and Lifelong Learning Exhibition Gaudeamus® 2011 was held in the Krizik exhibition halls E and D of the exhibition grounds in Prague from the 25th to the 26th January 2011.

The aim of the Gaudeamus® Exhibition in Prague was to provide information about study possibilities at higher schools, universities, colleges and language schools. The Gaudeamus® Exhibition focused on grammar school, higher school and college students and graduates and lifelong learning applicants.

Universities, colleges, higher schools, language schools and educational institutions from the Czech Republic and from 13 other countries were represented at the exhibition.

Exhibitor's Structure

153 individual exhibitors in 83 booths (+ 13 compared to 2010) participated in the Exhibition. The exhibitors’ structure is presented in chart 1 and diagrams 1 and 2.

Diagram 1


Diagram 2

Organization of the Exhibition

Organization of the Exhibition was guaranteed by MP-Soft®, a.s., Brno and the Brno University of Technology represented by Prof. Ing. Jan M. Honzík, CSc. The exhibition was held under the patronage of Prof. Ing. Karel Rais, CSc., MBA, rector of the Brno University of Technology; Doc. RNDr. Anna Putnová, CSc., MBA, dean of the Faculty of Business Management of the Brno University of Technology and chairman of the Schools Committee of the Czech Parliament; and Mrs Valerie Raymond, ambassadress of Canada in the Czech Republic. Academic counsellor of the Exhibition was Prof. Ing. Jan M. Honzík, CSc. Organisation guarantor was Ing. Pavel Mikula, chairman of the board of MP-Soft®, a.s., Brno.

The Exhibition’s Course

The 4th year of the Gaudeamus® Exhibition was held in the exhibition halls E and D of the Holesovice Exhibition grounds in Prague. Exhibitor’s booths were mostly located in the exhibition hall E and the lecture theatre and the information service for students were located in the exhibition hall D. The exhibition was open for the public daily from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., from the 25th to the 26th January 2011.

The first day of the exhibition was culminated by a social evening and discussion meeting of exhibition participants, which took place in the hotel Expo next to the exhibition grounds. The most important guests of honor were: Mr. Alex McNiven, political and cultural councelor of the Embassy of Canada in the Czech Republic along with other Canadian representatives; Mgr. Jiří Nantl, managing director of the University education department of the Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic; Doc. RNDr. Miloslav Švec, CSc, vice rector of the Brno Unversity of Technology; rectors, deans and other representatives of Czech and foreign universities.

Attendance of the Exhibition

The Exhibition was held at the Prague’s Exhibition grounds in Holesovice as a standalone event so we were able to determine the accurate number of visitors. The actual attendance was 8 001 visitors, which is by 797 visitors higher than last year.

The education specialists had the possibility to register in advance at the website www.gaudeamus.cz. There were 1 429 registered specialists. Everyone who registered received a free entrance ticket and a complete information package. The students also had the possibility to register and 2 723 of them did so.

The distribution of attendance into individual days is presented in charts 2 and 3.

Statistical Survey Among Lecture Attendants

During the 4th year of the Gaudeamus® Exhibition in Prague the statistical survey was carried out among the visitors, as it was done during the previous years. The enquiry was made in the form of a prize draw. 22,2 % (1 775 visitors) of the total number of visitors filled in the raffle tickets and returned them for drawing. Detailed results are shown in the following charts.

Chart 4 and diagram 3 show the representation of individual target groups within the total exhibition attendance. The most important target groups are 3rd and 4th year high school students, who make up more than 80 % of visitors.

Chart 5 contains data concerning the regional distribution of attendance. Visitors came from all 14 provinces of the Czech Republic and from 280 towns in total.

Diagram 3

Apart from standard attendance data, which are stated in charts 1 to 5, information regarding the students focuses in choosing their future studies and their criteria were gathered. The students answered the following questions:

1. What academic subjects would you like to study?:

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

The students could tick off one or more of the listed subjects, which they would like to study at a university or college. 1 775 students were addressed of the total number of 8 001 visitors. Results of the survey are shown in chart 6 and diagram 4. Chart 6 includes values from the past four years. Diagram 4 shows the situation in 2011.

The students are most interested in social sciences and language studies followed by management and economics.

Diagram 4

2. What type of study do you prefer?:

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

Students could tick off what type of degree they would like to acquire. 1 775 students were addressed of the total number of 8 001 visitors. Results of the survey are shown in chart 7 and diagram 5. Chart 7 includes values from the past four years. Diagram 5 shows the situation in 2011.

The most demanded type of study is bachelor with possible masters follow-up.

Diagram 5

Mark the following factors (1 - 5) according to their importance for your decisions:

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

Students could mark the factors from 1 to 5 (1 - the most, 5 the least) expressing the importance of the factor for their decisions. 1 775 students were addressed of the total number of 8 001 visitors. Results (average marks) of the survey are shown in chart 8 and diagram 6. Chart 8 includes values from the past four years. Diagram 5 shows the situation in 2011.

Diagram 6

The most important factors influencing the student’s decisions are personal prerequisites and employment prospects in the field.

Target Group Characteristics

During the 4th year of the Gaudeamus® Exhibition in Prague a more complex statistical survey was also carried out. The respondents were randomly selected visitors. The aim of the survey was to determine the characteristics of visiting target groups. The same survey was done during the Gaudeamus® Exhibition in Brno 2010. 378 visitors under the age of 25 were addressed, from which 56% were female and 44% were male.

The age spectrum of visitors is shown in diagram 7. The most numerous group were students between 18 and 21 years of age. Theese are the senior year high school students and fresh high school graduates. Theese students form the main target group of the exhibition.


Diagram 7


Diagram 8

Diagram 8 shows which schools did the visitors come from. Main target groups were grammar school (52%) and other high school (42%) students. Students of other types of schools made up only 6% of total attendance.

The next question of the survey was based on what recommendation did the students decide to visit the exhibition. The result of the survey shows that the students see the exhibition as an important source of information and mostly decide to visit it themselves, see diagram 9.


Diagram 9

The next question was to find out where the students found information about the Exhibition. The results confirm the correct usage of marketing methods during the promotion of the Exhibition, see diagram 10. The biggest accent is put on the propagation of the Exhibition trough the individual schools, by sending packages of promotional materials and by communicating with schools educational consultants. This also proves to be a most effective method of providing information about the Exhibition to the students. Other important form of promotion is the Exhibition website www.gaudeamus.cz.


Diagram 10

We also wanted to know if the students are ambitious and responsible during their attendance of the Exhibition. The question was whether the students came to the Exhibition with an aim to find out their future study. 99% of students answered positively. Only 1% of students had different reasons.

Next questions were to find out whether the school was involved in organization of the students visit at the Exhibition; and if the students had enough time to obtain all the information they need about their future study. The questions were:

• Did you come alone or with an organized group?
• Did you have enough time to inspect the Exhibition?
• How much time do you consider optimal to inspect the Exhibition?

70% of addressed visitors came to the exhibition by themselves and 30% of them came with an organized group from their school, see diagram 11.

The students who came with an organized group were asked whether they have been provided with enough time to see the Exhibition. All students answered positively. The aim of this question was to find out whether the educational advisors gave students enough time to see the Exhibition.


Diagram 11

The students who came alone were asked what, in their opinion, is the optimal amount of time to see the exhibition. Most of the students consider 2 - 4 hours as an optimal amount of time to inspect the Exhibition, see diagram 12.


Diagram 12

The next two questions were concerning the lectures during the exhibition. Whether the students attended any of the lectures and why did they do so. The aim of the survey was to find out the attitude of students towards the lectures. 57% of students attended at least one of the lectures and 43% did not, see diagram 13.

This also shows that the number of students who actually attend the lectures is much bigger than the number of students who fill in the coupons.


Diagram 13

The students who attended the lectures were asked about the reason of their attendance. 99% of them attended the lectures with the aim to gain information about their future study.

We also wanted to know whether the visit of the Exhibition was successful for the students, so we asked two other questions. The first question was: “Are you looking for a specific school or a field of study?” 79% of students came to the exhibition with a clear idea about their future study and they were looking for a specific school, see diagram 14.

The second question was whether the students found their future study at the exhibition. 79% of students found their future study at the Exhibition and therefore the visit was sucesfull and worthwhile for them, see diagram 15.


Diagram 14


Diagram 15

There is an increasing interest in Gaudeamus® Exhibition by exhibitors from abroad; therefore we also asked the students how they feel about studying abroad and in which country. 74% of students would like to study abroad. Diagram 16 presents the most preferred countries. The most demanded countries are United Kingdom, USA and Germany.


Diagram 16

Exhibitor's Lecturers

The lecture theatre was a part of the standard exhibition facilities. The theatre seated 120 people. The lecture theatre was located in the exhibition hall D and was equipped with a quality sound system, an overhead projector, a data-video projector and computers for presentation projection. The lectures were given by qualified representatives of participating schools.

The total attendance of the lectures was higher than 1 775 visitors (22,2% of the total number). 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.

After each lecture, the organizers drew lots and drew out the names of 5 participants, who then got prizes with the Exhibition logo or prizes donated by the participating schools. The first drawn person was given the most valuable prize, the others got umbrellas, mugs with the Exhibition logo, T-shirts, etc.

During the 4th edition of the exhibition, lecture theatre was the most attended place. The lectures have been for a long time the most efficient way of passing information about possibilities of higher education and conditions of entrance examinations.

The Exhibition Catalogue

Each visitor received the Exhibition catalogue and detailed electronic catalogue on CD. Both catalogues contained detailed information about education possibilities at participating 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, student’s statistics at individual faculties and departments, etc. There were basic contact information published free of charge for every participating school (name of the institution, address, phone and fax number, e-mail and web address).

5th Year of the Gaudeamus® Exhibition in Prague in 2012

Most of the exhibitors would like to extend the exhibition for three days. The exhibition conception will be prepared by the consultative board consisting of representatives of the most important exhibitors. The consultative board will meet at the end of March 2011 and will determine the exact date and basic concept of the next Exhibition in 2012. The Gaudeamus® exhibition in Prague 2012 will most likely be held at the same venue from 24th to 26th January 2012.

25th February 2011


Prof. Ing. Jan Maxmilián Honzík, CSc. Academic Advisor

Dipl.Ing. Pavel Mikula, President of the Exhibition